AGES 9+
“We all dreamed that one day, animals would be free and run the farm, all of us working together. There was just one thing that stood in the way of our dream: Man.” In Andy Serkis’ deliciously funny, family friendly update of George Orwell, small farms are foreclosed, overconsumption runs rampant at big-box stores, and Cybertrucks cavort with surveillance drones across the land and sky. When a semi-truck arrives at Farmer Jones’ place, the animals rejoice at the promise of a trip to the “laughterhouse.” But when the letter “S” is revealed in front of “laughterhouse,” their journey from ignorance toward independence begins. With a dream voiceover cast including Seth Rogen as Napoleon (“Notorious P.I.G.”), Laverne Cox, Kieran Culkin, Woody Harrelson, Kathleen Turner, Steve Buscemi, Glenn Close, and Jim Parsons (as “All the Sheep”), this updated and accessible fable for our time is a four-legs-up must-see for the family. —K.D. Davis
Age 9+
Andy Serkis
Andy Serkis began his career as an actor, receiving BAFTA and British Independent Film Award nominations for his role as singer/songwriter Ian Dury in Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (2009) and great acclaim for his motion-capture performances in such works as The Lord of the Ringsand Planet of the Apes film series. After serving as the second-unit director on The Hobbittrilogy, he made his directorial debut with Breathe (2017), followed by The Ruins of Empires (2018), Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle (2018), and Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021).