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Animal Farm

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Animal Farm

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• Animation
• Drama

• 1954
• John Halas
• 69 mins
• PG

Summary

Animated political satire based on the novel by George Orwell. Farmer Jones's animals revolt against their cruel, drunken owner and, led by pigs Napoleon and Snowball, begin running the farm on their own. But what starts as a democracy gradually develops into a dictatorship in which the pigs become the elite, with the powerful and corrupt Napoleon as their leader.

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Review

A star rating of 4 out of 5.

David Parkinson

Made by the award-winning husband-and-wife team of John Halas and Joy Batchelor, this adaptation of George Orwell's searing political allegory was the first feature-length cartoon produced in Britain. Having decided to target an adult audience, the directors had to create characters that were not only faithful to the novel, but were also capable of arousing emotions without resorting to Disney cuteness. Its success in bringing to life the dictatorial Napoleon, the idealistic Snowball and the noble Boxer is aided by the amazingly individual voices provided by one man, Maurice Denham. This provocative and polished production is an all-too-rare attempt to make an intelligent and entertaining animation for adults.

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7.2/10

How to watch

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Streaming

• Prime Video

Credits

Cast

rolenameVoicesMaurice DenhamNarratorGordon Heath

Crew

rolenameDirectorJohn HalasDirectorJoy Batchelor

Details

Theatrical distributor

Halas & Batchelor Cartoon Films

Released on

1958-07-18

Languages

English

Available on

video, DVD and Blu-ray

Formats

Colour

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