Search - Animal Farm on DVD

Still Impressive Animation of Orwell's Political Satire

Tsuyoshi | Kyoto, Japan | 08/20/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"What you see in this animated film is animals, but not necessarily friendly to humans. Or, they could be even sometimes very cruel to fellow creatures. But of course they should be, because this is an animated film version of George "1984" Orwell's biting satire of Stalinism. On the backcover you can see that this one "May NOT Suitable for Kids." I would say, "never." If you still insist, buy 1999 version of the same title, adapted with images friendlier to kids. This older one may scare many of children, who expect every animal should live in peace. Possibly, however, Wednesday of the Addams Family, who heartily disliked Disney productions, would love this film. Certainly this film has the same unusual kind of humor and wit as that family has. The story of "Animal Farm" concerns the rise and fall of the titular "Animal Farm" (formerly "Manor Farm") where poor animals were once tormented by tyranny of Mr. Jones, but no longer. Under the guidance of Old Major, the Great Pig, they made a revolution against humans, and succeeded. So, the liberated animals start their own life, with a pig Napoleon as their leader, but alas! they are not as wise as they thought. As you can judge from the short running time that barely exceeds 70 minutes, this 1954 adaptation of George Orwell political satire leaves a lot of its original book behind, intent on drawing out its essential spirit. Complaining viewers would find the change of the ending very lamentable, but the deed is done, and half a century ago, so let's take it as a kind of testimony of the time it was made when the Cold War is a very realistic thing.The most recommendable thing about the film would be its techinical aspects. The film is made with traditional skills of animation, and considering the time it was created, the images still retain its original power. Though it often reminds us of Disney's achievement (such as "Fantasia" or "Pinochio"), and probably owes much to this master of animation films, "Animal Farm" manages to impress us considerably, with its detailed descriptions of animals' movements. The sly humor here and there is effective, and most of all, the film doesn't pull its punch when the story requires it to show the deaths of animals (though this part is exactly the reason this film may not be suitable for children).The character designs are not inviting, with their faces that are far from cute and pretty, but this version of "Animal Farm" deserves our attention, not only for readers of George Orwell, but also for those who are interested in the animation history."