Andy Serkis has responded to backlash against his animated adaptation of George Orwell’s classic novel, Animal Farm.
The new adaptation, which is directed by Serkis, made its premier at the BFI London Film Festival in October 2025, and is set for a US release on May 1st.
Giving the tale a modern twist, Serkis’s Animal Farm includes a tonal shift for a happier ending, a rap sequence and jokes to appeal to younger audiences.
It also includes an all-star cast including Seth Rogen, Stranger Things’ Gaten Matarazzo, Kieran Culkin, Steve Buscemi and Woody Harrelson.
However, reviews have been mixed as a result, and it’s received a critic score of only 36 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes.
But Serkis is not scared by the low score, insisting that “causing debate and discussion” would be exactly what Orwell would have wanted from his stories.
After initial reaction to the first trailer was mixed, Serkis told Polygon: “I was actually delighted that it got, on the one hand, people saying, ‘Orwell will be turning in his grave’ and ‘Andy Serkis has turned Orwell into fart jokes,’ and then on the other hand, people are saying that it’s one of the most important films of the year.”
The story, which was first released as a book in 1945, follows the story of mistreated farm animals who rise up against their owner after being mistreated.
However, soon, the pigs take control of the farm and turn it into a dictatorship under their rule, eventually leading them to become no different from the masters they previously lived under.
Serkis went on to share that he wanted the story to reach younger audiences, so they could ask questions and start discussions with their parents and loved ones, and perhaps create greater world change with the lesson it describes.
“We can’t throw up our hands and say, ‘Well, we can’t do anything about it.’,” he said. “Part of dealing with it is by saying, ‘OK, if history is going to repeat itself, what can I do to perhaps change the course of it?'”
He also explained that the film’s ending – which vastly differs from that of the book – is due to Orwell’s novel “not having a third act”, while the film does.
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