Film Review – Animal Farm (2025)

      Animal Farm, 2025.

      Directed by Andy Serkis.

      Featuring the voice talents of Seth Rogen, Gaten Matarazzo, Woody Harrelson, Kieran Culkin, Glenn Close, Andy Serkis, Steve Buscemi, Kathleen Turner, Jim Parsons, Laverne Cox, and Iman Vellani.

      SYNOPSIS:

      After an animal revolution, the pigs take control, transforming the farm into a harsh dictatorship.

      The idea of adapting George Orwell’s timeless classic, Animal Farm, into family-oriented content raises valid concerns about its execution. The main issue lies in how uninspired and simplistic this adaptation turns out to be.

      One of the initial jokes features Seth Rogen’s pig, Napoleon, using his recognizable laugh while awkwardly asking the other animals not to find it funny. Additionally, there’s a song titled “Barnyard Rap” during the opening credits that nonchalantly names every major voice actor in the film, leading viewers to gradually lose respect for them (Kieran Culkin, what sort of leverage does someone have over you to land a role here?). The hip-hop track comes off as grating, and within the same sequence showcasing the barnyard animals revolting against their inebriated owner who has neglected to feed them, a cow performatively rubs its genitals on someone’s face after leaping into the air.

      The most disheartening aspect of this project is that it comes from director Andy Serkis and screenwriter Nicholas Stoller. The former is well-versed in creating evocative motion capture, which initially gave this film some promise, but the first look revealed it merely features generic animation, well below the standards expected in 2026. As for Stoller, he has previously collaborated with Seth Rogen on genuinely funny comedies, making this lack of effort all the more surprising. The film relies heavily on crude humor, like fart jokes and pigs in luxury cars, while failing to retain the essence of Animal Farm and its underlying themes, reducing the farm itself to a mere backdrop.

      However, it cannot be claimed that the filmmakers are oblivious to Animal Farm; there is a basic premise of animals revolting and taking over the farm, with the wise leader Snowball (voiced by Laverne Cox) creating a series of rules for harmony and equality, all of which get broken as Napoleon gains influence over the other animals, even suggesting that building water mills for electricity and storing harvests for winter is a dull existence. The issue is that their grasp of the novel seems to have been distorted through a game of Telephone, resulting in a loss of substance.

      For a fleeting moment, I will give the film some credit for presenting a somewhat Trumpian depiction of how swiftly and readily Napoleon (based on Joseph Stalin in the novel) dismisses a more intelligent woman, manipulating those around him to remove her from power, showcasing his insatiable greed and ambition for a life of excess. One could even see parallels between Trump and a pig, but the overwhelming majority of this film, around 99.6597800%, is too childish and not thoughtful or intelligent enough to suggest that it has anything meaningful to convey beyond a gradual destruction of the source material. On a technical level, the animation is adequate but outdated, and the voice cast is impressive, making it moderately watchable even though their performances feel lackluster.

      Ultimately, it falls on Lucky (Gaten Matarazzo, portraying a new character) to navigate his crumbling friendship with Napoleon (slowly starting to question everything he stands for) and his loyalty to other animals, including his long-time hardworking horse buddy, Boxer (voiced by Woody Harrelson), while managing a crush on one of a pair of piglet twins voiced by Iman Vellani. This journey also pits him against greedy humans (voiced by Steve Buscemi and Glenn Close), as the pigs begin to blur the lines with humans by walking on two legs, drinking alcohol (referred to as “naughty juice” for some inexplicable reason), becoming addicted to modern technology, crashing cars into pools, and falling prey to a greed for wealth and material possessions.

      The remnants of Animal Farm are present, but the essence and impact have been stripped away for typical animated talking animal antics. While the overarching message that all animals are equal serves as a valuable lesson for younger audiences about deserving fair treatment, much of the experience is overshadowed by numerous poor comedic attempts that ultimately counteract each other (this receives a second star solely because I've seen worse in recent animated films).

      Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ / Movie: ★ ★

      Robert Kojder