Rent Animal Farm (1954)

Political Allegory. - Animal Farm review by Steve

Britain's first ever animated feature film is a simplified but brutal and macabre version of George Orwell's political allegory about the betrayal of the Russian revolution by Joseph Stalin. Or in this case, Napoleon, the pig. Aside from an incongruously cute baby duck, there could hardly be a greater contrast with contemporary Disney cartoons.

The production was secretly financed by the American CIA to show to children in classrooms as anti-Soviet indoctrination. The uprising of the animals against the cruel farmer proves futile as the pigs merely assume the role of exploitative suppression.

But the film doesn't really work as anti-communist propaganda as it creates such a powerful impression of the transgressive cruelty of capitalism. Though the ending is changed to leave us with a little optimism, this adapts Orwell's theme with faithful clarity. The author abhorred Joseph Stalin's treachery, but he was still a socialist.

Mátyás Seiber's score and the sound treatment of Maurice Denman's animal voices are crucial contributions. The artists create a powerful sense of (often surreal) threat, but the landscapes rather charmingly evoke the idyllic poster art of Britain between the wars. There is impressive, old school animation, but this feels an incredibly dark film for kids!