Animal Farm

An animated film set on a farm. The animals on the farm are hungry and tired. An old pig speaks to them one night: they could live without men, and all the labour is theirs. The pig dies. Soon after, the animals rise and drive out the farmer. The pigs take charge. The first period goes well: the yield rises, the rules are written on the wall and everyone works. Then a struggle begins between two pigs. One drives the other out with dogs and is left alone. From there the film shows the order changing step by step: the rules on the wall are rewritten at night, the rations shrink and those who object disappear. Boxer the horse carries the whole load, and his end is the harshest passage in it. The source is George Orwell's short novel. It was the first animated feature released in cinemas in Britain. Years later something else came out: part of the funding came from American intelligence and the ending of the book was changed in the film. Maurice Denham voiced all the characters; Gordon Heath narrates. John Halas and Joy Batchelor directed. An important production for anyone who likes classic animation and political allegory. For a viewer who knows the book, the film changes the ending and that change affects the meaning of the narrative directly.