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Animal Farm (2025 film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Animal Farm
American theatrical release poster
Directed byAndy Serkis
Screenplay byNicholas Stoller[1]
Based on
Animal Farm
by George Orwell
Produced by
Starring
Edited byKevin Pavlovic
Music byHeitor Pereira
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 9 June 2025 (2025-06-09) (Annecy)
  • 1 May 2026 (2026-05-01) (United States)
  • 17 July 2026 (2026-07-17) (United Kingdom)
Running time
94 minutes[2]
Countries
LanguageEnglish
Budget$35 million[4]
Box office$6.2 million[5][6]

Animal Farm (marketed as Animal Farm: A Cautionary Tail)[7][8] is a 2025 animated comedy film directed by Andy Serkis and written by Nicholas Stoller, loosely based on the 1945 novella by George Orwell. The film stars Seth Rogen, Gaten Matarazzo, Steve Buscemi, Glenn Close, Laverne Cox, Kieran Culkin, Woody Harrelson, Jim Parsons, Serkis, Kathleen Turner, and Iman Vellani. It is the third adaptation of the novella, following the 1954 animated film and the 1999 live-action film, with an alternative, coming-of-age plot that introduces new characters such as a piglet called Lucky, an original character who is also the central protagonist.

Animal Farm premiered at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on 9 June 2025, and was released in the United States and Canada on 1 May 2026, by Angel Studios.[9] The film received generally negative reviews from critics, and was a box-office bomb, grossing $6.2 million against a $35 million budget.[10]

Plot

[edit]

After failing to make his mortgage payments, Farmer Jones's Manor Farm is repossessed by the bank. The farm is set to be sold to Pilkington Industries, led by ruthless billionaire Frieda Pilkington, who intends to slaughter the animals. While the animals initially believe they are being taken on vacation to a "laughterhouse", a sow named Snowball realizes their true fate and decides that the animals should rebel against the humans. The animals drive out the owners and take control of the farm, renaming it 'Animal Farm'. Under Snowball's watch, they establish an autonomous government with a code of laws designed to prevent them from becoming like humans.

As the animals struggle to learn how to run the farm on their own, fellow pig Napoleon objects to Snowball's plan to build a watermill for electricity and begins convincing the other animals that Snowball is hindering their freedom. Napoleon pressures Snowball into leaving by Mr. Jones's dogs, seizing control of Animal Farm. Meanwhile, in an attempt to take the farm once more, Mr. Whymper, a worker from the bank, addresses to the pigs that the bank requires the farm to pay $1,000 per month, or it'll be end up repossessed again. Snowball's former protege, Lucky, whom Napoleon takes a liking to as a son figure, suggested that they would raise the funds by operating a market, which worked well as Napoleon sees this opportunity by moving all the pigs in the farmhouse, now that they've become business pigs. Using their extra money to shop at Pilkington's mall. Pilkington, still insistent on owning the farm, begins to ally with Napoleon and the pigs, giving them free things. With the help of his lackey Squealer, Napoleon starts warping the rules of Animal Farm to begin favoring pigs and humans, convincing the animals that they misremembered the original.

Soon, life on Animal Farm becomes miserable for the other animals, all while Napoleon and the pigs begin to enjoy an affluent lifestyle, behaving more and more like humans in the process by walking on two legs, wear clothes, and drink alcohol. During this, Lucky begins questioning the regime when fellow pig Puff leaves due to the conditions. His perception is further shattered when Napoleon tells Lucky his plans to sell all of the animals that are not pigs, after an injury to his horse friend, Boxer, happened when saving one of Pilkington's workers before being shipped off to a glue factory, upon rebuilding the watermill into a dam as part of the deal from Pilkington.

Feeling despondent after escaping from Napoleon's dogs, Lucky is motivated by the elderly donkey Benjamin to rebel against Napoleon, apologizing to the other animals about his behavior and stage a plan to ridicule Napoleon as he addresses Pilkington's company over the new Hydroelectric dam. However, the dam breaks when Lucky's plan around stuffing it with fireworks as they ignite, flooding the farm and destroying Pilkington's company in the process. Pilkington tries to escape the flood with her drone Moses but falls into the water. After both of them end up on the water tower, Napoleon tries to fight Lucky after he tries to make him leave, but ends up drowning after being trapped by the water tower. Lucky makes it out alive on shore with the other animals while Mr. Whymper drifts away to let the animals keep the farm to themselves.

With Napoleon and Pilkington gone, Lucky and all the other animals look up towards the stars, uncertain but hopeful about their future.

