The Wasteland Reviewer

Animal Farm (2026) Written Review

What is one of the most significant satires about rising authoritarianism in the 20^th century? George Orwell was THE guy for this with his powerful work with 1984, but it was Animal Farm that brought this message to readers of all ages. The easiest way to convey such challenging yet significant themes would be to inject it into a story about animals. This book takes the key figures in the Russian Revolution and transposes them onto the animals of a struggling farm. There have been other cinematic versions of this story (including the most famous animated film from 1954 which turned out to be a CIA funded anti-communism propaganda piece). But Angel Studios has brought a brand-new version to the big screen directed by motion capture guru Andy Serkis, written by Nicholas Stoller of Neighbors fame, and starring Seth Rogen. This film is certainly one interesting combination.

How does Stoller approach this iconic story from Orwell? To give them credit, this team took some bold swings. None of them really hit…but they were bold swings. The setting of this film is put in a modern setting, which is not surprising, but feels wholly unnecessary when Animal Farm is a timeless story to begin with. They decided to add new layers of antagonists in the form of a girlboss tech- “bro” which feels so forced and awkward that it takes the focus away from the core values of the story. To give the film a more child focused feeling, they added a new piglet character named Lucky to be the protagonist. This young pig is cute but feels (yet again) wholly unnecessary when getting the point across. The story goes to strange action and fighting narrative beats that feel so ridiculous and unnecessary to the film. With plenty of poop jokes and twerking, this film feels so low brow and cheap which certainly undercuts the important messaging. Speaking off…the messaging of the story gets muddled in misguided interpretations and character changes that leaves so much of the satire inert in execution. 

How does Serkis’ direction influence the execution of the story? There are certainly plenty of writing issues that bring the film down, but Serkis does not find enough to elevate it. This should not be a hard sell but there are some seriously strange choices made in the film. There is an opening rap number to “Old McDonald” which feels so weird and out of place, giving the film a muddled and awkward tone from the start. The weight of the film is undercut from the start, and Serkis is never able to wrangle it back. Pacing, this film is a manic and messy experience that is just uninteresting to watch. The animation is not engaging to look at either with eerie looking human characters (that lack detail) and animals that are not are a little grotesque to look at as well. The film is never funny (despite trying REALLY hard) and it is never as biting with its commentary as it is trying to be. This tonally off experience just feels like a hollow shell of what Serkis is intending.

Where does the voice cast fit into this messy mix? Gaten Matarazzo is charming enough as Lucky, which is one of the few truly positive elements in the film. The character is an awkward fit for the story, but Matarazzo makes the character likeable enough. Rogen is so horribly miscast as Napoleon. You can never take this tyrant seriously when they actively lean into Rogen’s specific laugh and his jovial persona. I am sure he was excited to work with Stoller again, but this just does not work at all. There are so many talented actors attached to this film including Glenn Close, but they are given so little to work with. Kieran Culkin was a brilliant choice for Squealer and is honestly the best bit of casting in the whole film. But Steve Buscemi, Woody Harrelson, and Andy Serkis are completely wasted. Then you have choices like Laverne Cox and Kathleen Turner as male characters which feels so distracting and forced attention grabbing.

Who was this adaptation of Animal Farm for? Those who love the book will be enraged with what was done to it. The film is a strange mash-up of low brow humor and weak attempts at something clever. Flash with a lack of substance. This is a pulpy and silly misinterpretation of a powerful text that has stayed relevant for decades. Taking Animal Farm and turning it into this in our present landscape was a serious misstep and quite unfortunate.