Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily Entertainment GuideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsCannes Film FestivalStar WarsAsian Pacific American Heritage MonthSummer Watch GuideSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Animal Farm

  • TV Movie
  • 1999
  • PG
  • 1h 31m
IMDb RATING
6.0/10
6.7K
YOUR RATING
Ian Holm, Julia Ormond, Kelsey Grammer, Patrick Stewart, and Paul Scofield in Animal Farm (1999)
Home Video Trailer from Artisan
Play trailer1:11
1 Video
7 Photos
SatireComedyDramaFamily

The animals of a farm successfully revolt against its human owner, only to slide into a more brutal tyranny amongst themselves.The animals of a farm successfully revolt against its human owner, only to slide into a more brutal tyranny amongst themselves.The animals of a farm successfully revolt against its human owner, only to slide into a more brutal tyranny amongst themselves.

  • Director
    • John Stephenson
  • Writers
    • George Orwell
    • Alan Janes
    • Martyn Burke
  • Stars
    • Kelsey Grammer
    • Ian Holm
    • Julia Louis-Dreyfus
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.0/10
    6.7K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • John Stephenson
    • Writers
      • George Orwell
      • Alan Janes
      • Martyn Burke
    • Stars
      • Kelsey Grammer
      • Ian Holm
      • Julia Louis-Dreyfus
    • 98User reviews
    • 8Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy
      • 2 wins & 5 nominations total

    Videos1

    Animal Farm
    Trailer 1:11
    Animal Farm

    Photos6

    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster

    Top cast36

    Edit
    Kelsey Grammer
    Kelsey Grammer
    • Snowball
    • (voice)
    Ian Holm
    Ian Holm
    • Squealer
    • (voice)
    Julia Louis-Dreyfus
    Julia Louis-Dreyfus
    • Mollie
    • (voice)
    Julia Ormond
    Julia Ormond
    • Jessie
    • (voice)
    Pete Postlethwaite
    Pete Postlethwaite
    • Benjamin (voice)…
    Paul Scofield
    Paul Scofield
    • Boxer
    • (voice)
    Patrick Stewart
    Patrick Stewart
    • Napoleon
    • (voice)
    Peter Ustinov
    Peter Ustinov
    • Old Major
    • (voice)
    Alan Stanford
    • Farmer Pilkington
    Caroline Gray
    • Mrs. Jones
    Gail Fitzpatrick
    • Mrs. Pilkington
    Jimmy Keogh
    • Dennis
    Noel O'Donovan
    • Eric
    Gerard Walsh
    • Farmer Fredericks
    Jer O'Leary
    Jer O'Leary
    • Farmer
    Sean Fitzsimons
    • Pilkington's Son
    Conor Kirwan
    • Pilkington's Son
    Charles Dale
    Charles Dale
    • Moses
    • (voice)
    • (as Charlie Dale)
    • …
    • Director
      • John Stephenson
    • Writers
      • George Orwell
      • Alan Janes
      • Martyn Burke
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews98

    6.06.7K
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10

    Featured reviews

    5Avwillfan89

    Animal Farm is NOT a children's film

    I really do wish people would get that into their heads. Just because it's about barnyard animals with no sex or adult language, doesn't mean that's necessarily for kids. It's, as many people well know, a metaphor for the atrocities of the Soviet Union under Stalin. It's bleak, nasty and upsetting, but it speaks the truth on the hypocrisy of leaderships, corruption and fascism.

    And yet they decide to portray the story as though it's a children's film, with live action talking animals, with a special lighting to make it look child-like and family friendly. No! This is not what George Orwell's tale is about. The book is extremely depressing, but in this film, and especially the ending, they made it look like the things that happened were no big deal.

    It's true that in real life, Stalin's regime collapsed on itself, "a victim of its own malice" in the end, but it would have been better if it wasn't depicted in the movie. Jesse, the sheepdog, serves as a narrator, and seems to predict and see through the evils of Napoleon, and yet does nothing about it. All the animals in the book apart from the pigs could not see what was going on due their myopia and little intelligence. And the violence was also very subdued.

    If another adaptation should be done, it should be more gritty and truer to the novel, and to get the point the Orwell was intending point out.
    1antiwolf

    Orwell is spinning in his grave.

    If I had looked at the back of the video box, and seen that it was from Hallmark, I would have put it back on the fence. Thankfully, I checked it out from the library, so I didn't pay to watch this.

