Home
search
more | tips
IMDb > Animal Farm (1954)

Animal Farm (1954) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (see all 14 | slideshow)

Overview

User Rating:
7.1/10   2,852 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 1% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Writer:
George Orwell (novel)
more
Contact:
View company contact information for Animal Farm on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
13 February 1956 (Sweden) more
Genre:
Animation | Drama more
Tagline:
He's got the world in an UPROAR! more
Plot:
A successful farmyard revolution by the resident animals vs. the farmer goes horribly wrong when corrupt pigs hijack it for their personal gain. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. more
User Comments:
A good story of course and thus worth seeing but the narration-heavy delivery makes it more like an audio book than a film more

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)
Gordon Heath ... Narrator (voice)
Maurice Denham ... All Animals (voice)
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Runtime:
72 min
Country:
UK
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound System)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
A large portion of the budget ($300,000 out of a cost of over $500,000) was supplied by the United States' Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Policy Coordination, through one of its shell corporations, Touchstone Inc. more
Goofs:
Continuity: As the film goes on the pigs alter the writing on the side of barn; the first being the addition of 'sleep in a bed with sheets'. Later on this and other additions are not present more
Quotes:
[The laws of Animal Farm are being read]
Snowball: No animal shall drink alcohol. No animal shall sleep in a bed. Four legs good, two legs bad.
[The chickens are very annoyed at this rule]
Squealer: Wings count as legs.
[The chickens realize that Squealer is right]
Group of sheep: Four legs good, two legs bad. Four legs good, two legs bad.
Snowball: [continuing the reading of the laws] No animal shall kill another animal. All animals are equal.
more
Movie Connections:
Featured in The 100 Greatest Cartoons (2005) (TV) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
11 out of 12 people found the following comment useful:-
A good story of course and thus worth seeing but the narration-heavy delivery makes it more like an audio book than a film, 2 April 2006
Author: bob the moo from Birmingham, UK

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.

Was the above comment useful to you?
more

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Animal Farm (1954)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Napoleon or Snowball jus360
which animal represent what? orangelifer
This movie's funny! liamsimagination
this is undoubtedly the worst film I've ever seen in my life lucky_devil
My thoughts on the ending Koosh_King01
Dumb broadwaydestined
more

Recommendations

If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
- - - - -
Animal Farm V for Vendetta Novecento Who Framed Roger Rabbit Watership Down
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
Show more recommendations

Related Links

Full cast and crew Company credits External reviews
IMDb Animation section IMDb UK section Add this title to MyMovies

You may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Update' button will take you through a step-by-step process.