Animal Farm (1999)

After 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 Amazon.com

Orwell Updated

I watched this when it first came out, and I felt they actually did a decent job with it, not sure why I see negative reviews here.

As with any book turned into a movie, there will always be some material left out of the script for various reasons. I felt, however, that all the essentials of the allegory were held onto. The revolution, the coup by a power-hungry despot, the declining conditions and loss of freedoms, the use of propaganda, the animals looking at their leaders and the humans and not seeing any difference anymore, all pretty faithfully portrayed.

There are some updates, of course. Most namely, the happy ending, which seems to have gained so much objection here. When the book first came out, Stalin was still in charge and showed no signs of going away anytime soon. When the film aired, the old Soviet Union had fallen due to it's own internal flaws and problems. This is reflected well in the ending, I feel.

The animals who escaped and only returned after the fall? I have no problem with this, either. I expect there are several Russians who left during the Soviet days and have since returned.

Where some find these two alterations an objectionable attempt to make the ending cheery for the kiddies, I have to disagree. The pain and sorrow felt by the escapees on their return, on seeing what became of the farm after they left, is hardly likely to cheer the kids. It is merely updating the story to take into account what happened in Russia as the Soviet system declined and fell apart. January 20, 2008

Nice version but no subtitles

NO SUBTITLES!!! If I knew this before buying I would not have done it. english is not my first language and we expect that any DVD at least have neglish subtitles and this one did not.

On the oter hand, the movie was all that I spected regardless that some people have problems with the ending or the fact that is capitalist propaganda.

I live in Venezuela and the movie is a mirror of what I think happens here. I share the same vision of the movie about the one man comunism that only send countrys to their worst. November 22, 2007

A better, updated version but I'm still waiting for the animated version!

Okay, I have seen the 1950s British animated version. I have to say that I do prefer this version because there are more than two voices. Second, the story is better showcased but with live animals and actors like the wonderful Pete Postlethwaite OBE. Julia Ormond narrates the story. Kelsey Grammar is also very good as well. I have to say that the disc also shows some useful information such as historical background of the author and story itself. This dvd is good for teachers who are doing George Orwell's Animal Farm or the author himself. November 4, 2007

Animal Farm

My ninth grade students are required to read Animal Farm. This was a great movie to show upon completion of the book. They enjoyed pointing out the subtle differences (there weren't that many) between the movie and the book. TNT has a website that accompanies the movie that I found very helpful. It discusses character analysis and literary devices. Instant lesson plans! ;-)

The movie was delivered very promptly; I was very happy with the service! September 15, 2007

Animal Farm Review

The story was as good as ever, but no one can replace the voice of Orson Wells in the original. That's why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5. There were no problems with the order. We received it in just a few days. August 29, 2007

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