Animal Farm (2025 film)

After failing to make his mortgage payments, Farmer Jones's Manor Farm is repossessed by the bank. The farm is set to be sold to Pilkington Industries, led by ruthless billionaire Frieda Pilkington, who intends to slaughter the animals. While the animals initially believe they are being taken on vacation to a "laughterhouse", a sow named Snowball realizes their true fate and decides that the animals should rebel against the humans. The animals drive out the owners and take control of the farm, renaming it 'Animal Farm'. Under Snowball's watch, they establish an autonomous government with a code of laws designed to prevent them from becoming like humans.

As the animals struggle to learn how to run the farm on their own, fellow pig Napoleon objects to Snowball's plan to build a watermill for electricity and begins convincing the other animals that Snowball is hindering their freedom. Napoleon pressures Snowball into leaving by Mr. Jones's dogs, seizing control of Animal Farm. Meanwhile, in an attempt to take the farm once more, Mr. Whymper, a worker from the bank, addresses to the pigs that the bank requires the farm to pay $1,000 per month, or it will be repossessed again. Snowball's former protégé, Lucky, whom Napoleon takes a liking to as a son figure, suggests that they raise the funds by operating a market, which works well; Napoleon seizes this opportunity by moving all the pigs in the farmhouse, now that they've become business pigs using their extra money to shop at Pilkington's mall. Pilkington, still insistent on owning the farm, begins to ally with Napoleon and the pigs, giving them free things. With the help of his lackey Squealer, Napoleon starts warping the rules of Animal Farm to begin favoring pigs and humans, convincing the animals that they misremembered the original.

Soon, life on Animal Farm becomes miserable for the other animals, all while Napoleon and the pigs begin to enjoy an affluent lifestyle, behaving more and more like humans in the process by walking on two legs, wearing clothes, and drinking alcohol. During this, Lucky begins questioning the regime when fellow pig Puff leaves due to the conditions. His perception is further shattered when Napoleon tells Lucky his plans to sell all of the animals that are not pigs – after an injury to his horse friend, Boxer, happened when saving one of Pilkington's workers before being shipped off to a glue factory – upon rebuilding the watermill into a dam as part of the deal with Pilkington.

Feeling despondent after escaping from Napoleon's dogs, Lucky is motivated by the elderly donkey Benjamin to rebel against Napoleon, apologizing to the other animals about his behavior and staging a plan to ridicule Napoleon as he addresses Pilkington's company over the new hydroelectric dam. Lucky's plan involves stuffing the dam with fireworks, and the dam breaks as they ignite, flooding the farm and destroying Pilkington's company in the process. Pilkington tries to escape the flood with her drone Moses but falls into the water. After both of them end up on the water tower, Napoleon tries to fight Lucky after he tries to make him leave, but ends up drowning after being trapped by the water tower. Lucky makes it out alive on shore with the other animals while Mr. Whymper drifts away to let the animals keep the farm to themselves.

With Napoleon and Pilkington gone, Lucky and all the other animals look up towards the stars, uncertain but hopeful about their future.

• Gaten Matarazzo as Lucky, a Gloucestershire Old Spots piglet torn between Napoleon and Snowball's teachings.
• Seth Rogen as Napoleon, a British Saddleback pig and co-leader of the rebellion who rises to power at Animal Farm.
• Kieran Culkin as Squealer, a Gloucestershire Old Spots boar and Napoleon's aide
• Woody Harrelson as Boxer, a hard-working shire horse who is Benjamin and Lucky's best friend.
• Kathleen Turner as Benjamin, an elderly, cynical donkey and Boxer and Lucky's best friend.
• Iman Vellani as Puff and Tammy, two show piglets and twin sisters who are Lucky's friends, with the former being Lucky's love interest.
• Laverne Cox as Snowball, a Tamworth sow and co-leader of the rebellion who is Napoleon's rival. This character was male in Orwell's book.
• Jim Parsons as:
  • Carl, a sheep who mistrusts Napoleon.
  • Carl's flock, who blindly follow others.
• Andy Serkis as:
  • Randolph, a rooster.
  • Farmer Jones (uncredited), the original owner of the farm.^[11]
• Steve Buscemi as Mr. Whymper, a banker and assistant to Pilkington.
• Glenn Close as Freida Pilkington, Mr. Jones' neighbor and a billionaire scheming to take over Animal Farm. She is named for and loosely based on Mr. Pilkington and Mr. Frederick from the novel.

In July 2011, a feature film adaptation of George Orwell's 1945 novella Animal Farm was announced to be in development, with Rupert Wyatt serving as director. Wyatt and Andy Serkis, who had worked together on Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), were slated to serve as co-screenwriters.^[12] By October 2012, Serkis was announced to have taken over directorial duties, with the project being developed as a HFR-3D film.^[13] In August 2018, Netflix purchased distribution rights to the film.^[14][15][16] Serkis began pre-production on the project, after completing his directing duties for the Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU) film Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021).^[17]

By April 2022, it was announced that production had commenced as an animated film at Cinesite Studios, with a screenplay written by Nicholas Stoller.^[18][19] Serkis also served as producer, alongside Adam Nagle, Dave Rosenbaum, and Jonathan Cavendish with both Stoller and Wyatt set to serve as executive producers.^[20] Connie Nartonis Thompson produced the film on behalf of Cinesite. The project is a joint-venture production between Cinesite, Aniventure, and the Imaginarium Productions, with Netflix dropping the distribution rights.^[21][22] In March 2023, during an interview with Screen Rant, Serkis stated that one year of production had passed while another year was left for the film.^[23] Deadline Hollywood reported in May 2024 that Animal Farm finished production.^[24]

In April 2025, the cast was announced, with Serkis, Seth Rogen, Steve Buscemi, Glenn Close, Iman Vellani, and Kieran Culkin among the additions.^[25]

Animal Farm had its world premiere on 9 June 2025, at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.^[26] It premiered in the United Kingdom on 11 October 2025, at the BFI London Film Festival.^[27] In December 2025, Angel Studios acquired the U.S. theatrical distribution rights for the film. It was released on 1 May 2026.^[28] Vue Lumière will release the film in the United Kingdom and Ireland on 24 July 2026.^[29]