Movie Animal Farm: Overthrowing the Master, with Seth Rogen and Glenn Close

Animal Farm, the plot of the movie

Animal Farm is the upcoming animated movie. It’s a satire on the Russian Revolution, in which animals on a farm overthrow their master but are betrayed by one of them, who becomes a totalitarian dictator.

“Let’s go on vacation,” says the piglet in the released trailer. He enters a camper labeled “house of laughter” with his companions. “It’s a slaughterhouse,” one of them screams. So they escape: “Whatever walks on two legs is an enemy,” says the leader.

The animals thus decide to run a farm. “I want that farm,” says Freida Pilkington (Glenn Close). “All animals are equal. But some are more equal than others,” says the leader.

Animal Farm, the cast of the movie

Seth Rogen is Napoleon, the Saddleback boar and co-leader of the rebellion who rises to power at Animal Farm; Gaten Matarazzo is Lucky, a piglet torn between the teachings of Napoleon and those of Snowball. Kieran Culkin is Squealer, a small boar and Napoleon’s helper; Glenn Close is Freida Pilkington, Mr. Jones’s neighbor and a billionaire who plans to take over Animal Farm.

Steve Buscemi is Whymper, Pilkington’s right-hand man; Laverne Cox plays Snowball, a sow and co-leader of the rebellion, Napoleon’s rival. Woody Harrelson is Boxer, a horse and Lucky’s best friend; Jim Parsons is Carl, a sheep; Kathleen Turner is Benjamin, a donkey; Iman Vellani is Puff and Tammy, two piglets and friends of Lucky.

The direction is by Andy Serkis: “Orwell’s Animal Farm has never been more relevant. In an era where power, propaganda and inequality shape our societies, it is essential to remember his cautionary tale - states the director - this adaptation is not just an entertainment story: it’s a reminder that democracy, freedom and integrity are fragile and must be safeguarded.” Serkis has previously directed Venom - Let There Be Carnage and Mowgli - Legend of the Jungle. The screenplay is based on the novel Animal Farm: A Fairy Story by George Orwell, published in 1945.

Animal Farm, critics’ reviews and the movie’s release date

The movie has already been presented at the Annecy Festival where it received positive reviews.

For Screen Daily “although it may struggle to satisfy hardcore Orwell purists, the movie nonetheless takes a political stance and conveys an emphatic message celebrating equality and the power of collectivity, although it leaves us with a bit more hope than there was in Orwell’s 1945 story.”

For Variety “the message appears confused, amidst all the falls and fart jokes.” For Deadline “with a funny and insightful screenplay by Nicholas Stoller, this beautifully animated version doesn’t seek to be political in appearance, but nevertheless is strangely respecting its times and proving to be a bit too close to America’s drift toward authoritarianism.”

The movie releases in the United States on May 1, 2026.