Animal Farm (1954 film)
| Animal Farm | |
|---|---|
.jpg)
Poster
|
|
| Directed by |
John Halas Joy Batchelor |
| Produced by | John Halas Joy Batchelor |
| Written by | Joy Batchelor John Halas Borden Mace Philip Stapp Lothar Wolff |
| Based on |
Animal Farm by George Orwell |
| Starring | Maurice Denham |
| Narrated by | Gordon Heath |
| Music by | Mátyás Seiber |
|
Production
company |
|
| Distributed by | Distributors Corporation of America (US) |
|
Release date
|
|
|
Running time
|
69 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Animal Farm is a 1954 British adult animated comedy-drama film by Halas and Batchelor, based on the book Animal Farm by George Orwell. It was the first British animated feature to be released (Water for Firefighting and Handling Ships, two feature length wartime training films, were produced earlier, but did not receive a formal cinema release). The C.I.A. paid for the filming, part of the U.S. cultural offensive during the Cold War, and influenced how Orwell's ideas were to be presented. The CIA initially funded Louis de Rochemont to begin work on a film version of Orwell's work and he hired Halas & Batchelor, an animation firm in London that had made propaganda films for the British government.
Maurice Denham provided the voice talent for all the animals in the film.
Manor Farm is a formerly prosperous farm that has fallen on hard times, and suffers under the now-ineffective leadership of its drunken and aggressive owner, Mr. Jones. One night, Old Major, the prize boar and the second-oldest on the farm, calls the animals on the farm for a meeting, where he compares the humans to parasites and encourages the animals to break free from their tyrant's influence, while reminding them that they must hold true to their convictions after they have gained freedom. With that, he teaches the animals a revolutionary song before collapsing dead mid-song to the animals' horror.
The next morning, Jones neglects to feed the animals for breakfast, and they decide to break into the storehouse to help themselves. When Jones wakes up and attempts to intimidate them with his whip, the animals revolt and drive the drunken and irresponsible Mr. Jones away from the farm, renaming it "Animal Farm". They set to work destroying every trace of the farmer's influence, mainly the weapons used against them. The people of the surrounding area rally against them, but are beaten back after a fierce fight. A subsequent investigation of the farmhouse leads them to concede against living there, though one of the head pigs, an antagonistic boar named Napoleon, takes interest in the abandoned house, and even more so in a litter of puppies left motherless.
...
Wikipedia