Animal Farm
American theatrical release poster
Directed by Andy Serkis
Screenplay by Nicholas Stoller[1]
Based on Animal Farm
by George Orwell
Produced by
  • Andy Serkis
  • Adam Nagle
  • Dave Rosenbaum
  • Jonathan Cavendish
Starring
  • Seth Rogen
  • Gaten Matarazzo
  • Steve Buscemi
  • Glenn Close
  • Laverne Cox
  • Kieran Culkin
  • Woody Harrelson
  • Jim Parsons
  • Andy Serkis
  • Kathleen Turner
  • Iman Vellani
Edited by Kevin Pavlovic
Music by Heitor Pereira
Animation by Amélie Chaput
Production
companies
  • Aniventure
  • Cinesite
  • The Imaginarium Studios
Distributed by Angel Studios
Release dates
  • 9 June 2025 (2025-06-09) (Annecy)
  • 1 May 2026 (2026-05-01) (United States)
Running time
96 minutes[2]
Countries
  • Canada[3]
  • United Kingdom[3]
  • United States[3]
Language English
Budget $35 million[4]
Box office $1.1 million[5][6]

Animal Farm (marketed as Animal Farm: A Cautionary Tail) 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, Andy 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 named Lucky.

The film 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.[7] The film received negative reviews from critics.

Plot

On Manor Farm, Farmer Jones, having missed his payments to the bank, is set to hand his farm over to Pilkington Industries, led by ruthless billionaire Frieda Pilkington, who intends to slaughter the livestock at a slaughterhouse. Power-hungry but slacking boar Napoleon mistakenly suspects the animals are being taken to a "Laughterhouse", but when a sow named Snowball sees the actual name of the facility, she encourages all the animals to rebel against the humans. The animals drive out their 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, Napoleon objects to Snowball’s plan to build a watermill and begins convincing the other animals that Snowball is hindering their freedom. Napoleon pressures Snowball into leaving, giving him absolute control of Animal Farm. Napoleon starts to interact with the bank and convinces the animals to engage in trade with humans. Pilkington, still insistent on owning the farm, begins to ally with Napoleon and the pigs. With the help of his lackey Squealer, Napoleon starts warping the rules of Animal Farm to begin favoring pigs.

Soon, life on Animal Farm starts to become miserable for the other animals, all while Napoleon and the pigs begin to enjoy a cozy lifestyle, behaving more and more like humans in the process. Piglet Lucky, Snowball’s former protege, whom Napoleon particularly takes a liking to as a son figure, begins questioning the regime when his girlfriend Puff leaves because of the conditions. His perception is further shattered when Napoleon decides to destroy the water dam surrounding Animal Farm and sends Lucky’s friend, the elderly workhorse Boxer, to be turned into glue. Feeling despondent, Lucky is motivated by elderly donkey Benjamin to rebel against Napoleon. Lucky and the other animals then stage a plan to ridicule Napoleon, before Pilkington begins to flood the farm. Lucky fights Napoleon, with the latter drowning to death after being trapped by the water tower. With Napoleon defeated, Lucky and all the other animals look up towards the stars.

Voice cast

  • Seth Rogen as Napoleon, a Saddleback boar and co-leader of the rebellion who rises to power at Animal Farm
  • Gaten Matarazzo as Lucky, a piglet torn between Napoleon and Snowball's teachings
  • Kieran Culkin as Squealer, a small boar and Napoleon's aide
  • Glenn Close as Freida Pilkington, Mr. Jones' neighbor and a billionaire scheming to take over Animal Farm. She is named for and loosely based on Mr. Pilkington and Mr. Frederick from the novel.
  • Steve Buscemi as Mr. Whymper, Pilkington's right hand man
  • Laverne Cox as Snowball, a sow and co-leader of the rebellion who is Napoleon's rival. This character was male in Orwell's book.
  • Woody Harrelson as Boxer, a hard-working shire horse who is Benjamin and Lucky's best friend
  • Jim Parsons as:
    • Carl, a sheep
    • Carl's flock
  • Andy Serkis as:
    • Farmer Jones, the original owner of the farm
    • Old Major, an elderly boar who inspires the animals to rise against humans. In contrast to the original novella and other adaptations, Major does not appear physically and instead provides the opening narration.
    • Randolph, a rooster
  • Kathleen Turner as Benjamin, an elderly, cynical donkey and Boxer and Lucky's best friend
  • Iman Vellani as Puff and Tammy, two show piglets and Lucky's friends

Production

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.[8] By October 2012, Serkis was announced to have taken over directorial duties, with the project being developed as a HFR-3D film.[9] In August 2018, Netflix purchased distribution rights to the film.[10][11][12] 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).[13]

By April 2022, it was announced that production had commenced as an animated film at Cinesite Studios, with a screenplay written by Nicholas Stoller.[14][15] Serkis also served as producer, alongside Adam Nagle, Dave Rosenbaum, and Jonathan Cavendish with both Stoller and Wyatt set to serve as executive producers.[16] 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.[17][18] 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.[19] Deadline Hollywood reported in May 2024 that Animal Farm finished production.[20]

In April 2025, the cast was announced, with Serkis, Seth Rogen, Steve Buscemi, Glenn Close, Iman Vellani, and Kieran Culkin among the additions.[21]

Release

Animal Farm had its world premiere on 9 June 2025, at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.[22] It premiered in the United Kingdom on 11 October 2025, at the BFI London Film Festival.[23] In December 2025, Angel Studios acquired the U.S. theatrical distribution rights for the film. It was released on 1 May 2026.[24]

Reception

Box office

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

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 25% of 48 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "All Animal Farm adaptations are equal, but some Animal Farm adaptations are more watchable than others."[25] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 28 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.[26] 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.[27]

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."[28]

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."[29] 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.[30]

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."[31] 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."[32]

References

  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]". Australian Classification Board. 14 April 2026. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
  3. ^ a b c "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 2 May 2026.
  6. ^ a b "Animal Farm - Box Office and Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved 2 May 2026.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ 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.
  19. ^ 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.
  20. ^ 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.
  21. ^ 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.
  22. ^ Milligan, Mercedes (23 April 2025). "Annecy Festival Reveals Highlights of a Jam-Packed 2025 Edition". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  23. ^ "Animal Farm". Retrieved 14 October 2025.
  24. ^ Ritman, Alex (12 December 2025). "Andy Serkis' 'Animal Farm' Animation Acquired by Angel, First Trailer Unveiled". Variety. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  25. ^ "Animal Farm". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 30 April 2026.
  26. ^ "Animal Farm". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
  27. ^ "Animal Farm". Cinemascore. Archived from the original on 2 January 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2026.
  28. ^ Debruge, Peter (9 June 2025). "'Animal Farm' Review: Andy Serkis' Sloppy Animated Adaptation Trades Political Insights for Potty Humor". Variety. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
  29. ^ 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.
  30. ^ Motamayor, Rafael (9 June 2025). "'Animal Farm' Review: Andy Serkis Brightens Up Orwell". IGN. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  31. ^ 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.
  32. ^ 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.