Steve Reviews: Animal Farm

Ah, Animal Farm, another film I was tricked into watching as a small child, only to become immediately traumatized by it. On the surface it looks like a typical Disney film, with a bunch of jolly farm animals working together on a farm, when in reality it's actually an incredibly dark and creepy film, featuring a lot of violence, blood and straight up animal murder. There are currently three versions of Animal Farm that have been released, the original book by George Orwell published in 1945, the animated film released in 1954 and the live action film released in 1999. The most well recognised and probably most controversial of these three is the 1954 animated film, which is the one we'll be focusing on for this review. And just as a warning before watching, there will be some disturbing scenes of animal violence, so if you're not fancying that, please click off the video now and go watch something more upbeat like... The Care Bears. As for those of you still here, you sickos, let's go ahead and take a deeper look at Animal Farm. The film was produced by a British animation company called House and Bachelor. God, why is it when we Brits get involved in animation it always seems to revolve around some kind of animal violence or cruelty? But most notable about this film's production is that the film was actually also part funded by the US CIA. Why was the CIA funding an animated film revolving around farm animals? Is it because the CIA has a personal interest in animal wellbeing and wanted to push the idea of animals being free from farm labour? Or did they have an ulterior motive to disguise this seemingly innocent film as propaganda to launch a cultural offensive on the rise of communism in the east during the start of the Cold War? Well, who knows. Let's get into the plot. To the world we all know, which may or may not be the best world possible. Over 70 years onward and that statement is as true as ever. The story is set on a rural farm called Manor Farm, where we get some exposition from the narrator telling us that the farmer, Mr Jones, has recently been turning to drink, leaving the farm in less than favourable conditions for the animals. One night Mr Jones returns home later than usual in a drunken state, not only forgetting to feed the animals, but also showing unnecessary aggression towards them. The animals have finally had enough and decide to hold an emergency meeting in the barn, led by the elderly boar hog. I personally think that the Hogfather would have been a better suited title. The elderly pig goes on to address the injustices of the farm, such as how Boxer will immediately be killed once he exhausts his uses, and how everything the animals produce is taken away from them. He talks about how the farm has plenty of resources to support them all, but the majority of them go to the lone dictator, I mean, farmer. So they all vouch to revolt, with a questionable gesture, and plan to get rid of the farmer so the animals can live under their own rule, where every animal will be treated equally. To which the animals start cheering and chanting in an incredibly eerie manner. Oh god, someone please make it stop. Thank you. Oh god, now they're even grieving in a creepy manner. The next morning they awake to find that there's been no food left out for them, but manage to break into the food store. The farmer, not being too pleased with this, tries to scare the animals out, but the animals are having none of it, and fiercely stand their ground. Jesus. And the farmer, quite rightly, runs for his life. But he's not gone for long, as he returns with the other local farmers to come and take back the farm. The animals see the oncoming threat, and prepare for battle. Oh no, that pig is charging right for me. Luckily I have this gun, which I can cleverly use as a golf club to defend myself. Though to be fair, when the farmer does end up shooting a pig in the chest, it seems to do absolutely nothing. Eventually though, the animals manage to chase the farmers away, take control of the farm, and go on to live happily ever after. The End So, that's the story of Animal Farm. A little creepy, yes, but nowhere near as bad as I remember it being when I was a child. Well, that's the end of this review guys, thank you very much for watching. Don't forget to like and subscribe, and I'll see you in the next... Wait a minute, the film appears to still be going. It's only 16 minutes in. Okay, I mean the plot seemed to have come to a tidy finish, but let's keep watching I guess? So the animals proceed to burn all the stuff that reminds them of the farmer, and have a big old celebration round the fire. God, even when this film is supposed to be happy it still comes across as creepy as hell. The animals also proceed to put the lock up on the farmer's house, stating that it will forever be off limits. One of the pigs called Napoleon however, sneaks back into the house to retrieve