Animal Farm is a satirical allegorical novella, in the form of a beast fable, by George Orwell, first published in England on 17 August 1945. It tells the story of a group of anthropomorphic farm animals who rebel against their human farmer, hoping to create a society where the animals can be equal, free, and happy. Ultimately, the rebellion is betrayed, and under the dictatorship of a pig named Napoleon, the farm ends up in a state far worse than before.
Sonia Mary Brownell, better known as Sonia Orwell, was the second wife of writer George Orwell. Sonia is believed to be the model for Julia, the heroine of Nineteen Eighty-Four.
Snowball is a character in George Orwell's 1945 novel Animal Farm. He is largely based on Leon Trotsky, who led the opposition against Joseph Stalin (Napoleon). Snowball is depicted as an intellectual white pig whose leadership, dedication, and feats for Animal Farm is unparallel to any others on the farm, however he is rivaled by Napoleon who has hatred for Snowball. In the 1954 film adaptation of Animal Farm, he was voiced by Maurice Denham, and was voiced by Kelsey Grammer in the 1999 television adaptation.
Boxer is a character from George Orwell's 1945 novel Animal Farm. He is shown as the farm's dedicated and loyal laborer. Boxer serves as an allegory for the Russian working-class who helped to oust Tsar Nicholas and establish the Soviet Union, but were eventually betrayed by the government under Joseph Stalin.
Squealer is a fictional character, a pig, in George Orwell's 1945 novel Animal Farm. He serves as second-in-command to Napoleon and is the farm's minister of propaganda. He is described in the book as an effective and very convincing orator and a fat porker. In the 1954 film, he is a pink Large White pig, whereas in the 1999 film, he is a Tamworth pig who wears a monocle.
Major is the first major character described by George Orwell in his 1945 novel Animal Farm. An elderly Middle White boar, his "purebred" of pigs is a kind, grandfatherly philosopher of change.
Mr. Jones of Manor Farm is a fictional character in George Orwell's 1945 allegorical novel Animal Farm. Jones is an allegory for Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. Jones is overthrown by the animals of his farm, who represent Bolshevik and liberal revolutionaries.
"English Civil War" is a song by English punk rock band the Clash, featured on their second album Give 'Em Enough Rope, and released as a single on 23 February 1979. It reached number 25 in the UK Singles Chart and number 29 in the Irish Singles Chart.
John Halas OBE was a pioneering British animator. Together with Gyula Macskássy, and Félix Kassowitz, Halász co-founded Hungary's first animation studio, Coloriton, in 1932. Coloriton existed for 4 years, producing animations for cinemas, including Boldog király kincse. Halász learned his craft under George Pal, but launched his own career in 1934, and two years later moved to England where later, with his wife Joy Batchelor, founded Halas and Batchelor in 1940.
Halas and Batchelor was a British animation company founded by husband and wife John Halas and Joy Batchelor. Halas was a Hungarian émigré to the United Kingdom. The company had studios in London and Cainscross, in the Stroud District of Gloucestershire.
Joy Ethel Batchelor was an English animator, director, screenwriter, and producer. She married John Halas in 1940 and subsequently co-established Halas and Batchelor cartoons, whose best known production is the animated feature film Animal Farm (1954), which made her the first woman director of an animated feature since Lotte Reiniger. Together they created over 2000 shorts/films, and produced roughly 70 propaganda pieces during World War II for the British government. She helped co-write, write, animate, produce, and direct many of their productions.
Benjamin is a donkey in George Orwell's 1945 novel Animal Farm. He is also the oldest of all the animals. He is less straightforward than most characters in the novel, and a number of interpretations have been put forward to which social class he represents as regards to the Russian Revolution and the Soviet Union. Benjamin also represents the old people of historical Russia because he remembers the old laws that have been changed.
Animal Farm is a 1999 political comedy-drama television film directed by John Stephenson and written by Alan Janes. Based on the 1945 novel of the same name by George Orwell and serving as an allegory of the Russian Revolution and its aftermath, the film features an ensemble cast including Kelsey Grammer, Ian Holm, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Patrick Stewart, Julia Ormond, Paul Scofield, Charles Dale, Pete Postlethwaite, Alan Stanford and Peter Ustinov. Jim Henson's Creature Shop provided the film's animatronic animals. In the film, a group of anthropomorphic animals revolt successfully against their human owner, only to slide into a more brutal tyranny among themselves when an evil pig takes control of the farm.
Snowball's Chance is a parody and unofficial sequel to George Orwell's Animal Farm written by John Reed, in which Snowball the pig returns to the Manor Farm after many years' absence, to install capitalism — which proves to have its own pitfalls.
United Kingdom Animation began at the very origins of the art form in the late 19th century. British animation has been strengthened by an influx of émigrés to the UK; renowned animators such as Lotte Reiniger (Germany), John Halas (Hungary), George Dunning and Richard Williams (Canada), Terry Gilliam and Tim Burton have all worked in the UK at various stages of their careers. Notable full-length animated features to be produced in the UK include Animal Farm (1954), Yellow Submarine (1968), Watership Down (1978), and Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005).
Brian "H.B." White was a British cartoonist, creating 'The Nipper' for the Daily Mail between 1933 and 1947. Both "Keyhole Kate" and "Double Trouble" ran in London's Evening Standard.
Scruff is a 2000 Catalan animated TV series by D'Ocon Films. The series is based on a 1993 book by Josep Vallverdú. It depicts the life of a puppy, Scruff, who is adopted by a farmer named Peter. The show was directed by Antoni D'Ocon and distributed in English by BKN International. The animation is rendered using Toon Boom's Harmony software, through a method of creating traditional 2D animated characters over a 3D computer-generated background.
Handling Ships is a 1945 British stop motion animated film made by Halas and Batchelor. The 70-minute film was created at the request of the British Admiralty, as a training aid for new navigators joining the Royal Navy. Although never formally released to cinemas because of its small target audience, Handling Ships was an "Official Selection" at the 1946 Cannes Film Festival, and is recognised as the first feature-length work, and the first work in Technicolor, in British animation history.
Napoleon is a fictional character and the main antagonist of George Orwell's 1945 novel Animal Farm. While he is at first a common farm pig, he exiles Snowball, another pig, who is his rival for power, and then takes advantage of the animals' uprising against their masters to eventually become the tyrannical "President" of Animal Farm, which he turns into a dictatorship, eventually becoming every bit as openly cruel as its original human owner and being perceived as physically indistinguishable from a human at the very end of the story.
Harold Jackson Whitaker was a British animator, whose credits included Animal Farm in 1954 and Heavy Metal in 1981. He first worked for Anson Dyer, before spending thirty years as an animator for Halas and Batchelor. He made a comic strip adaptation of Animal Farm in 1954.