Voice cast

[edit]

Production

[edit]

In July 2011, a feature film adaptation of George Orwell's 1945 novella Animal Farm was announced to be in development, with Rupert Wyatt serving as director. Wyatt and Andy Serkis, who had worked together on Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), were slated to serve as co-screenwriters.[12] By October 2012, Serkis was announced to have taken over directorial duties, with the project being developed as a HFR-3D film.[13] In August 2018, Netflix purchased distribution rights to the film.[14][15][16] Serkis began pre-production on the project, after completing his directing duties for the Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU) film Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021).[17]

By April 2022, it was announced that production had commenced as an animated film at Cinesite Studios, with a screenplay written by Nicholas Stoller.[18][19] Serkis also served as producer, alongside Adam Nagle, Dave Rosenbaum, and Jonathan Cavendish with both Stoller and Wyatt set to serve as executive producers.[20] Connie Nartonis Thompson produced the film on behalf of Cinesite. The project is a joint-venture production between Cinesite, Aniventure, and the Imaginarium Productions, with Netflix dropping the distribution rights.[21][22] In March 2023, during an interview with Screen Rant, Serkis stated that one year of production had passed while another year was left for the film.[23] Deadline Hollywood reported in May 2024 that Animal Farm finished production.[24]

In April 2025, the cast was announced, with Serkis, Seth Rogen, Steve Buscemi, Glenn Close, Iman Vellani, and Kieran Culkin among the additions.[25]

Release

[edit]

Animal Farm had its world premiere on 9 June 2025, at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.[26] It premiered in the United Kingdom on 11 October 2025, at the BFI London Film Festival.[27] In December 2025, Angel Studios acquired the U.S. theatrical distribution rights for the film. It was released on 1 May 2026.[28] Vue Lumière will release the film in the United Kingdom and Ireland on 17 July 2026.[29]

Reception

[edit]

Box office

[edit]

Animal Farm grossed $1.15 million from 2,600 theaters on its first day of release in the United States and Canada, including Thursday night previews.[6]

Critical response

[edit]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 30% of 66 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.4/10. The website's consensus reads: "All Animal Farm adaptations are equal, but some Animal Farm adaptations are more watchable than others."[30]

Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 29 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.[31] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C-" on an A+ to F scale, the lowest grade ever for an animated film and for Angel Studios.[32]

Peter Debruge of Variety wrote: "Serkis' 21st-century update dilutes Orwell's political allegory in favor of what passes for something more 'audience friendly': His approach adopts the celebrity voices, cutesy character designs and antic, mile-a-minute energy of big-studio American toons. The result isn't nearly as polished as Illumination or DreamWorks movies, but 'good enough for government work,' as the saying goes."[33]

Pete Hammond of Deadline Hollywood wrote: "With a screenplay, alternately funny and frighteningly perceptive by Nicholas Stoller, this gorgeously animated version is not outwardly trying to be political but nevertheless is uncannily meeting its time and proving to be a little too close for comfort to America's drift toward authoritarianism."[34] Rafael Motamayor's IGN review noted that Serkis shifts Orwell's allegory from Stalinism to modern corporate corruption, trading a dystopian tone for "something a little more uplifting." He praised the visuals and cast, but felt the adaptation "lost some teeth" compared to the novel.[35]

Tim Robey, writing for The Daily Telegraph, gave it one out of five stars, heavily criticizing the film: "A Trump-era makeover for this classic is totally misjudged, from terrible songs to toilet humour."[36] Mark Kennedy rated the film zero out of four stars in an Associated Press review, writing that "screenwriter Nicholas Stoller and director Andy Serkis' awfully misguided Disneyfication of one of the greatest allegorical satires in the English language is a cinematic car crash."[37] In Civitas Outlook, Titus Techera wrote that the film "completely betrayed Orwell's story."[38]

