No, not the legendary, mythical, and shall we say, highly specialised… ahem… gentleman’s rhythm production which nobody has ever really seen, except for the absolute wrong ‘un in class at school. This Animal Farm is the Orwell version. Based on the book that many study in school, but fail to learn from in life.
Andy Serkis has made a passion project when he adapted George Orwell’s famous allegory.
Now it is set to premiere this Monday at the Annecy Animation Festival, so a first clip has been released online.
This clip shows Seth Rogen’s Napoleon, Gaten Matarazzo’s Lucky, and Kieran Culkin’s Squealer. It appears to be an adaptation of the scene where things begin to not quite be exactly as the revolutionaries envisaged. Afterall, who is going to save this glorious revolution from the troublemakers?
Animal Farm is supposed to be a satirical allegory that critiques the closeness of left-wing revolutionary groupthink with totalitarianism, based on Orwell’s observations of the Russian Revolution and the rise of Stalin.
The story follows farm animals who revolt against their human farmer and establish a new, seemingly utopian society, but ultimately, power corrupts the pigs, who become as oppressive as the humans they replaced. The story explores themes of power, corruption, and the dangers of unchecked authority, serving as a cautionary tale about communist revolution.
Woody Harrelson, Glenn Close, Steve Buscemi, Laverne Cox, Jim Parsons, Kathleen Turner, Iman Vellani, and Serkis himself all lend their voices to this project. While an animation in a particular style, all the reports say this version will not shy away from the source material’s political themes, including the inherent darkness and unhappy endings.
Adam Nagle, Dave Rosenbaum, Jonathan Cavendish and Serkis produce.
