Animal Farm Review: A complete failure of an adaptation
Classic literature isn't always my favorite, but George Orwell is one of my favorites of the era! While I was skeptical of this film, I was cautiously optimistic that it could prove me wrong and use the kiddy visuals to juxtapose with the story's terrifying elements. But once the reviews started to come in, I was quite sad to see that we likely got another bastardized adaptation of a great novel. Did my viewing experience align with the common take, or did I derive joy out of it in a disasterpiece sort of way? That's what I, Brighton Nelson of The Reel Ranker, will be delving into in today's review. Thanks so much for stopping by the site, and I hope you enjoy your time here!
Okay, well, let's just answer my question right out of the gate. This movie is offensively bad and wastes so much talent. The only thing I can say is the voice cast does a good job with the terrible hand they were dealt. The only people I could recommend this to are fellow Iman Vellani megafans like me who just wish she'd be in every movie. It was cool to hear her voice here, I guess. Judging that she's my "if I had to have a celebrity crush even though the concept is ridiculous", I think she deserves a whole lot more than playing some stupid pigs.
This film may draw on more elements from the original story than I expected. Its laughably bad, excessively juvenile execution is so bad, I wouldn't dare let my kids consume it, even if their definition of humor is a pig farting for at least 45 seconds straight. The film is an endurance test that's not for the faint of heart. I don't think a single person in my surprisingly packed theater made it to the end of the film—not even the kids who weren't covered by Regal Unlimited. Andy Serkis is awesome, but this was a complete misfire, and I hope he doesn't get too much crap for this in the future.
The film is so bland I can't even think of much else to say, except that I feel bad for the animators who had to bring to life an adaptation only comparable to pig slop itself. Their animation skills deserved better, just as this story does. In the end, adapting Animal Farm with less care and intelligence than the worst kids' show I can think of was never going to work out. I can't really think of any universe where a PG, kids' version of this story would work. I loved the idea of this being a cute yet bleak animated film, but it just doesn't work. Go watch the actually amazing, equally barnyard-focused film The Sheep Detectives instead: you won't be disappointed, and you'll thank me later!
The Reel Ranker Verdict
Reel or Unreel? - Unreel
The Reel Ranker Score: 9%
Letter Score: F-
Star Ranking: 0.5 out of 5
Animal Farm is a complete disaster of a film adaptation! Even the incredible talent that signed on for this film couldn't save a terrible script that loses the entire essence of the original story. It's sad to see that Animal Farm was a complete misfire: sanitizing a classic.
Interested in checking out some other recent animated film projects? Check them out below!
Brighton Nelson
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