How and Why to Make a Modern 'Animal Farm' Film

Hello, fellow moviegoers!
   Animal Farm is a book that was written by George Orwell in 1945. It is considered by many to be a must-read in any Reading or History class. However, despite its incredible popularity, it has yet to be made into a major film.  There have been a couple small attempts at adapting it into a film, but none of them have been very successful. Here’s how and why I think that Animal Farm is ripe for a modern film adaptation.

    There have only been a couple attempts at bringing Animal Farm to life in film: an animated film made in 1954, and a live-action made-for-TV adaption in 1999. The animated film worked well for the technology they had at the time, but it’s by no means a film that people are clamoring to see today. Many people aren’t even aware of its existence. The made-for-TV film, to put it simply, was really weird, and not necessarily in a good way. It used the same technique utilized in films such as Babe. They used actual animals and just used a little animation to make it look like they are actually talking. My problem with this technique is that it isn’t convincing at all. Most of the time, the movements of the animals’ mouths don’t even match up with the words being spoken.
   My idea for an Animal Farm film is to use a technique that has just come about within that past year, but it could potentially be one of the next big Hollywood trends. I want to see an Animal Farm film made using the same convincing animation that made its first appearance in The Jungle Book earlier this year. This would only work if using this realistic animation becomes a legitimate way to make a film. Disney certainly seems to think it is as they recently put in motion a “live-action” remake of The Lion King using this animation style. If this Lion King remake is successful, then I think that making Animal Farm in this fashion would make for a great film.
   The only issue with using this animation, at least for now, is that it is extremely expensive. The production budget for The Jungle Book was around $175 million. That was a worthy gamble on Disney’s part, as the film made just under a billion dollars at the global box office. The Lion King will probably be even more successful than that, making its way into the Billion Dollar Club. The big issue with making Animal Farm in this fashion lies in the book's popularity. Yes, it’s a very popular book, but it’s no Lion King. Everybody knows what The Lion King is, and people love it. Animal Farm does not have the same devoted fan base as Disney. If Animal Farm were to be made using this animation, it would probably end up needing a budget of $150 million+ (Hollywood's overspending is a completely separate issue). The film would probably be successful, but I don’t know if it would be successful enough to make a profit. Keep in mind, those numbers are just the production budgets, they do not include marketing or anything like that.
   So, in reality, while I would absolutely love to see a modern Animal Farm film made in the same line as The Jungle Book, I don’t think it’s going to happen. Even if it does, it probably won’t be for a while. It would be way too expensive to make right now. So, I guess until the time arrives where it is much cheaper to use this animation, we’ll have to be patient. 

​    What would you want a modern interpretation of Animal Farm to look like? Would you even want it to happen? Let me know by commenting on this post! Also, if you enjoyed this article, share it on Facebook and Twitter! It really helps! Don’t forget, I post every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, so check back then for more movie reviews and miscellaneous movie thoughts!
 
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