Animal Farm

This topic contains:

• overall comments and recommendations
• details of classification and consumer advice lines for Animal Farm
• a review of Animal Farm completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 20 July 2026.

Overall comments and recommendations

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.

ACCM review

This review of the movie contains the following information:

• a synopsis of the story
• themes
• use of violence
• material that may scare or disturb children
• product placement
• sexual references
• nudity and sexual activity
• use of substances
• coarse language
• the movie’s message

A synopsis of the story

When a drunken, inept farmer fails to pay his mortgage, the bank, with the assistance of a neighbouring business woman Freida Pilkington (voice of Glenn Close), forecloses on his property and attempts to slaughter the remaining animals who have not wandered off or starved. The animals, however, have other plans. Determined not to become food, they make a bid for freedom and fight the humans to take over the farm. Believing they are now in charge, the animals – led by the wise pig Snowball (voice of Laverne Cox) – make a set of rules aimed at ensuring they will be able to live in unity, with their premise being that all animals are equal. Wanting the power that Snowball has earned and the respect that the little piglet Lucky (voice of Gaten Matarazzo) has gained, the jealous and corrupt pig Napoleon (voice of Seth Rogen) manipulates the animals into believing that Snowball does not have their best interests at heart, and becomes single-handedly responsible for her banishment from Animal Farm. Seizing leadership for himself, Napoleon starts changing the rules to accommodate his own wishes and he sets about making life as easy as possible for the pigs, with no regard for the well-being of the other animals who are now classed as lesser citizens. When Pilkington decides to exploit Napoleon’s greed for her own personal gain, things continue to spiral out of control at the farm, and when tragic circumstances force Lucky to see Napoleon for who he truly is, it looks as though all is lost and that their fight for freedom will only lead to tyranny. But, sometimes, all it takes is for one voice to refuse to be silent and for a small act of courage to be the catalyst that changes everything.

Corruption; Greed; Propaganda; Injustice; Manipulation; Scapegoating; Materialism; The abuse of power; Betrayal; Communism and the Fragility of democracy.

There is some violence in this movie, including:

• The animals accuse the humans of locking them in cages and taking their milk, eggs and wool.
• A horse and donkey kick humans.
• Pigs knock over men with a pitchfork.
• Two men attack a piglet with an electric taser.
• A farmer is slapped in the face with a cow udder.
• Men in plastic suits spray the animals with a high-pressure water hose.
• A sheep is accidentally sheared when he gets tangled up with a whipper snipper.
• Cows are shown in discomfort, with their udders about to burst.
• A pig recounts how a farmer turned half his family into bacon.
• A pig breaks his leg jumping from a barn loft.
• A pig drives a car into a swimming pool.
• Cows are being transported in a truck, it briefly looks like one is being tortured.
• A water wheel is blown up with explosives.
• A tractor slips off of an embankment and pins a man beneath the front loader bucket.
• A horse breaks its leg trying to save the man.
• A pack of vicious dogs chase after and try to attack Lucky.
• A rooster tries to stamp out an impending fireworks explosion but his efforts backfire and he falls into the compartment with the fireworks, which propel him into the sky. He eventually falls back to the farm, singed and blackened but otherwise fine.
• A dam cracks and then bursts, causing a flash flood at the farm.
• A car is swallowed by a huge wave.
• Napoleon tries to strangle and drown Lucky.
• Napoleon is trapped under a metal barrel that drags him down into the water. Lucky is dragged down too as the pair scuffle and it looks like Lucky is going to drown.
• At the end of the film there are numerous images depicting pigs as Egyptians whipping their pig slaves; as Julius Caesar being stabbed; as vicious Vikings with axes and weapons; and of pigs flying planes while firing attached machine guns; as well as pigs pulling down a pig version of Saddam Hussein.

Material that may scare or disturb children

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children under the age of five, including the following:

• As Lucky begins to understand the truth behind what the pigs have become, he struggles to see the difference between pigs and humans and he watches in horror as the face of Napoleon and his business partner morph before his eyes, with the pig transforming into a grotesquely human face and vice versa.
• There are quick flashes of a cow being transported in a truck, and close-ups of her terrified eyes and horrified face, which make it look like she is being tortured during the transportation process.

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes and scary visual images, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged five to eight, including the following:

• The animals are all being loaded into a truck to be taken away from the farm. They believe that they are going to a “laughter house” but they soon discover that they are being taken to a slaughter house to be killed, and the animals panic, fighting their way off the truck.
• Snowball is ostracised and exiled from the animal farm for doing what she knew to be best to protect the animals. In a confronting scene, Napoleon turns everyone against her and sends dogs to remove her from the property, and she is never seen or heard from again.
• Lucky’s best friend, a hard-working horse, breaks his leg while saving a human from being crushed by a tractor. Lucky calls for help and believes that his friend will be airlifted to safety but as the horse is flying away, he reads the writing on the helicopter and realises that his friend is being sent to a glue factory. He rushes back to the farm to tell Napoleon, who says it is too late and that the horse has already been turned into glue. Lucky is devastated and breaks ties with Napoleon who sends a pack of dogs chasing after Lucky with instructions to kill him.

• Nothing further noted.

Product placement

• None noted.

Sexual references

There are some sexual references in this movie, including:

• Napoleon refers to himself as the “sexiest swine alive”.
• A female pig flirts with Napoleon in a spa.

Nudity and sexual activity

There is some nudity and sexual activity in this movie, including:

• Napoleon encourages Lucky to get the attention of a female pig by shaking his bare behind at her. He gyrates, along with Napoleon, right in front of her and her female friends.

Use of substances

There is some use of substances in this movie, including:

• An alcoholic farmer drunkenly falls into the side of a big truck. His house is later shown littered with beer bottles and cans.
• The pigs are frequently shown with ‘naughty juice’. Depending on the scene, they drink a wide range of champagnes, beers, martinis and fancy alcohol-based beverages. Occasionally, pigs appear to be passed-out on the farmhouse furniture.
• One character asks another: “Were you drinking?”

Coarse language

There is some coarse language in this movie, including:

• Stupid
• Dork
• Freak
• Dumb
• Ass
• Loser
• Shut Up
• Jerk
• Idiot
• What the oink does that mean?
• Big, winey loser
• “Sucky, smelly, disgusting, ignorant animal”.

In a nutshell

Animal Farm is a politically charged, animated drama based on the highly acclaimed 1945 book of the same name by George Orwell. At first glance this appears to be a family film but due to the heavy themes and dark nature, it is best suited to families with children over the age of 10.

The main messages from this movie are that no one is always right; that true freedom is working hard, not because we have to but because we choose to; and that real advancement, justice and truth occurs when ordinary individuals stay informed and united, and guard against manipulation, corruption and exploitation.

Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:

• Courage
• Integrity
• Justice
• Equality
• Responsibility.

This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss with their children attitudes and behaviours, and their real-life consequences, such as:

• The abuse of power.
• Showing blind loyalty or obedience instead of thinking for yourself.
• Shifting blame to others or scapegoating to avoid taking responsibility.
• Promoting inequality for your own personal gain.
• Using fear as a tool to control others.