[[quoteright:219:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/AnimalFarm_1stEd_930.jpg Don't be fooled by the "fairy story." This is no fairy tale.]]

->''"[[BlatantLies All animals are equal]]...[[YesExceptNo but]] [[StrawHypocrite some animals]] are more equal than others."''

A clever BeastFable satirizing the evolving Russian communism by Creator/GeorgeOrwell, as well as a book with two adaptations [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids you should never, ever show your children]]. [[ComicallyMissingThePoint They may start revolting]]. If they weren't revolting enough already.

Orwell tells, allegorically, how the Russian Revolution would go if its participants were animals, and if you reduced Russia to the area of a typical England country farm. When you get what the point of the book is -- being a satire of Communism written during WorldWarII -- it's not hard to guess [[DownerEnding where the plot is going]]. It was strictly outlawed by JosephStalin as it technically depicted Stalin and other Soviet leaders as evil pigs (Old Major as VladimirLenin, Napoleon as Stalin, Snowball as LeonTrotsky and Squealer as Vyacheslav Molotov).

The inspiration for this book came about when Orwell saw a boy leading a cart horse, whipping it all the while. Orwell thought that if animals realized just how strong they are, they can defeat the human race and end up running the world.

In 1955, the British animation studio Halas & Batchelor produced an AnimatedAdaptation, which was widely heralded as a milestone of British animation [[hottip:*:it was the first British animated feature to achieve worldwide release]], though it came under heavy criticism for its LighterAndSofter approach to Orwell's fable, including a (somewhat) HappyEnding in which the farm animals rise up against their new overlords. (It appears that the United States' {{CIA}} had a hand in providing funding for the film, though it seems uncertain whether the film's writers and directors were aware of the fact.)

It also inspired PinkFloyd's ConceptAlbum ''Animals'', though it criticizes capitalism instead of communism. ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowball%27s_Chance Snowball's Chance]]'' also rips on both capitalism and ''Animal Farm'' itself, portraying Snowball returning and becoming a GeorgeWBush {{Expy}}.

A live action version, starring Creator/PatrickStewart as the voice of Napoleon and KelseyGrammer as Snowball, was produced in 1999. A stage adaptation, drawing heavily from another Orwell classic, ''Literature/HomageToCatalonia'', was first produced in 2008.

Do not confuse with ''AnimalHouse''.
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!! Tropes in ''Animal Farm'':

