Movie adaptations

Animal Farm has been adapted into a movie twice.

The first movie was an animated version of the story, directed by John Halas and Joy Batchelor and released in 1954. The CIA provided most of the funding for the production, because it was in their interest during the Cold War to create a movie that was a direct criticism of Soviet Russia.  

The plot at first follows the novel relatively closely, but significant changes have been made to strengthen its political message (but also make it less complex). For example, Snowball is depicted more negatively and Napoleon’s crimes are depicted in even stronger ways. Also, Mr. Frederick is absent from the story in the movie, which might reflect the CIA’s unwillingness to show any positive sides to Soviet Russia (such as Stalin’s role in the...