the now orphaned puppies, as their mum died in the fight against the farmers. But rather than take them to the rest of the animals, Napoleon hides them away. Hmm, oh I'm sure it's fine, this will still be a happy ending with no other conflicts arising. Meanwhile, another pig named Snowball begins drawing up the rules for the newly dubbed animal farm. Four legs good, two legs bad. Wait a minute, two legs bad? What about the chickens and ducks which clearly walk on two legs? Are they bad people? Well, personally I would argue that wings are less similar to legs than arms are. So for the time being, everything appears to be going great. All the animals work together to carry on the farm work, kinda reminds me of the old classic Disney shorts at this point, even offering to help carry out other duties such as milking the cows. And just how exactly that pig is milking the cow, best we not think too much about it. And then when the harvest is gathered, they split the food evenly amongst themselves. To further the good fortune, Snowball starts to educate the other animals on how to read and speak, as he believes having a smarter society can bring more ideas and benefits for the future. Napoleon however, has other ideas, and now uses the grown up pups he hid away to chase Snowball out of the farm. I'm sure he's fine. Napoleon then lies to the other animals, telling them that Snowball was a traitor, and that he was planning to bring back Farmer Jones, to which the other animals just seem to believe I guess. He then steals Snowball's plans to build the windmill, but claims them as his own, and also declares that he will now take the burden of decision making away from the other animals, and make all the decisions himself. Again, which the animals are completely okay with. The animals are then set to start building Snowball's, I mean Napoleon's windmill, only now the pigs aren't involved in the manual labour, but are rather set to supervise, as the pigs are the smarter animals, or so they claim. Because of their superior intelligence, the pigs are also granted a larger share of the food, whilst the less gifted workers are given reduced rations. One night, the animals notice that the pigs are sneaking into the farmer's house to sleep, and were certain that this was against Animal Farm's new rules, but upon checking the barn wall, they see in fact that they must have been mistaken, as it clearly states, no animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets. In fact, it very clearly states that, almost as if it was written with a fresher and clearer coat of paint. Things start to go from bad to worse at Animal Farm, as the pigs begin making trade deals with the outside countries, I mean people, where the pigs get what I presume to be honeys and jams, in trade for the chicken eggs. The chickens remember back when the Hogfather told them that their eggs should never be taken away from them, and so begin to revolt against the pigs, and for a while, it seems to work. For a while. Until Napoleon calls out his army of dogs, and in a terrifying display, has them maul a cat to death on screen. Thank you Dr Jones. Napoleon then calls the animals to the barn, where he once again announces that these animals were traitors, and working with Farmer Jones to destroy Animal Farm. Again, the rest of the animals just go along with this, and the traitorous animals are led out of the barn, and suffer the same fate as Snowball. Sure, they're also fine. Oh. So the trading with the outside people grows and grows, though I don't see how it is still growing, seen as how the chickens were recently murdered. The other farmers notice the huge profits the farm is making, so once again, decide it's time to take down the farm. But, the original farmer is not invited along, as the other countries, I'm sorry what does the film call him again? Ah, neighbours. The other neighbours decide that his day is done. Animal Farm once again prepares for war, only this time they seem more prepared for it, deploying sneaky camouflage tactics. Once again, a huge fight ensues, but unlike Snowball who led the charge in the previous engagement, Napoleon chooses to hide away. Eventually, the animals manage to once again fend off the farmers, and Napoleon generously gives himself a medal, for his bravery no doubt. But this time, there was more of a price to pay. Not only did their windmill get destroyed by the farmer Jones, but Boxer the horse also took a shot in the leg. Nope, we're not making that joke. Despite his injuries, he and the other animals get hard to work to rebuild the windmill once more. All animals that is, except the pigs, who because they don't need to supervise this time round, take the time off to relax. One stormy day, where Boxer is working alone on the windmill, the rope slips from his jaw, which results in a large stone falling onto him. And though he just about managed to survive the impact, because of his injuries, it