From Book to Film: Case Study Four: 1999 Film Ending


Commentary:

This section briefly deals with the 1999 film adaption of Animal Farm, while the live-action film is quite loyal to the narrative of the book there is a wholly new ending. This shows Napoleon’s regime collapsing from corruption. A new farmer comes to Animal Farm and the animals express hope for a better future. This ending is obviously taking into account the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain and the breakup of the USSR. While it can be argued it accurately mirrors Soviet history beyond Orwell’s time, it is imposing a modern day interpretation with the benefit of having seen the Cold War end. It obviously deviates from the book greatly as Orwell himself barely lived long enough to see the Cold War begin. It is unlikely Orwell would have been impressed by this happy ending, which jars with the darker events earlier in both the film and book.

Animal Farm: Film 1999: Ending: Please see post.

Animal Farm: Book Text: There is no of text of course as this ending is depicting events that happened over forty years after the writing of Animal Farm the book.