Not Your Father’s Orwell: Angel Drops Flashy ‘Animal Farm’ Trailer, Reveals May 1 Release Date

Andy Serkis’ long-gestating animated adaptation of George Orwell’s Animal Farm has finally got a trailer and theatrical release date.

Utah-based production and distribution company Angel (fka Angel Studios), which previously distributed the hybrid feature Sketch and will release David this holiday season, will bring Animal Farm to U.S. theaters on May 1.

The trailer offers something perhaps unexpected to fans of the source material. Pop music and flashy CG animation, accompanied by broad humor, seem more akin to a Minions movie than the original satire penned by Orwell. It’s clear that the intention with this adaptation was to produce something more relevant to modern audiences. We’ll have to wait until May 1 to find out if it worked.

One of the buzziest titles heading into this year’s Annecy, Animal Farm had an inauspicious debut at the June festival, where reviews and audience reactions were mixed, although certainly buoyed by Serkis’ presence at the screening and around town that week. As far as Hollywood stars attending Annecy go, Serkis was as, if not more, approachable than most, involved in all sorts of activities, hugely supportive of the projects and screenings he attended, and earned tremendous goodwill from the industry and student attendees at the French event.

Serkis directed the feature from a screenplay by BAFTA-nominated writer Nicholas Stoller, whose animation credits include Captain Underpants: The First Movie and Storks.

The film’s star-studded voice cast features Seth Rogen, Glenn Close, Woody Harrelson, Kieran Culkin, and more. It’s produced by Adam Nagle and Dave Rosenbaum for Aniventure, and Jonathan Cavendish for Imaginarium Productions, with animation provided by Cinesite.