is stated that he will never work again. But because Buster was a hard and dedicated worker his whole life, it was expected that he would get a well-deserved retirement. But as the ambulance rolls up to take Buster away, it turns out that it's not an ambulance at all, but rather the death wagon to have Buster taken away to the glue factory. Watching Buster's dear friend Benjamin chase after him and cry is surprisingly moving. And Christ, after that creepy scene in Pinocchio, I didn't think I'd ever get another devastating moment involving a cartoon donkey. The pigs declare their sorry for the loss of Buster, stating that his last words were, for the animals to keep working, and to long live Napoleon. By the way, I love that subtle animation done here to show that the pig is lying. It's one of the few comedic moments in the film, and I just think it's done so well. However, this time the animals aren't so easily convinced, bout time, and so the dogs are called to send them away. Months pass by and we see the sharp contrast Animal Farm has become since its initial revolution, not looking so much like the place of freedom anymore, with the only rule still being intact on the barn stating, all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others. The pigs themselves have also gone through some changes, now wearing human clothes, drinking alcohol, and even walking on two legs, with the donkey even starting to see them resembled as the old owner, Farmer Jones. The rest of the animals have finally decided that enough is enough, and so march forward to take down the corrupt pigs. Napoleon, sensing the threat, calls for his loyal dogs, but unfortunately for him, the dogs are now too intoxicated to fight. Without his dogs to threaten them, the animals storm the house and take down the pigs, finally able to take back Animal Farm once more. And that was Animal Farm, and yes, it's pretty much as depressing and creepy as I remember from a child. The tone of this film is incredibly dark throughout, and there are very few moments of comedy put in. The animation quality is pretty standard for 1954, I like how they tried to imitate the Disney style, but also managed to achieve some really creepy facial expressions and movement. The music however, is probably the biggest factor which affects the film's tone. It always seems to have an incredibly uncomfortable and horror-like score to it. Like I mentioned earlier, even when it's meant to be a more upbeat scene such as the animals singing and cheering, the music still manages to make it eerie somehow. Now of course the main question of this film, is it meant to be propaganda against communism? Well, yes, yes it is. The whole setting focuses around the corrupt individual of Napoleon, aka Joseph Stalin, who took control of the revolution in Russia with communism and used it to make himself a powerful dictator. Even down to how Napoleon ousts Snowball, just as Stalin did Trotsky. You can hear the pigs refer to each other as comrades, you'll hear them talk about revolutions, and you see how the animals surrender their rights over to Napoleon, and how it ends up making their lives a lot worse than before. Just as how they say with communism, the people will surrender their rights over to the state. One thing I found interesting in the film was that apart from the pigs, none of the other animals really speak. I can't say for sure, but I think this was done to represent the other animals as not having a voice, that they just keep their heads down, and do what they're told. The negative to this however, is that the film relied on a lot of narration to fill in the exposition, which goes against the classic filmmaking tip of show, don't tell. But I guess if you want to make a propaganda film, you have to be a little less subtle with the message you're putting forward. Another thing to notice about this film is how it's ending differs from the book. In the film the animals realise the corruption, and manage to once again take back the farm. In the book however, this doesn't happen. Now I think the film made this decision as they were trying to make it have a more upbeat ending, considering how dark the rest of it is. The problem with this though, is that it defeats the purpose of the book, which was that if you surrender your rights and let corruption win, then you may not get a happy ending at all, driving the message home a little bit better. But that's just my opinion. Be sure to leave your thoughts down below on what you thought of the film, whether it sometimes took the dark and creepy factor a little bit too far, and whether or not you think the ending was better or worse than the book. Please remember to give the video a like if you enjoyed it, and don't forget to subscribe as I try to upload new reviews on a regular basis. Be sure to check out some of my other reviews appearing on the left here, but until the next one guys, take care, and stay capitalist.