First Look: Andy Serkis’ 15-Year Passion Project ‘Animal Farm’ Is Finally Ready, Premiering at Annecy

We have our first look image at Andy Serkis’ long-in-the-works animated adaptation of George Orwell’s “Animal Farm,” which has been a passion project of his for nearly 15 years. With a screenplay by Nicholas Stoller (“The Muppets”), the film is finally nearing release and will have its world premiere at the Annecy Film Festival this month.

Along with that update comes a stacked voice cast, featuring Seth Rogen, Steve Buscemi, Glenn Close, Kieran Culkin, Woody Harrelson, Kathleen Turner, and Serkis himself providing vocals.

Orwell’s classic novella, first published in 1945, is a scathing political allegory in which farm animals overthrow their human owner in the name of equality—only to watch their dreams decay as the pigs in charge become as tyrannical as the humans they replaced. The story is a sharp indictment of authoritarianism and a cautionary tale about the corrupting nature of power.

Adapting Animal Farm has always been a challenge; its subtlety, layered meaning, and dark tone make it difficult to translate to screen. But Serkis, known for pushing performance capture and digital storytelling forward, would like to think he’s the filmmaker who can finally crack the code and deliver a version that does Orwell’s message justice.