Andy Serkis' ANIMAL FARM Film Was Picked Up By Netflix
Earlier this week we learned that Warner Bros. sold Andy Serkis' Jungle Book movie Mowgli to Netflix. Now another one of his film projects was just picked up by the streaming service.
According to Variety, Netflix purchased the rights to Serkis' feature film adaptation of George Orwell’s iconic novel Animal Farm and they will also develop it. Serkis, who has been attached to the film since 2012, is directing and producing through his Imaginarium production company.
Animal Farm tells the story of a group of farm animals who successfully revolt against their cruel human owner, only to be enslaved anew by the unscrupulous pig Napoleon, whose slogan is "all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."
According to Orwell, the book reflects events leading up to and during the Stalin era before the Second World War. "The novel addresses not only the corruption of the revolution by its leaders but also how wickedness, indifference, ignorance, greed and myopia corrupt the revolution. It portrays corrupt leadership as the flaw in revolution, rather than the act of revolution itself. It also shows how potential ignorance and indifference to problems within a revolution could allow horrors to happen if a smooth transition to a people's government is not achieved."
When previously talking about the film, Serkis said that they were going to move away from the politics of the book, saying:
"We’re keeping it fable-istic and [aimed at] a family audience. We are not going to handle the politics in a heavy-handed fashion. It is going to be emotionally centered in a way that I don’t think has been seen before. The point of view that we take will be slightly different to how it is normally portrayed and the characters—we are examining this in a new light."
I never saw this story as a family film, and the politics of it is what made it so interesting. I'm not sure if this is still the plan for the film so we'll just have to wait and see. Serkis had this to say in a statement:
"We are incredibly excited to have finally found the perfect creative home in Netflix for this extraordinarily zeitgeist work by George Orwell. On top of that, to be re-united with my great friend Matt Reeves — with his acute sensitivity, storytelling intelligence and honesty and command in this realm — is to have the very best scenario for our long-held passion to bring this fable alive."
Serkis seems to have built a strong relationship with Netflix. I'm actually kind of excited for this project because I really love the novel that it's based on. I hope that Serkis does it justice.