Product: Animal Farm
Rating: 3.0
Wall ahead of its time!
I bought recently both the 1952 and the 1999 film versions of Orwell's dark fable, and although neither of them is what you'd expect, at least this one has some redeeming value. Both movies are absurdly intended for children (the book is obviously not), poorly done, too slow, and patched up with annoying "happy endings" that resemble one another (Napoleon's regime is overthrown, a wall comes tumbling down, whatever...). The only difference is that the 1952 cartoon was made one year before Stalin's death: Not only way before the falling of the wall, way before the wall was even built! And its eerie to see the filmmaker's prophetic eye in describing the fall of Communism: Animal farms multiply enslaving its flocks, the beasts get fed up (figuratively speaking, of course, for they're starving), revolt against their pig masters (who look like Khruschev, Gorbachev and Caeseascu!) while their praetorian guardian dogs do nothing, animals oust the swine in just one relatively bloodless uprising, and ...a wall comes tumbling down! I thought I was watching an animated CNN special, only drawn in a time where the events depicted were nothing more than mere -and nowhere near- wishful thinking! That being said, neither movie is any good. Too light for the book's fans, and too violent for the kiddies (this one is quite bloodier). If you want to show your children an enjoyable fable for grown-ups (also staged in somber surroundings) get CHICKEN RUN. Now, that's a masterpiece!