Animal Farm is a 1954 British-American animated film directed by animators John Halas and Joy Batchelor and produced by Dora Wilson, which is now considered a 1950s propaganda piece against communism. It was produced by Halas and Batchelor, Dora Wilson Productions and funded in part by the Central Intelligence Agency(CIA). It was based on the 1945 novel of the same name by George Orwell. It was the first British animated feature, and one of the first adult animated feature films. Although the film was a financial failure and took 15 years to generate a profit, it quickly became a staple in classrooms across the United Kingdom, the United States and other English-speaking countries like Australia, Canada, and New Zealand into the 1980s.
The film rights for a film adaptation of Animal Farm were bought from Orwell's widow after she was approached by agents working for the Office of Policy Coordination (OPC), a branch of the CIA that dealt with the use of culture to combat communism.
Maurice Denham provided the voice for all the animals in the film.
Animal Farm was first released in 1954 in theaters both in the US and UK, but bombed at the box office, the film later turned a profit in re-releases.
When first released in 1954, the British Film Board felt the film was unsuitable for children and gave it a rating certificate of "X", prohibiting anyone younger than 21 from seeing the film, and even when the film later received a re-release in the US, the film had received an R rating. The rating has since been amended to "U" (Universal) in the UK, and PG in the US, stating the film as fit for audiences of all ages.
The cult following that gained the film later lead a direct-to-video sequel, Animal Farm 2. Released on April 2001. Unlike the original film and Orwell's original novel, the film was toned down to be mostly light-hearted, which is suitable for young audiences, and adding musical numbers throughout. Despite the sequel became a commercial hit, it was critically panned for its differences from the original.