Trivia / Animal Farm

Novel

• Banned in China: During the Cold War, Animal Farm was banned in the Soviet Union and other communist countries, for obvious reasons. It remains banned in North Korea and Cuba. In the 1960s, the right-wing John Birch Society also attempted to have the book banned in public schools, arguing it was pro-communist.
• Completely Different Title: There are actually three different Portuguese titles: O Porco Triunfante ("The Triumphant Pig", the original translation), O Triunfo dos Porcos ("The Triumph of the Pigs", the name by which this book is commonly referred to in Portugal) and A Quinta dos Animais ("The Farm of the Animals", which is closer to the name Orwell gave to the book and was adopted so the pigs would sound less "triumphant" in accordance with the theme of the story).
  • In Spanish, the title is usually translated as Rebelión en la Granja ("Rebellion on the Farm") or, more rarely, as the more literal La Granja de los Animales ("The Farm of the Animals").
• Follow the Leader: The Soviet propaganda film "The Millionaire" has a similar theme but attacks American capitalism.
• Referenced by...:
  • Pink Floyd's Animals is a Concept Album that adapts the story and characters of Animal Farm for a more overtly anti-capitalist critique.
  • The Ice Nine Kills song "The Nature of the Beast" is a Whole-Plot Reference.
  • Adam from The Boy from Aleppo Who Painted the War reads Animal Farm. At first he's so confused by the concept of talking animals that he reads the first chapter seventeen times. Eventually he concludes that George Orwell has the power to talk to animals, which allows him to follow the rest of the book.
• What Could Have Been: Animal Farm was originally going to be a direct exposé on the various atrocities committed by Stalin and his regime in the Soviet Union. However, the British press at the time would not publish it because the British Parliament at the time needed Stalin's support during World War II against Nazi Germany. His making it an allegory with talking animals was the only way he could get his message across in such a way that didn't interfere with the war effort.

1999 TV film

• Acting for Two: Pete Postlethwaite plays both Farmer Jones and Benjamin.
• Playing Against Type:
  • Who would have imagined that Jean Luc Picard would have played a pure evil, usurping, Stalin-expy dictator? Of course, Patrick Stewart had played villains earlier in his career such as Sejanus in I, Claudius and Claudius in Hamlet, a role he would reprise years later, making his type more varied.
  • Conversely, Kelsey Grammer, whose voice work mostly consists of villainous characters, notably the murderous, opera singing, Sideshow Bob and the the manipulative, bitter, Stinky Pete, here voices the somewhat conceited but generally caring Trotsky-expy Snowball.

The Netflix Adaptation

• Development Hell: The Netflix adaptation by Andy Serkis was first announced on August 2018. However, production behind the movie has been moving at a snail's pace. Updates on the film wouldn't get known until June 2020, when Christian Bale was planned to play a leading role. After the release of Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Andy Serkis revealed that production on the movie will continue sometime in 2022 or 2023.

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