Fed up with the human owner the four-legged friends of animal farm decide to stage a revolt to be free and equal. Led by napoleon the pig they lead a victorious fight against the farmers. But they soon realize they might need the humans help after all. Studio: Lions Gate Home Ent. Release Date: 01/18/2000 Starring: Kelsey Grammar Ian Holm Run time: 91 minutes Rating: NrAfter the technical achievement of Babe, it was inevitable that “talking animal” effects would be applied to the serious themes of George Orwell’s Animal Farm. A bitterly satirical indictment of Stalinist Russia and the failure of Communism, Orwell’s 1945 novel is a time-honored classic, so it’s only fitting that this TNT production remains largely faithful to Orwell’s potent narrative. A showcase for the impressive creations of Jim Henson’s Creature Shop (where director John Stephenson was a veteran supervisor), the film employs animatronic critters and computer animation to tell the story of uprising, unity, and tragic rebellion among the animals of a British farm.
The politics of “Animalism” are initially effective, ousting enemy humans according to rules ordained by Old Major, the barnyard pig whose death sets the stage for the corruptive influence of the pig Napoleon, who cites superior intelligence as his right to superiority. This tyrannical reign destroys the farm’s stability, and the film–decidedly not for young children–preserves Orwell’s dark, cynical view of absolute power corrupting absolutely. Particularly effective is a propaganda film shown to the barnyard collective, and certain scenes–while not as impressive as the Babe films–powerfully convey the force of Orwell’s story through animal “performance.” Animal Farm occasionally falters in its emotional impact (the fate of the horse Boxer should be heart-rending, and it isn’t), but it’s certainly blessed with an elite voice cast, including Peter Ustinov, Patrick Stewart, Pete Postlethwaite, Julia Ormond, Kelsey Grammer, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Paul Scofield, and Ian Holm. Not the masterpiece it might’ve been, this is nevertheless a worthy representation of Orwell’s novel. (Ages 8 and older) –Jeff Shannon
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May 2, 2010
#1
This was the worst book I ever read. I can’t even believe I finished the whole thing. Who would write a book about animals that talk and take over a stupid farm. Another part of it that I hate is how each animal takes the role of a real person like Joseph Stalin.
Our English teacher made us read this book and we had to memorize who each character symbolized in real life. That made it even worse. The book drags on for so long too. He could get everything he wanted to say in like two or three chapters instead of dragging it on and on.
The other part that I hated was how it was written. They wrote it like they were talking to a five year old. It had to be one of the easiest books to read ever.
So in conclusion this book is the worst book I ever read. One because who would write about animals who symbolize real people and take over a farm. Then the books also drags on for so long you could get everything said in like two or three chapters and the book was made for a five year old to read it.
May 2, 2010
#2
Did any of you people know that animal farm can be read on 2 fronts? It is not only about animals. It is also a mock of the russian revolution and a start to communism. If you had every went to school you would know about the Bolsheviks, Leon Trosky, or come on even Joseph Stallin. It was only 50 years ago. I give animal farm 4 stars because it illistrates how much communism sucks. Be glad you r the capitalist u r. We will never become a communism or we wil all die.
May 2, 2010
#3
Even though there were several pretty horses I did not like this at all. The leader of the farm, a pig, gets killed and this skull is placed on a stick (flies also) by the other ;animals. Animals are slaughtered and it shows the shadow of some people getting ‘jiggy’, plus the head board hitting the wall. I turned it off. My parents were shocked since it is rated “G”…but this could scare little kids and is not a “G” movie. I got it becasue I hoped it would be like the movie “Babe”. It was not.
May 2, 2010
#4
I don’t understand. How is it that so many people thought 1984 the movie was a masterpiece and yet they didn’t give this great film the time of day. This movie is as good as 1984 (the movie) was bad. This is a perfect example of what communism really is, a good idea that could only work in a perfect world because hay, people (and animals apparently) are corrupt. Theirs a reason they say absolute power corrupts absolutely. People are selfish, and this is why communism must always fail, because people don’t like to share and like being forced to share even less.
This is one hell of a movie. Not perfect, but way above the [...] fest of a movie 1984 was. If you love Gorge Orwell than get this movie
May 2, 2010
#5
I loved this book! It is a very simple story on the surface, but how the entire story is an allegory is fascinating. I think that people can learn just as much about governments in our history if they read this book rather than staring at history text books. Ever since I’ve read it I’ve become very interested in the Russian Revolution and I want to learn more about how all of the characters in the book relate to real people. I think the best thing about this book is that it teaches us a lesson and gives people a perfect example of how “power corrupts”.