* AdaptationExpansion: The new endings of both film versions. Plus the focus shift to Jessie in the live action version, in place of Clover, who is absent.
* AlwaysChaoticEvil: The pigs tend to be SelfishEvil, especially Napolean, who believe themselves themselves to be the leaders of the farm. Subverted with Snowball and Old Major who were ReasonableAuthorityFigure leaders that actually cared for the other animals.
* AndThenJohnWasAZombie: [[spoiler:The pigs end up adopting human ways to the point where in the end, the other animals find it impossible to tell the pigs from the humans.]]
* AngryGuardDog: Napoleon has nine of these
* AnimalTalk
* AnimatedAdaptation
* ApeShallNeverKillApe: One of the original Seven Commandments forbade animals to kill animals, conveniently discarded when Napoleon became convinced there were potential or actual Pro-Snowball traitors in his midst.
* ArtisticLicenseEconomics: In the 1999 version, Napoleon spends all the farm's income on luxuries for the pigs instead of necessities for the farm. However, the film clearly shows that this kind of behavior doesn't work in the long run, as the farm eventually falls into ruin as a direct result.
* BadassBookworm: Snowball.
* BeamMeUpScotty: In-universe -- Boxer's motto "Napoleon is always right" is actually derived from "If Comrade Napoleon says it, it must be right."
* BeastFable
* BerserkButton: Don't [[spoiler:send Benjamin's best friend Boxer to the knacker's]]. You'll regret it later on. Exclusive to the animated adaptation.
** Happens again in the live action version, but instead of rebelling, a sizable number of the animals use this as justification for leaving the farm.
* BigBad: Napoleon.
* BlatantLies: Everything Squealer says.
** [[CatchPhrase "You don't want Jones to come back, do you?"]]
* BlindObedience: Towards the end of the novel, most of the animals default to this regarding the pig's leadership.
* BolivianArmyEnding: Exclusive to the animated adaptation. It's actually kind of...disturbing.
* BookEnds: In the animated film, [[spoiler:the beginning and end both involve a revolution to overthrow a tyrant.]]
* BrilliantButLazy: Benjamin (DeconstructedTrope).
* TheCaligula: Napoleon, especially in the 1999 film where we actually see his empire ultimately just collapse from his despotic incompetence.
* CantHoldHisLiquor: Squealer and Napoleon, when waking up the next morning after ending up completely plastered while rewriting the amendment that forbade alcohol to forbade drinking to excess (ironically) in the 1990s film, end up with an intense hangover with Napoleon and Squealer remarking that they're dying, showing the reason why animals shouldn't drink alcohol, and thus leading to the paranoia of Napoleon later on.[[hottip:*:This is a TruthInTelevision, as pigs really can't hold their liquor or any alcohol for that matter, as demonstrated in [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tU-Uo44VmY this video.]]
* ChekhovsArmy: The dogs.
* ChekhovsSkill: Benjamin is the only non-pig on the farm who can read just like a human. [[spoiler: Guess who finds out that Boxer's being sent to the knacker's instead of the vet.]]
* CerebusSyndrome: Intentional, obviously.
* TheCommandments: The Principles of Animalism.
* CoversAlwaysLie: The cover for the 1999 film makes it look like a cute, Disneyesque movie for kids. Yeah, no.
* CrowdChant: "Four legs good, two legs baaaaaad!"
** And at the end of the book, it's "four legs good, two legs ''[[FullCircleRevolution better]]''!"
* CyanidePill: One gander confesses to working for Snowball and eats some nightshade berries, which are deadly to ganders, to kill himself
* DeadpanSnarker: Benjamin the donkey. When asked by the other animals whether or not he feels life has improved after the revolution, he says "Donkeys live a long time. None of you has ever seen a dead donkey."
* DirtyCoward: Napoleon and Squealer never take part in any of the actual battles, openly voice their fear of getting killed, and ultimately hide while the other animals do all the fighting.
* {{Disneyfication}}: Both the animated adaptation and the live action adaptation changed the ending to be more uplifting. The live action version was made after the Soviet Union collapsed, making it one of the more justified uses.
* TheDogBitesBack: In the climax of the 1954 film. In the 1999 film, the animals just escape and leave the pigs to their fate.
* DownerEnding: This book is a satirization of the Russian Revolution. Obviously, [[ForegoneConclusion things do not go well.]]
** TheBadGuyWins
** DoomedByCanon
** It's Soviet Russia's actual historical downfall that allowed the film's more upbeat ending, probably the only way to get away with it.
* TheDragon: Squealer.
* DumbIsGood: Oh, they wish.
* DumbMuscle: Boxer, while incredibly strong, isn't exactly the brightest bulb in the box.
* DyingLikeAnimals: Each particular type of animal is supposed to represent a particular "class" or group of people and their behavior in reaction to the revolution and the aftermath. The pigs, for instance, are the upper Party "aristocracy" (and no points for guessing who the sheep are supposed to be...).
* EatsBabies: The hens when Napoleon steals their eggs.
* EunuchsAreEvil: Squealer is a porker, and serves as the mouthpiece for the rest of the pigs.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Mr. Frederick criticizes Pilkington for opening up trade with Napoleon while the other animals on the farm are starving in the 1999 film.
** The crow that had watched Snowball's death at the hands of the dogs, is horrified enough to turn his head away the dogs kill the other animals.
* FaceHeelTurn: Napoleon, as well as most of the other pigs.
** It could be argued that Napoleon was never a good guy to begin with. He begins raising his army of dogs only a chapter after the revolution. This could indicate that he was planning to betray the revolution all along.
* FatBastard: Squealer, who grows ''impossibly fat'' near the end of the novel.
* FourLegsGoodTwoLegsBetter: TropeNamer
