Animal Farm

Animal Farm, based on a novel by George Orwell, is ostensibly about a group of animals who rebel against the drunken farmer who owns them, and abuses them. They begin running the farm themselves. Their revolution is corrupted into tyranny which eventually becomes worse than the human farmer's regime.

A not-so-veiled criticism of totalitarianism under Stalin, many events portrayed in the DVD correspond to real events that took place in the Soviet Union. However, the DVD may be understood as a critique of totalitarianism, no matter where or when it appears.

Maurice Denham, the Mel Blanc of England, performed the voices of all the animals in the film. It is worth seeing the DVD for that alone.

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.

When, in the early 1990 decade, I saw this film, before read the book, I perceived it as a great revelation. Like many Romanians after the fall of Communist regime. This impression remains. Because the message is more powerful than the drawings or the art of adaptation. Because the film remains an useful warning. And, not the last, because it reminds the tension, fears, expectations, rumours and the shadow of Cold War of a specific period. So, in many senses, more significant than the artistic reasons, it is a masterpiece more than a classic.

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.

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.