Animal Farm is a made for TV film version of the 1945 George Orwell novel of the same name.
Differences from the novel
The plot basically follows that of the novel, except for a few differences:
- The film portrays the end of Napoleon’s rule, mentioning the collapse of a wall (analogous to the fall of communism and the opening of the Berlin Wall in 1989), the return of dissident animals who had hidden themselves, and the ultimate replacement of the farm’s owners by a new family.
- Snowball is a different colour in the film than the book
- One of the biggest differences from the novel is the heightened role of Jessie, the dog.
- Clover, one of the main animals in the book, is only seen at brief moments in the film and never speaks.
- In the novel, Old Major died of old age three days after giving his speech, but in the film he is accidentally shot by Jones minutes after finishing his speech.
- Instead of being buried in the orchard, Old Major’s body is butchered by one of Mr. Jones’ workmen. When the animals explore the farmhouse, Old Major’s head is discovered wrapped in plastic in a cupboard.
- All the animal executions were cut.
- The songs have been replaced; “Beasts of England” is changed to “Beasts of the World”.
- The film adds a storyline about television and film being used as a distraction from what the pigs are really doing. This could be a reference to pro-Lenin propaganda and is similar to the novel’s use of Moses the Raven as a parallel to religion being a distraction. As a result, Moses the Raven is a minor character.
- Old Major’s skull being mounted on display is only briefly mentioned twice in the novel, but is seen throughout the film after the pig’s death.
- The ending where Jessie escapes with many of the animals and returns to a post-Napoleon Animal Farm was not in the novel, but serves as a reference to post-Soviet Russia. In the novel, she, like many of the other animals, dies of old age and overwork.
- The novel’s infamous twist ending is portrayed, but earlier in the film and without the pigs dressed as humans and on two legs (which does appear, only in the “Napoleon: Mighty Leader” propaganda film portraying Napoleon dressed in a suit and standing upright). Additionally, the pigs begin wearing hats and monocles much earlier in the film.
- In the novel, the windmill is damaged in construction and Napoleon blames this on Snowball. Later, there is a second battle where the windmill is destroyed with dynamite. In the film, the windmill is never damaged in construction. Mr. and Mrs. Jones sneak into the camp in their truck and blow up the windmill, accidentally destroying their vehicle in the process. When Napoleon discovers the destroyed windmill and the wrecked truck, he declares Snowball stole the vehicle and destroyed the windmill.
- Mr. Frederick’s role is reduced and he even expresses sympathy for the animals.
- In the film, the humans sneak a microphone into the barn in an attempt to understand how the animals are running the farm. Using this, they later learn that the animals can speak English and Pilkington decides to start trading with them.
- In the novel, Mr. Whymper begins trading with Napoleon, in the film it is Mr. Pilkington trading with him.
- The card game at the end of the novel never takes place.
- A new character is introduced in the film. He is an unnamed, fat rat who served as comic relief. He is not present in the novel, though the novel states that there are rats on the farm.
- Boxer and many of the other animals could not read in the novel, in the movie they can.