* FullCircleRevolution: Most of the pigs stage one of the best known examples of the trope in western literature. It's the core theme of the novel.
* FunWithAcronyms: One of Orwell's suggested titles for its French translation was ''Union des républiques socialistes animales'', which roughly acronyms as URSA -- Latin for "bear", the symbol of Russia (not no mention referencing ''Union des républiques socialistes soviétiques'', acronymed as URSS, which is the French equivalent to USSR).
* GladIThoughtOfIt: Napoleon appropriates Snowball's windmill idea after the latter's exile.
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: The film opens in Jones' bedroom, with the bed shaking and a female voice going "Ohhh...Mr. J...".
* GullibleLemmings: Most animals, but specially sheep.
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: Most of the pigs.
* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: Not exactly per say, but Old Major and Snowball were far, Far, [[RuleOfThree FAR]] better than [[VladimirLenin their historical]] [[LeonTrotsky counterparts]] and NotSoDifferent from JosephStalin.
* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: Fundamental to the book's premise. Not that the animals are much better.
** In contrast with the humans, the animals are generally portrayed positively in the book. After the revolution, the animals all work together 'according to their capacity' and no animal steals 'so much as a mouthful'. Napoleon and the pigs who go along with him (after he exiles Snowball and does away with any form of democracy on the farm) are an exception, since they represent the emerging ruling class of Russia (which Orwell despised). Another exception is Mollie who represents the middle class.
* HumansAreCthulhu: Subverted, but they kept the [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu punching-out]] part.
* {{Hypocrite}}: The pigs but especially Napoleon who hoards sugar for himself, not even sharing it with the other pigs, because it will make them fat.
* IAmAHumanitarian: Jessie averts this in the film when she refuses to eat her comrade Major's meat being offered by Jones.
* InternalRetcon: The real truth of the revolution keeps getting this treatment until no one really remembers the original facts except those smart enough to keep their mouth shut.
* KangarooCourt: One after another, many animals "admit" to helping Snowball sabotage the farm and get immediately killed. (This being a reference to Stalin's purges and show trials of the late 1930s).
* KarmaHoudini: One of the most egregious examples ''ever''.
** [[spoiler:Not so much in the animated movie.]]
* LargeHam: Snowball and Squealer (fitting, because they're both pigs).
** This makes sense, because they were based on Trotsky and Molotov, respectively, both of whom were grandiose
* MadeOfIron: In the animated adaptation, notably animals snapping barbed wire like strings, and a bull snapping a chain attached to his nose-ring by yanking on it.
* MeaningfulName: Snowball (as in the snowball effect), Napoleon (as in the dictator), and Moses (as in the one talking about Sugarcane Mountain, a "promise land").
* MeetTheNewBoss
** More specifically he seems to imply that fascism leads to tyranny (Mr. Frederick/Nazi Germany), liberal democratic capitalism leads to waste (Mr. Pilkington/Britain and the West), and none of the politicians on all sides cared about anyone but themselves.
** The ending seems to imply that the pigs and humans are essentially the same, meaning metaphorically the Stalinism is essentially just another form of conservative capitalism, keeping down the working classes (or the other animals). Which explains why they had to change it for the movie, of course.
* MoodWhiplash: What was supposed to be a tragic moment in the film, as old Major dies before his cause is fulfilled, becomes a FunnyAneurysmMoment when he ''falls off the roof of the barn, does a triple backflip, and crashes dead in a haystack.''
** So the animals are now happy and cheerful, then they enter the farmhouse and find Major's butchered carcass in the kitchen (along with [[LosingYourHead his severed head]] in a meat rack.)
** The 1954 movie's first half was cheerful and somewhat comical, which makes Napolean's regime all the more jarring.
* MyLocal: Mr. Jones's is called The Red Lion.
* ANaziByAnyOtherName: Mr. Frederick. He blatantly resembles Hitler in the 1999 film. Ironically, he's more sympathetic there than he was in the novel.
* NiceGuy: Boxer.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Napoleon was based on JosephStalin, Snowball on LeonTrotsky, while Old Major is based on both KarlMarx and VladimirLenin.
* NotSoDifferent: More or less the moral; the final line of the book sees the animals look from their pig rulers to the humans they are meeting with and being no longer able to tell the difference.
* OhCrap: In the 1954 film, [[spoiler: when the animals rebel, the pigs seem to know very well what's coming to them, especially Napoleon.]]
** Mr. Jones in the same film, when he sees the red eyes of the animals and realizes they're much more organized than he thought before.
* OddFriendship: Boxer is immensely strong, but rather stupid. Benjamin is highly intelligent, ''extremely'' cynical, and rather cranky. They are best friends, and indeed it's implied that Boxer is the only animal Benjamin considers a friend.
* PlagiarismInFiction: Snowball comes up with the idea to build a windmill. Napoleon steals it. What's worse, he makes things seem as though Snowball was the one who stole the idea, and before having Snowball exiled, he expresses displeasure in the concept, at one point he even goes so far as to urinate on the plans.
* PlayingAgainstType: Who would have imagined that [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Jean Luc Picard]] would have played a ''pure evil'', usurping, Stalin-expy dictator?
* ThePromisedLand: Sugarcandy Mountain. Played on the cynical side that it doesn't exist, and it's told to only keep the animals in line.
* ThePurge
* PyrrhicVictory: The Battle of the Windmill is this but Napoleon covers up the losses.
