A new 3D-animated adaptation of George Orwell's 'Animal Farm' has been released, directed by Andy Serkis and featuring a star-studded voice cast including Glenn Close, Woody Harrelson, Kathleen Turner, and Seth Rogen. The film is backed by Angel Studios, a Mormon-run company based in Provo, Utah, known for family-friendly content. The adaptation adds a modern father-son plot between a pig named Lucky and Napoleon, introduces an evil corporation CEO, and replaces Orwell's bleak ending with a happy one where the animals blow up a hydroelectric dam. ArtReview critic Travis Diehl describes the film as 'sheer propaganda' and 'horrifying,' noting its marketing campaign included a fictional glue product called Boxer's Glue.
This matters because the adaptation represents a significant ideological reframing of a classic political allegory, transforming Orwell's critique of totalitarianism into a vague anti-corporate, pro-freedom message that Diehl argues falls outside the Cold War binary. The involvement of a Mormon-backed studio raises questions about how religious and corporate interests reshape cultural narratives for contemporary audiences. The review highlights ongoing tensions between artistic integrity and commercial/ideological filmmaking, as well as the broader trend of studios repurposing canonical literature to serve new political or religious agendas.