Publication Date: 04-27-2026

Animal Farm (2026) review

Dir. Andy Serkis

By: Steve Pulaski

Rating: ★½

How the hell did it come to this? How did George Orwell’s political allegory Animal Farm get diluted into a soft-reboot of Nickelodeon’s Barnyard? If this was some micro-budget animate venture, relegated to the black hole of streaming or the nondescript nature of direct-to-video entertainment, I could accept it by virtue of ignoring it. However, this film’s production goes all the way back to 2011, with director Andy Serkis starting work on it after completing Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Serkis remains the credited director, working off a script from Nicholas Stoller (Neighbors), and featuring a stacked voice cast of Seth Rogen, Kieran Culkin, Glenn Close, Woody Harrelson, and Kathleen Turner, just to name a few.

So, it’s utterly mystifying how an adaptation of Orwell’s simultaneously timely yet timeless novel got in the hands of people who diluted it to fart jokes, animal camaraderie, and stock human villains — and not your average, run-of-the-mill butchers either. There is too much talented involved in this adaptation — the third following the 1954 animated film and the 1999 live-action one — for it to be as dour as it is.

Trading Orwell’s allegorical critique of authoritarianism for a more milquetoast story about corruption, Serkis’ Animal Farm centers around two boars, Napoleon (voiced by Seth Rogen) and Squealer (Kieran Culkin), who stage a rebellion at the titular ranch. They envision a farm-life where all animals are equal, but I don’t remember the part in Orwell’s novella where such an uprising occurred to a rowdy, hip-hop version of “Old MacDonald.”

While Stoller’s script retains Napoleon’s strong-armed pig rival, Snowball (Laverne Cox), it discards Old Major, the elder states-boar, and instead gives us Lucky (Gaten Matarazzo), a conflicted oinker caught between his admiration for Napoleon and the convictions of Snowball. Further bastardizing the story is the introduction of humans, such as a Cybertruck-driving billionaire (Glenn Close) looking to acquire Animal Farm, and a banker named Mr. Whymper (Steve Buscemi).

Animal Farm‘s look at the fleeting nature of our freedoms and the easily corrupted and greedy nature of human beings — accurately portrayed as pigs — remains a relevant work of literary genius for a reason. Considering how local and state governments in certain states are quick to throw out any library books that might cause children to experience a different perspective or encounter views not shared by the controlling power, I have no clue if it’s even part of any elementary or middle school curriculum. I just can’t fathom how Serkis stayed married to a project that ended up so divorced from its source material. This is Animal Farm for a generation overstimulated by TikToks and reels, in which Napoleon cuts one when he attempts to stand on two legs, and a young piglet character, clearly designed to be the surrogate character for the audience, looks like he walked off the set of a DreamWorks movie.

At least Serkis committed to a pleasant visual look. Produced in part by his company Imaginarium Studios, Animal Farm takes on a photorealistic look, at least when it comes to the backdrops. The CGI characters, including villains like Snowball, have all had their edges soften to take on a look that won’t scare children, least of all stimulate them with anything they’re saying. Given the muted legacies of the previous adaptations of Orwell’s novella, Serkis and company had the chance to make the definitive movie version of this story. Instead, this is a project worthy of being relegated to Homer Simpson’s “pig crap” silo.

Voiced by: Seth Rogen, Gaten Matarazzo, Kieran Culkin, Glenn Close, Steve Buscemi, Laverne Cox, Woody Harrelson, Jim Parsons, Andy Serkis, Kathleen Turner, and Iman Vellani. Directed by: Andy Serkis.