The same company that brought predominantly Christian audiences memorable works like “The Chosen” and “Sound of Freedom” is now distributing an animated remake of the George Orwell classic “Animal Farm.”
But before fans of Angel Studios get too excited, early reviews suggest this movie is a sharp departure from the previous fare.
Breitbart‘s John Nolte provided this less-than-flattering assessment:
In 92 pages, Orwell eviscerates and exposes the horrors of “equality,” which is, of course, the ludicrous promise of all leftist authoritarians; the dreaded collective where individualism — including individual achievement, ambition, and desire — is crushed under a jackboot of violence, hunger, and poverty.
ADVERTISEMENTWell, Andy Serkis felt he could do better. Have you ever heard such arrogance:
Serkis approached the adaptation by asking himself what Orwell would write about if he wrote “Animal Farm” today. He didn’t want it to be a story about Stalinist Russia. Instead, he gravitated toward themes of capitalism, wealth, and overconsumption. The billionaire antagonist, Pilkington (Glenn Close), drives what closely resembles a Cybertruck.
Did you note the Elon Musk reference?
In addition to fart jokes, Serkis tacked on this ending….
“Animal Farm,” classically, is a story without a happy ending. But Serkis’ interpretation gives viewers closure. The film adds an entirely new third act: Lucky has a change of heart and apologizes, the animals take down Napoleon and the evil capitalistic Pilkington. Lucky tells the cautionary tale for a new generation.
If you’re wondering about the anti-Trump angle, Serkis attended the movie’s premiere wearing a red “Make Animal Farm Fiction Again” hat.
Well, I have good news… Like everything woke, Animal Farm looks like another humiliating flop.
The film has a star-studded cast of voice actors, although for conservative fed up with Hollywood that probably should’ve been the first red flag.
Social media users have shared their displeasure not only with the apparent tone of the film, but with Angel Studios for associating itself with the project:
This is what almost always happens. Angel marketed itself to Christians to raise money and make a name, and then sought the approval of the secular world. It’s unbelievably cynical but also predictable. pic.twitter.com/oVFZO3ssP8
— Cernovich (@Cernovich) April 30, 2026
Just waiting for “Blood Meridian,” a goofy family comedy starring Kevin James, rated PG, brought to you by Angel Studios
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) May 1, 2026
I've seen enough. Angel Studios, which was good, is not going to recover from this Animal Farm debacle.
Is it time to start a new version of it where people can donate money to make projects that are good? https://t.co/gwU3m50HdX
— Peachy Keenan (@KeenanPeachy) April 30, 2026
The filmmakers, of course, are pushing back against what they say is an unfair characterization of the film.
Serkis and Jonathan Cavendish discussed their intentions for the movie in a recent forum discussion, per the Washington Examiner:
“There’s a huge triumph of capitalism centrally in the story where the animals have taken over the farm, and they need money, because otherwise the farm is going to get repossessed. So they start a farmers’ market, and it’s a massive success. How can this be a criticism of capitalism?” Cavendish said.
Animal Farm is an adaptation of George Orwell’s 1945 novella by the same name, whose allegorical retelling of the 1917 Russian Revolution and its aftereffects has remained poignantly relevant over the years.
In Serkis’s own words: “We aimed to tell this story examining contemporary themes and references without being in any way partisan. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, no matter who is in charge.”
His film remains true to this, with the inclusion of new, nongovernmental threats for the farm, such as technology (drones, cellphones), leaders of tech and industry, and even banking, more specifically, credit cards.
ADVERTISEMENTNonetheless, what Serkis and Cavendish made abundantly clear during the luncheon was this: Their goal was to spark intergenerational debate, no matter where you stand.
“What we wanted to do, we achieved,” Cavendish said, “to make a film that causes a huge amount of debate.”
According to Serkis, there were 60 million hits criticizing “a film they haven’t even seen,” just criticisms from a “30 seconds or a minute of a trailer.”
Cavendish backed him, “The dream was to get 60 million people three months before the film comes out to watch the trailer in 24 hours. That doesn’t happen. No film probably ever was like that before. The fact that most of the people who watched it then had a nervous breakdown or heart attack. You know, what do you do?”
Here’s more of the Examiner’s coverage:
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