No, really... this movie confounds me. I don't know who this movie is intended for. I am a high school English teacher, and my kids wanted to see the "one with the real animals." (I teach in an inner-city school, mind you.) So I decided to show this one in addition to the 1954 animated version, which itself is a pretty mediocre adaptation.
Wow. Just... wow. I had to do a frontloading lesson on what "heavy handed" means. We also talked about patronizing your audience. Now, if this is supposed to be a *children's* movie, which the simplistic and overbearing narration--along with an even more ridiculous happy ending than the animated version--lead one to believe, why is there the addition of the sexual relations between Mrs. Plikington and Mr. Jones. Why the graphic shots of meat being chopped up? It's pretty dark for a kids' movie. On the other hand, if it is for adults... Plus, to fully understand it, you really have to have read the book; but if you've read the book, the additions and omissions will probably infuriate you (as they did me). On a side note, Jim Henson's Creature Shop does phenomenal work on the pigs! What makes it more frustrating from that angle, too, is that what they adapt straight from the book, they adapt very well. Many speeches are word for word. Many subtle nuances remain in tact. There are some nice flourishes, too, like I very much enjoy the focus on media manipulation. The inclusion of TV as distraction and pig-made films (and their improving production values--look at the first Animal Guard spot versus the final Napoleon-in-clothes one) is a great connection to modern society.
However, the way the story is framed kills it. The inane narration, the sappiness. I even prefaced with asking the kids what they knew about Hallmark, to which I got one response "that's that channel old people watch." The whole "we escaped to wait for this bad stuff to be over... then it was, so we went back... and things got better... and then NEW HUMANS bought the farm... we'll never let this happen again... now we are TRULY FREE." Um. Yeah.
My only suggestion is to use this as a teaching tool of how Hollywood can butcher a good story.
Wow. Just... wow. I had to do a frontloading lesson on what "heavy handed" means. We also talked about patronizing your audience. Now, if this is supposed to be a *children's* movie, which the simplistic and overbearing narration--along with an even more ridiculous happy ending than the animated version--lead one to believe, why is there the addition of the sexual relations between Mrs. Plikington and Mr. Jones. Why the graphic shots of meat being chopped up? It's pretty dark for a kids' movie. On the other hand, if it is for adults... Plus, to fully understand it, you really have to have read the book; but if you've read the book, the additions and omissions will probably infuriate you (as they did me). On a side note, Jim Henson's Creature Shop does phenomenal work on the pigs! What makes it more frustrating from that angle, too, is that what they adapt straight from the book, they adapt very well. Many speeches are word for word. Many subtle nuances remain in tact. There are some nice flourishes, too, like I very much enjoy the focus on media manipulation. The inclusion of TV as distraction and pig-made films (and their improving production values--look at the first Animal Guard spot versus the final Napoleon-in-clothes one) is a great connection to modern society.
However, the way the story is framed kills it. The inane narration, the sappiness. I even prefaced with asking the kids what they knew about Hallmark, to which I got one response "that's that channel old people watch." The whole "we escaped to wait for this bad stuff to be over... then it was, so we went back... and things got better... and then NEW HUMANS bought the farm... we'll never let this happen again... now we are TRULY FREE." Um. Yeah.
My only suggestion is to use this as a teaching tool of how Hollywood can butcher a good story.