    The grievances of the animals were valid. Orwell never repudiates Old Major's message, as does this movie. In the book, no animal wants the humans back. The movie shows that all the animals need is the right master, and everything will be happy.

    This ain't Animal Farm. Read the book instead.
    5earnail

    Misses the point of Animal Farm

    I was disappointed to find that this version of Animal Farm completely fails to convey the fundamental message of Animal Farm.

    George Orwell's novel is about the deception, the cruelty, and the hypocrisy of the pigs' control of the farm. The reason it is such a good book is that it shows the reader how the situations slides from a seemingly democratic revolution to a bloody tyranny.

    The 1954 animation of Animal Farm portrays this excellently; the scene where Boxer is carried away is often mentioned as being absolutely heart-wrenching. However, in the new edition, I remember trying to feel the same abhorrent turmoil but finding that it just wasn't there.

    The story seems to be told as if it were from a children's adventure book. It most certainly is not. Admirable filming with real animals counts for nothing when the whole reason for being of the story is not expressed.

    If you want to experience the sheer force of the story of Animal Farm, watch the old version.
    ywwg

    Tacked on ending ruins the whole thing

    It's been a while since I've read the book, but for the most part the show captures the feeling of dread, hopelessness, and frustration the animals felt on the farm. As with any condensation of book to movie details are lost, but the overall scope remains intact.

    The major problem with the movie was the ending. The book ends with the animals not being able to tell the difference between pig and man (a scene which is done pretty well, but could have been better). In this version, we still have ten minutes left. While I can't spoil the ending (though it's not much of a spoil), let's say it feels incredibly unrealistic and improbable given the situation. Then there is a final monologue about hope. Blech. All movies are equal, but movies with bad endings are less equal than others.
    8Sylviastel

    Preferred the Older One!

    I would have liked to have seen this version of George Orwell's classic, Animal Farm, to be animated rather than a live action film. I am not saying that the film is not worthy but I liked the older one with animation. I think anything with animals would be better off animated in the first place. They have a first rate cast including Kelsey Grammar, Julie Ormond, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Peter Postlethwaite as Mr. Jones in a noteworthy performance. I can see why Spielberg claims that Postlethwaite is one of his favorite actors or one of the best under-rated actors around. The film is satisfactory and updated enough for today's audiences.

    More like this

    Revolting Rhymes
    7.8
    Revolting Rhymes
    Free Birds
    5.8
    Free Birds
    The Sarah Jane Adventures
    7.4
    The Sarah Jane Adventures
    Alice in Wonderland
    7.2
    Alice in Wonderland
    Animal Farm
    Animal Farm
    The Apple Dumpling Gang
    6.4
    The Apple Dumpling Gang
    Charlotte's Web
    6.9
    Charlotte's Web
    Phineas and Ferb
    8.1
    Phineas and Ferb
    The Barefoot Artist
    6.6
    The Barefoot Artist
    Barbie: Fairytopia
    6.1
    Barbie: Fairytopia
    Meet the Small Potatoes
    6.6
    Meet the Small Potatoes
    Our Vines Have Tender Grapes
    7.6
    Our Vines Have Tender Grapes

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      In a revised first draft of the script, co-Writer Martyn Burke had Jessie set to be a six-month-old male Border Collie. This idea was later dropped, and Jessie was made an adult female instead, to give the audiences more sympathy for the main character.
    • Goofs
      When the laws painted on the side of the barn are read for the first time, in the close-up shots some of them are already in the altered forms they take later in the movie.
    • Quotes

      Snowball: The only good human is a dead one.

    • Connections
      Featured in Secrets and Mysteries of Animal Farm (1999)
    • Soundtracks
      Beasts of the World
      Written by Richard Harvey

      Performed by Peter Ustinov, Kelsey Grammer, Patrick Stewart, Ian Holm & Cast

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 3, 1999 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Колгосп тварин
    • Filming locations
      • Luggala Estate, County Wicklow, Ireland
    • Production companies
      • Animal Farm Productions Ltd.
      • Hallmark Entertainment
      • TNT
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $23,000,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 31 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Ian Holm, Julia Ormond, Kelsey Grammer, Patrick Stewart, and Paul Scofield in Animal Farm (1999)
    Top Gap
    By what name was Animal Farm (1999) officially released in India in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb app
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    Follow IMDb on social
    Get the IMDb app
    For Android and iOS
    Get the IMDb app
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • License IMDb Data
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.