chaswe-28402 Although the story was confusing, and didn't seem greatly to resemble what I remember of reading Orwell's gripping masterpiece, I remained transfixed by the way in which the animals behaved, and was kept continually wondering how on earth they had been persuaded to speak and perform in the way they apparently seemed to be doing.Other reviewers have pointed out how the original novel has been traduced, re-written and distorted, and I'm happy to agree with them. But I remain fascinated by the visual trickery. I didn't recognise any of the voices of well-known actors, Ustinov, Scofield, Stewart, etc, although I certainly recognised Postlethwaite from The Usual Suspects. The emphasis on the humans struck me as the most intrusive part of the narrative. The farm setting also impressed me as rurally idyllic. Worth a look for the ingeniously convincing animatronics, but not otherwise.

Joshua Warren Considering the book was written by George Orwell in 1945, the message of the story is not hard to get. The story of the farm animals parallel directly to the rise of the Soviet Union not too long before the book was written. The film as well as the book is about animals at a farm who feel oppressed by the humans, until one pig called Old Major encourage them to start a revolution. When Old Major dies the pig called Napoleon (voiced by Patrick Stewrat)continues the revolution and start his new era of equality among all animals, or what he calls Animalism. However it does not take much time before Napoleon gets corrupted and creates a dictatorship.Old Major is Stalin, a man with some good ideas for a revolution which was destroyed by the takeover by Stalin or in this case Napoleon. Even though communism in Russia was the inspiration for the book due to it's relevancy at the time, this story will always be relevant. For this story was very old even when it was written. And it amazes me how powerful this story can be even today.I have not seen the cartoon version from the 50's, but I doubt they can have the same impact as this movie. Being a real-life film it feels much more real. And normally talking animals movies are kinda cheesy, not this one. The story was serious all through the end. It was well made, and well acted by the few humans in it. The message comes through clearly, and the horrors of dictatorship and hard labour (almost slavery) is portrayed frightenly well. Had George Orwell seen this, I think he would be proud. I give this film a 9/10.

morgantheorgan No, really... this movie confounds me. I don't know who this movie is intended for. I am a high school English teacher, and my kids wanted to see the "one with the real animals." (I teach in an inner-city school, mind you.) So I decided to show this one in addition to the 1954 animated version, which itself is a pretty mediocre adaptation.Wow. Just... wow. I had to do a frontloading lesson on what "heavy handed" means. We also talked about patronizing your audience. Now, if this is supposed to be a *children's* movie, which the simplistic and overbearing narration--along with an even more ridiculous happy ending than the animated version--lead one to believe, why is there the addition of the sexual relations between Mrs. Plikington and Mr. Jones. Why the graphic shots of meat being chopped up? It's pretty dark for a kids' movie. On the other hand, if it is for adults... Plus, to fully understand it, you really have to have read the book; but if you've read the book, the additions and omissions will probably infuriate you (as they did me). On a side note, Jim Henson's Creature Shop does phenomenal work on the pigs! What makes it more frustrating from that angle, too, is that what they adapt straight from the book, they adapt very well. Many speeches are word for word. Many subtle nuances remain in tact. There are some nice flourishes, too, like I very much enjoy the focus on media manipulation. The inclusion of TV as distraction and pig-made films (and their improving production values--look at the first Animal Guard spot versus the final Napoleon-in-clothes one) is a great connection to modern society.However, the way the story is framed kills it. The inane narration, the sappiness. I even prefaced with asking the kids what they knew about Hallmark, to which I got one response "that's that channel old people watch." The whole "we escaped to wait for this bad stuff to be over... then it was, so we went back... and things got better... and then NEW HUMANS bought the farm... we'll never let this happen again... now we are TRULY FREE." Um. Yeah.My only suggestion is to use this as a teaching tool of how Hollywood can butcher a good story.

Robert Gold I won't rehash the comments of others too much, but as a high school English teacher, I was quite disappointed with this version. It could have been a superior film due to its casting and modern technology. But, no, instead we get so many plot changes that the film loses its main message.When I show selections to my classes, I only use the animated version. It sticks closer to the plot, even though the only animals that speak are the pigs.Rent this version. Don't waste your money on buying it. Instead purchase the animated version on DVD, which also features an interesting extra on the making of the film.Long live Animal Farm, but not the 1999 inferior version!