Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Thanks for the memories!

Powerful

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

This TV movie satire of George Orwell's "Animal Farm" is much better than the 1954 animated film of the book. As with that film, I was surprised that it should take Hollywood so long to make another film - 45 more years. And that, even 10 years after the fall of the Iron Curtain and the U.S.S.R. This film uses real animals with speaking voices, and live action scenes with actors and a farm setting. As such, I think it gives one a feel of greater reality. That's not in the animals being able to speak and organize, but that a government and society could actually rise to power by such manipulation and deceit. Somehow, the 1954 animated version had a cartoon air about it. And that made it seem more fable or fairy tale. This film also gives more details and stays closer to Orwell's book. Yet, it too deviates some. The ending is a big departure and smacks of Hollywood. Instead of leaving it for serious reflection as Orwell does in his book, this movie puts a happy face on the film with a ray of hope of a better future. It adds another character - Jessie, a female dog through whose eyes the story is told. She and a pup survive, along with a few other animals who had gone into hiding. The rest of the animals - mostly the pigs, died off in their gluttony and the farm went to ruins. The ending greatly weakened a serious and good educational aspect of the film. But for that, this film would rate one more star. This is one time when the filmmakers would best have stuck with the book's ending. That would have greatly enhanced the power of the film and its value as an educational tool. Still, this is a unique film in how it chronicles the ascent of Josef Stalin and the Soviet Union. It focuses on the deceit and manipulation of the masses. And, it very pointedly shows the gullibility of the populace to such tactics and control. It should be a film for all generations to watch.

The movie is well edited so the dialogue and movements seem more natural in most places. It has a few grim scenes but nothing too bad. I really like this movie a lot and the symbolism is conveyed nicely. Whether you're simply a little misanthropic or a history buff you'll probably like this movie quite a bit. The characters were very easy to relate to, at least in my opinion. The few songs in the movie are presented in a tasteful manner. This movie shouldn't be classified as a musical however. I think this movie would be great to show to kids in high school or maybe even middle school as it could be a good educational resource.

Regarded as one of the best books of 20th century, Animal Farm is a funny fable about some animals that, inspired by an old and wise pig, decide to banish the men and take control of the farm where they live. The story is clearly linked to Russian Revolution and we can see that some of pigs represent the leaders of the revolution, as Major represents Lenin, Snowball represents Trotsky and Napoleon represents Stalin. After they take control of the farm, the animals state 10 commandments that must be followed by every one. In the beginning all seems good, but later Napoleon takes the leadership and some strange things start to happen. The movie does good in showing many aspects of the book, with good effects and funny moments. My only complain is the very ending, that is different from the book and very disappointing...

I would have liked to have seen this version of George Orwell's classic, Animal Farm, to be animated rather than a live action film. I am not saying that the film is not worthy but I liked the older one with animation. I think anything with animals would be better off animated in the first place. They have a first rate cast including Kelsey Grammar, Julie Ormond, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Peter Postlethwaite as Mr. Jones in a noteworthy performance. I can see why Spielberg claims that Postlethwaite is one of his favorite actors or one of the best under-rated actors around. The film is satisfactory and updated enough for today's audiences.