* ReallyGetsAround: Implied that Napoleon fathered many of the new porkers in the farm. The other pigs were castrates.
* RedOniBlueOni: Snowball and Napoleon, respectively, with Snowball's role as the red later taken up by Squealer
* ReleasedToElsewhere: The fate of [[spoiler:Boxer, whom Napoleon betrays and sells to the knacker]].
* RetIrony: [[spoiler:Boxer was injured when he was due for retirement. He then ends up "sent to the vet" (in actuality, he's being sent to the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knackers knackers]])]]
* RomanAClef: Of a sort. Granted, the people are mostly replaced by animals.
* Rule34: [[http://rule34.paheal.net/post/list/animal_farm/1 Proof that no-one is safe from Rule 34.]]
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Mollie runs away and gets a new job as a carriage horse. Smarter than she looks, all right!
* ShoutOut: "I will work harder," Boxer's motto, was found in the mouth of Jurgis Rudkus from Upton Sinclair's ''TheJungle''.
* SinisterMinister: Moses, Farmer Jones' pet raven, who fled the farm when Jones was overthrown and returned years later to tell the animals about Sugarcandy Mountain. His position is kind of analogous to that of religion; his claims are officially denied by the pigs but they keep him around to keep the animals in line.
** Keep in mind that this was very similar to how the Soviet Union [[TruthInTelevision usually dealt with religion]]. Actually, if anything, ''Animal Farm'' downplayed it. In the real life Soviet Union, while the case can be argued that the Soviet Union used the Russian Orthodox Church to keep their people in line even though they never actually believed it, the truth is that that was only if the religious people were actually lucky. Most of the time, the Soviets were attempting to eliminate religion outright, and even had the KGB try to investigate locations of churches, sometimes even tricking people to help them locate a church so they could arrest the occupants for practicing religion, and the penalty was either execution or being placed in a work camp.
** Moses' reinvigorated status under the pigs' rule might have been inspired by the fact that after Nazi Germany's attack on the Soviet Union in 1941, Joseph Stalin revived the Russian Orthodox Church to intensify patriotic support for the war effort.
* SlidingScaleOfAnimalCommunication: The animals can talk to each other, but only the pigs seem able to talk to humans, and then again only after they take over the farm.
* SmugSnake: Squealer, especially in the 1999 movie. He ''really'' loves to rub the pigs' superiority in the other animals' faces, even while he's actively deceiving them.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Is it Moll''ie'' or Moll''y''? The book itself tends to use the first, while some other references (including us) use the second.
* StrawHypocrite: The pigs.
** Made especially ironic in the 1999 version, as when Squealer changes one of the laws from 'Animals shall not drink' to 'Animals shall not drink to excess', he's ''still'' in violation of the law, as he's completely wasted at the time he's adding the extra words.
*** This was implied in the novel as well, since the animals hear a loud crash and run out in time to see Squealer stumbling around near the barn with a ladder and pot of white paint, but they're too dumb to realize what he was doing.
* SurprisinglySuddenDeath: Old Major in the animated film. "Squeeee! Oink oink oink, squee oink oi-GASP!" *dies*
* TalkingAnimal: By the end, [[spoiler:the pigs. Walking, too]].
* TalkingToHimself: In the animated version, all the onscreen characters were voiced by Maurice Denham.
* TotalitarianUtilitarian: The pigs start out like this. As the story progresses, some pigs are lost, while others are corrupted by their power unless they were really {{Straw Hypocrite}}s all along. By the end of the story, the remaining pigs have become what they once rebelled against.
* TyrantTakesTheHelm: Napoleon plays it ''deadly'' straight.
* UndyingLoyalty: A cynical interpretation with Boxer, who represents Stalin's most dedicated supporters in the proletariat.
* {{Unperson}}: Mollie.
--> ''"None of the animals ever mentioned Mollie again."''
* UnusualAnimalAlliance: At least at first.
* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: No one seems to think it's weird that animals are running a farm by themselves, something that would most likely draw large crowds in real life. People even think the animals will just starve to death by themselves.
* VerbalTic: "Four legs good, two legs bad!" [[spoiler:And later "Four legs good, two legs better!"]]
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Napoleon in Chapter 8 of the novel (it was hard to come across an animal without hearing how Napoleon's way of running things has improved his/her life). Not so much in the film adaptations, though...
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Animal Farm was originally going to be a direct exposé on the various atrocities committed by Stalin and his regime in the Soviet Union. However, the British press at the time would not publish it because [[TooSoon the British Parliament at the time needed Stalin's support during World War II against Nazi Germany]]. His making it an allegory with talking animals was the only way he could get his message across in such a way that didn't interfere with the war effort.
* [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse What Happened to the Cat?]]: In the book she just stops appearing after the first few chapters, and later isn't mentioned in the list of animals who've died, whilst only Snowball and Molly are ever acknowledged to have left the farm. The animated adaptation doesn't even keep her around for the original revolution.
** It's mentioned that she didn't show up to the meeting where Napoleon killed a bunch of the animals, so she probably ran away into the wild. Cat owners will tell you, cats are smart.
*** In the animated adaptation, the cat is killed by the dogs when the