An animated reimagining of George Orwell’s Animal Farm has provoked fury online after a trailer dropped on Friday evening.
The feature-length flick, helmed by Lord of the Rings star Andy Serkis, has faced accusations of fundamentally betraying the author’s cautionary message about totalitarianism.
The CGI adaptation, which took 14 years to complete and faced numerous difficulties securing distribution, shifts its focus away from Mr Orwell’s 1945 critique of Soviet-style authoritarianism.
Instead, the film takes aim at capitalism and corporate greed, introducing a wealthy antagonist not present in the original text.
The animated makeover will hit cinemas next year
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Several critics have expressed dismay at what they perceive as a complete abandonment of Mr Orwell’s bleak warning about Marxist utopianism.
Historian and GB News regular Rafe Heydel-Mankoo was one vocal critic who took to X to fume: “Animal Farm as imagined by woke Hollywood is as appalling as you might imagine.
“The objectionable Americanisation aside, this cringeworthy trailer suggests a complete perversion of the book. A critique of Stalinist Russia, the betrayal of revolutionary ideals, and how ideological regimes can devolve into totalitarianism appears to have been turned into a – sadly predictable – attack on capitalism.
“Bizarre and depressing. But what can one expect from a progressive Hollywood that openly embraces socialism. Animal Farm’s themes and warnings have arguably never been more pertinent to the West than today.
Andy Serkis is involved with the project
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“This is the perfect time for a film adaptation of Orwell’s classic novel. But this children’s comedy travesty is not it. Orwell must be spinning in his grave.”
Several other social media users were in agreement. “Honestly, the most offensive part of this take on Animal Farm is that it turns a socialist’s warning of how socialist impulses can be subverted by authoritarians into a critique of capitalism. It guts the entirety of the book’s message,” one argued.
A second agreed: “So some of the worst Woke people in Hollywood like Seth Rogan decided to adapt George Orwell’s seminal anti-Communist work Animal Farm into an anti-capitalist movie. They literally INVERTED Orwell’s message. What the actual f***?”
And another weighed in: “How do you f*** up the core message of Animal Farm so badly?
Animal Farm has been accused of ‘missing the point’ of Orwell’s novel
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“This would be a perfectly fine adaptation if you removed the evil tech company that’s in every f***ing movie these days. The whole message of the book is that the pigs are corrupted by power, not an outside influence.”
The adaptation introduces Frieda Pilkington, a billionaire character voiced by Glenn Close, who was created specifically for this version and spends much of the narrative scheming to seize control of the farm.
Napoleon, Mr Orwell’s stand-in for Joseph Stalin, is portrayed by Seth Rogen and appears diminished as a threat compared to this new corporate villain.
Promotional footage depicts the character driving a vehicle bearing a striking resemblance to Elon Musk’s Tesla Cybertruck, though producers have insisted any similarity was unintentional.
First trailer for Andy Serkis’ animated adaptation of ‘ANIMAL FARM’
Starring Seth Rogen, Gaten Matarazzo, Steve Buscemi, Glenn Close, Laverne Cox, Kieran Culkin, Woody Harrelson, Jim Parsons, Kathleen Turner and Iman Vellani.
In theaters on May 1, 2026 pic.twitter.com/2nP2G07Hrm
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) December 12, 2025
Mr Serkis has also fundamentally altered the story’s conclusion, replacing Mr Orwell’s devastating final image with an upbeat ending.
Speaking at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival last July, the director explained: “We wanted some hope.”
The film culminates with the animals successfully deposing their pig overlords and planning a brighter future.
The tonal transformation from Mr Orwell’s grim satire to what reviewers have described as crude, family-oriented comedy has drawn particular scorn.
Animal Farm
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For instance, one of the book’s most harrowing sequences, depicting the loyal workhorse Boxer being sent to the glue factory, is initially treated as a joke in the film, with animals misreading a slaughterhouse sign as “laughterhouse” when the letter S is obscured.
The film features a voice cast including Woody Harrelson as Boxer, Kieran Culkin as Squealer, and Stranger Things actor Gaten Matarazzo as Lucky, a young pig invented for this adaptation.