LOS ANGELES, April 30 (UPI) -- Andy Serkis said he wanted to give young viewers of his Animal Farm adaptation, in theaters Friday, a little more hope than George Orwell did at the end of his 1945 novel.
The animated film updates the story of animals taking over their farm and becoming more oppressive than the human farmers were.
In a recent Zoom interview with UPI, Serkis, 62, said the film he directed extends beyond the conclusion of Orwell's story. His hope is to inspire young viewers to ask the adults in their lives questions.
"We actually have a third act to our story rather than leave it in Orwell's complete bleak hands, that there is no hope," Serkis said. "We don't know what the answer's going to be but we've got to keep trying."
The script by Nicholas Stoller also introduced the new character of Lucky, voiced by Gaten Matarazzo. Lucky is a piglet who questions Napoleon's (voice of Seth Rogen) decisions and rewriting of the Animal Farm rules.
