La fattoria degli animali

Fed up with the treatment from farmer Jones, the animals of Manor Farm gather in a meeting to listen to Old Major tell them of his hopes for a socialist revolution to improve their lives. Sadly, mid-song, Old Major dies of a heart attack but by then his message had been passed on. The next morning Jones is met with resistance and driven off his own land and, when he returns with friends to take it back, a great battle ensues that the animals win. Thus begins the new, fairer farm where all animals are equal and everyone shares the work as well as having a share of the profits. However this equality soon starts to have exceptions as leaders rise up from within the ranks.

There is no doubting the value of the story or the intelligence of the source material and the decision of the film to stick closely to Orwell's book is where its strength comes from. I love the story and always have, it is well written, sharply judgemental and a cautionary tale that is rightly used heavily in schools. The socialist system rises up but soon some want more rights than others and soon the leaders of the rebellion start emulating the habits of Jones and the, once proud standards are gradually watered down. The broad characters are well written and, although they don't have any depth, they fulfil the requirements of the story telling.

The animation looks dated but given that it is now over 50 years old this is no real surprise, nor a problem. No, the problem with the film is the delivery. Heath is the narrator while Denham does the voices of all the animals; now this sounds like Denham will be carrying the majority of the film but in reality he has little to do because the film is mostly delivered in narration. This is all well and good but it does make the film feel like it is more an audio book with pictures rather than a film. As a result there isn't the emotional impact that there should have been and, although you feel sorry for the characters it is more a general feeling rather than a genuine care for the "people".

Many reviewers have commented on the ending and they are right to do so because if even an ending felt tacked on to produce a "happy" conclusion then it was this one. I understand that no producer wants to try and sell a negative product but the end of the book was fine as it was – it made a firm point and left a memorable impression whereas this one just feels wrong. Overall though it is a good film that is worth seeing due to the source material but the narrative approach lessens its value as a film and made me think that I should have just reread the book.

Not to degrade Animal Farm by calling it a cartoon, I am amazed that it was even made into an animated film back in 1954. Even though the story is a popular book in most junior high schools, it is a tough story to take, especially the ending. In this version, the ending is given a re-make. Having more of a positive ending with hope, Animal Farm doesn't end as powerful as it does in its original written version. Still, it is one of very few cartoons that address important issues and leaves its audience with a number of powerful images.

Dealing with dictatorship, communist theory, military warlords, the democratic process and political theories, Animal Farm throws so much at the viewer / reader that it is still a highly acclaimed story. Whether it is suitable for a young audience, that is up to the individual viewer to decide.

Manor Farm, run by the drunken Mr. Jones, has fallen on hard time. The animals suffer under his brutality. The senior boar named Old Major ferments a revolution among the animals proclaiming that "All Animals are Equal". Old Major dies soon after but the revolution is unstoppable. They drive out Mr. Jones and later his drinking buddies. The pigs lead the revolution and proclaim the Seven Commandments of Animalism. The leader Napoleon takes an interest in the abandoned farmhouse and a litter of puppies left orphan by the revolt. Soon Napoleon drives out his rival Snowball and takes dictatorial powers with the puppies which he raised into vicious dogs. The Commandments are slowly changed and Napoleon starts selling to local trader Mr. Whymper. The last change is that "All Animals are Equal but Some Animals are More Equal Than Others".

The animation style is Disneyesque. The source material is George Orwell. The secret financial backing does alter the material but it is still compelling. The changes are political. As a movie, it is engaging. As propaganda, it is influencing.

George Orwell's novel 'Animal Farm' was a fable that worked as a bang-on critique of the Russian revolution and Stalinism. In it a group of mistreated farmyard animals rise up against their owner and overthrow him. They then briefly form a Utopian society that quickly deteriorates into something very similar to the old system that was in place before.

Different animals represent different people. The wise old pig Old Major represents Karl Marx and the beginning of communist teachings; Farmer Jones is Czar Nicholas II and represents the old regime; Napoleon and Snowball the pigs are respectively the ruthless Joseph Stalin and idealistic Leon Trotsky; the pack of dogs are the secret police and violent state enforcement; Boxer represents the hard working peasants; Benjamin, the wise but powerless individual; the sheep the unthinking masses. While Manor Farm itself is Russia and Animal Farm the Soviet Union.

The format of the fable works extremely well in illustrating the story of the formation of the USSR. This cartoon version of it is in the main a pretty impressive adaption. While the ending goes against the Dystopian one favoured by Orwell, it's not really surprising that it does this, although it's unfortunate. But it doesn't really damage the film very much as it's central idea remains intact. The animation itself is good enough, and even though there is a lot of narration I didn't consider this to be a problem. I thought that all things considered this was a good stab at an iconic bit of literature.

for a viewer from East Europe, it is not exactly only a good adaptation. it is not just a cartoon. but support for memories. and a warning. the book of George Orwell is always a must re-read. but the movie - piece from the Cold War is little more important than only animation film. convincing, in clothes of children movie, it represents in large measure a bitter parable who has new nuances, special force, more perspectives about the dark frame of dictatorship. in its case, the message is more important than artistic virtues. because it remains a powerful warning. not a decent/admirable adaptation, not an old film. but an useful tool for discover and understand the past and, maybe, for transform the future as better script.