Story

When a drunken and inept farmer fails to pay his mortgage, the bank forecloses on his property, with the assistance of a neighbouring businesswoman Freida Pilkington (voice of Glenn Close). The plan is to slaughter the farm animals that haven’t wandered off or starved.

The animals are determined not to become food, however, so they make a bid for freedom and fight the humans to take over the farm. Led by wise pig Snowball (voice of Laverne Cox), the animals make a set of rules based on the principle that all animals are equal.

Jealous and corrupt pig Napoleon (voice of Seth Rogen) wants the power that Snowball has earned and the respect that the little piglet Lucky (voice of Gaten Matarazzo) has gained. Napoleon manipulates the animals into believing that Snowball doesn’t have their best interests at heart and arranges for her banishment from Animal Farm. Seizing leadership for himself, Napoleon starts changing the rules to suit his own desires. He also makes life as easy as possible for the pigs while classifying the other animals as less important citizens of the farm.

When Pilkington decides to exploit Napoleon’s greed for her own gain, things continue to spiral out of control at the farm and Lucky starts to see Napoleon for who he truly is. It looks as though all is lost and the animals’ fight for freedom will end in tyranny.

But sometimes it takes only one voice to refuse silence and one small act of courage to change everything.

Themes

Corruption; greed; propaganda; injustice; manipulation; scapegoating; materialism; the abuse of power; betrayal; communism and the fragility of democracy

Violence

Animal Farm has some violence. For example:

• The animals accuse the humans of locking them in cages and taking their milk, eggs and wool.
• A horse and donkey kick humans.
• Pigs knock over men with a pitchfork.
• Two men attack a piglet with a taser.
• A farmer is slapped in the face with a cow udder.
• Men in plastic suits spray the animals with water from a high-pressure hose.
• A sheep is accidentally sheared when he gets tangled up with a whipper snipper.
• Cows are shown in discomfort because their udders are overfull.
• A pig recounts how a farmer turned half his family into bacon.
• A pig breaks his leg jumping from a barn loft.
• A pig drives a car into a swimming pool.
• Cows are transported in a truck. It briefly looks like one cow is being tortured.
• A waterwheel is blown up with explosives.
• A tractor slips off an embankment, and a man is pinned beneath its front bucket.
• A horse breaks its leg trying to save the man.
• Some vicious dogs chase Lucky and try to attack him.
• A rooster tries to stamp out an impending fireworks explosion. His efforts backfire and he falls into the compartment with the fireworks, which propel him into the sky. He eventually falls back to the farm, singed and blackened but otherwise OK.
• A dam cracks and then bursts, causing a flash flood at the farm.
• A car is covered by a huge wave.
• Napoleon tries to strangle and drown Lucky.
• Napoleon is trapped under a metal barrel that drags him down into the water. Lucky is dragged down too as the pair scuffle. It looks like Lucky is going to drown.
• There are numerous images that shows pigs as historical figures. For example, they’re shown as Egyptians whipping their pig slaves; as Julius Caesar being stabbed; as vicious Vikings with axes and weapons; as pilots flying planes while firing machine guns; and in a group pulling down a pig version of Saddam Hussein.

Sexual references

Animal Farm has some sexual references. For example:

• Napoleon refers to himself as the ‘sexiest swine alive’.
• A female pig flirts with Napoleon in a spa.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

Animal Farm shows some use of substances. For example:

• An alcoholic farmer drunkenly falls into the side of a big truck. His house is later shown littered with beer bottles and cans.
• The pigs are frequently shown with ‘naughty juice’. They drink champagne, beer, martinis and fancy alcoholic beverages. Occasionally they seem to be passed out on the farmhouse furniture.
• One character asks another, ‘Were you drinking?’

Nudity and sexual activity

Animal Farm has some nudity and sexual activity. For example, Napoleon encourages Lucky to get the attention of a female pig by shaking his bare bottom at her. He and Napoleon gyrate in front of the female pig and her female friends.

Product placement

There’s no product placement in Animal Farm.

Coarse language

Animal Farm has some coarse language, name-calling and insults, including ‘stupid’, ‘dork’, ‘freak’, ‘dumb’, ‘ass’, ‘loser’, ‘shut up’, ‘jerk’, ‘idiot’, ‘What the oink does that mean?’, ‘big, whiney loser’ and ‘Sucky, smelly, disgusting, ignorant animal’.

Ideas to discuss with your children

Animal Farm is a political animated drama based on the highly acclaimed 1945 novel of the same name by George Orwell. This might look like a family movie but because of its heavy themes and dark story, Animal Farm is best suited to families with children aged over 10 years.

These are the main messages from Animal Farm:

• No-one is always right.
• True freedom comes from working hard – not because we have to but because we choose to.
• Real progress, justice and truth happens when ordinary individuals stay informed and united, and guard against manipulation, corruption and exploitation.

Values in Animal Farm that you could reinforce with your children include courage, integrity, justice, equality and responsibility.

Animal Farm could also give you the chance to talk with your children about the real-life consequences of things like:

• abusing power
• showing blind loyalty or obedience instead of thinking for yourself
• shifting blame or scapegoating others to avoid taking responsibility
• promoting inequality for your own gain.
• using fear as a tool to control others.