I was cautiously intrigued by Andy Serkis’ upcoming “Animal Farm” adaptation, but first footage has just been released, and given the famously bleak source material, the cutesy animation style feels off. It all feels rather iff-putting.
The comedic casting choices—like Seth Rogen as Napoleon and Steve Buscemi as Squealer—are a tad off-putting as well. I really hope Serkis has, at the very least, maintained the novel’s dark ending. It’d be sacrilege if he changed it.
Serkis’ past directorial efforts (‘Venom 2’) have receive mixed reactions, but my curiosity can’t help but remain high for “Animal Farm,” especially with the film premiering soon at Annecy. Call it cautious hope, and apprehension, but definitely not indifference.
Serkis’ long-in-the-works animated adaptation of Orwell’s novella has been a passion project of his for nearly 15 years. With a screenplay by Nicholas Stoller (“The Muppets”), the film has a an A-list voice cast, featuring Rogen, 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.