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ "Animal Farm - WGA Directory". Writers Guild of America West. 27 November 2024. Archived from the original on 24 April 2026. Retrieved 2 May 2026.
  2. ↑ "Animal Farm (PG)". Irish Film Classification Office. 26 June 2026. Retrieved 26 June 2026.
  3. Jump up to: 1 2 3 "Animal Farm". Annecy Festival. Archived from the original on 13 May 2025. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
  4. ↑ Walker, Patrik (29 April 2026). "Ahead of New Lord of the Rings Movie, Andy Serkis' New Film Debuts With Underwhelming Rotten Tomatoes Score". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2 May 2026.
  5. ↑ "Animal Farm (2025)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
  6. Jump up to: 1 2 "Animal Farm - Box Office and Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
  7. ↑ "A Star-Studded Animated 'Animal Farm' Adaptation Just Hit Cinemas". Plant Based News. London, England. 7 May 2026. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
  8. ↑ "YOUR OPINION IS WRONG". Angel Studios. Provo, Utah United States of America. 7 May 2026. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
  9. ↑ Barber, Nicholas (28 April 2026). "Star Wars to The Devil Wears Prada 2: 10 of the best films to watch this May". BBC. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
  10. ↑ Scott, Ryan (7 May 2026). "Andy Serkis' New Movie Based On A Classic Book Flopped At The Box Office". slashfilm.com. Retrieved 13 May 2026.[better source needed]
  11. ↑ Davis, Victoria (1 May 2026). "Andy Serkis and Cinesite Talk Gnashers, Nostrils and Noir in 'Animal Farm'". Animation World Network. Retrieved 2 May 2026.
  12. ↑ Ward, Kate (6 July 2011). "Andy Serkis working on new 'Animal Farm' film". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 5 July 2021. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  13. ↑ Giardina, Carolyn (19 October 2012). "Andy Serkis to Direct Adaptation of 'Animal Farm'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 5 September 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  14. ↑ McNary, Dave (1 August 2018). "Netflix Buys Andy Serkis' 'Animal Farm' Adaptation". Variety. Archived from the original on 1 August 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  15. ↑ Giardina, Carolyn (August 2018). "Andy Serkis to Direct 'Animal Farm' Adaptation for Netflix". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 5 July 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  16. ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr. (1 August 2018). "Netflix Acquires George Orwell's 'Animal Farm'; Andy Serkis Directs & Matt Reeves Produces". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 2 August 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  17. ↑ Shirey, Paul (10 October 2021). "Andy Serkis Will Direct Animal Farm Next After Venom 2". ScreenRant. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  18. ↑ Grobar, Matt (19 April 2022). "Andy Serkis Directing Animated Adaptation Of George Orwell Classic 'Animal Farm' Penned By Nicholas Stoller". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 20 April 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  19. ↑ Giardina, Carolyn (19 April 2022). "Andy Serkis Teams With Cinesite on 'Animal Farm' Adaptation". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 20 November 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  20. ↑ Romanchick, Shane (20 April 2022). "'Animal Farm': Andy Serkis to Direct Animated Adaptation of Classic George Orwell Novel". Collider. Archived from the original on 21 April 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  21. ↑ Yossman, K.J. (20 April 2022). "Andy Serkis to Direct Animated Adaptation of 'Animal Farm' for Cinesite". Variety. Archived from the original on 20 April 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  22. ↑ Anderson, Jenna (19 April 2022). "Andy Serkis Offers Animal Farm Movie Update After Directing Venom: Let There Be Carnage". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on 21 April 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  23. ↑ Hullender, Tatiana (25 March 2023). "Andy Serkis On Luther: The Fallen Sun And Animal Farm". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on 1 April 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  24. ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr. (15 May 2024). "Peter Jackson, Andy Serkis & Philippa Boyens Explain Why They're Returning To Middle-Earth For 'The Lord Of The Rings: The Hunt For Gollum' 23 Years After Cannes Saved The Billion-Dollar Franchise". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 15 May 2024. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
  25. ↑ Lang, Brent (22 April 2025). "Andy Serkis 'Animal Farm' Animated Film Casts Seth Rogen, Glenn Close, Woody Harrelson and More in Voice Roles (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 22 April 2025.
  26. ↑ Milligan, Mercedes (23 April 2025). "Annecy Festival Reveals Highlights of a Jam-Packed 2025 Edition". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  27. ↑ "Animal Farm". Retrieved 14 October 2025.
  28. ↑ Ritman, Alex (12 December 2025). "Andy Serkis' 'Animal Farm' Animation Acquired by Angel, First Trailer Unveiled". Variety. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  29. ↑ "Animal Farm". Digital Cinema Media. Retrieved 26 June 2026.
  30. ↑ "Animal Farm". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  31. ↑ "Animal Farm". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  32. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (2 May 2026). "Box Office: 'Devil Wears Prada 2' Banking $75M-$80M U.S. Opening". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 1 May 2026. Retrieved 2 May 2026.
  33. ↑ Debruge, Peter (9 June 2025). "'Animal Farm' Review: Andy Serkis' Sloppy Animated Adaptation Trades Political Insights for Potty Humor". Variety. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
  34. ↑ Hammond, Pete (9 June 2025). "'Animal Farm' Review: Andy Serkis Directs Seth Rogen And All-Star Voice Cast In Clever And Chilling Take On Orwell's Classic Novella – Annecy Animation Festival". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
  35. ↑ Motamayor, Rafael (9 June 2025). "'Animal Farm' Review: Andy Serkis Brightens Up Orwell". IGN. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  36. ↑ Robey, Tim (15 October 2025). "This Animal Farm is so bad, it's enough to turn George Orwell fascist". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 18 December 2025.
  37. ↑ Kennedy, Mark (27 April 2026). "Movie Review: A flatulence-filled 'Animal Farm' for tots turns a masterpiece into cinematic manure". AP News. Retrieved 28 April 2026.
  38. ↑ Techera, Titus. "The Rebooted Animal Farm's New Villain: Capitalism". Civitas Outlook. Retrieved 4 June 2026.
[edit]
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