Andy Serkis’ Animal Farm Movie Uses Terrible Reviews in Brilliant Marketing Stunt
Since its theatrical debut last Friday, The Lord of the Rings star Andy Serkis‘ newest directorial effort, Animal Farm, has been met with negative reviews from critics. The movie was loosely based on George Orwell’s classic dystopian novella of the same name.
Most critics have voiced out their disappointment over the new adaptation’s lack of faithfulness to its beloved source material, describing it as an unhinged mess due to the changes it made to the original story. Peter Debruge of Variety has called the film “far too disorderly to substitute for the book,” while Tim Robey of the UK’s Daily Telegraph believed that the new movie makes the audience “feel trapped and punished through every phase of the story.”
Clearly, critics aren’t having the best time with the adaptation. But that doesn’t mean the film’s marketing team isn’t willing to flip the script on negative press with a cute twist.
How is Andy Serkis’ Animal Farm taking advantage of its bad reviews?
Because of the overwhelmingly negative reception, Animal Farm now holds a 24% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, while its Popcornmeter score is higher at 62%. However, this hasn’t stopped Angel Studios from continuing to promote the star-filled animated movie.
In a cheeky meta marketing stunt on social media, the creative team used the movie’s latest negative reviews and low Tomatometer ratings to its advantage. In their post, the film’s main antagonist – the pig Napoleon – can be seen holding up a paintbrush. It implies that he had changed some of the negative reviews into positive ones by painting red over them.
This marketing stunt is a clever and playful way to demonstrate the book and the film’s themes of propaganda and misinformation. In the allegorical yarn, Napoleon is a dictator who manipulates the truth through spreading his propaganda to gain power, distort reality, and maintain control over other animals in a dystopian farm.
That’s why using Napoleon for this fun marketing strategy is a fitting and funny way to pique more people’s interest in the film. It not only turns the negative reception on its head, but it also conveys the movie’s themes of censorship and information control. Bad press can be manipulated into praise, and parents can use that to teach the film’s messaging. If nothing else, it’s audacious.
Animal Farm seemed primed for success, with the sort of star-studded cast that often attracts audiences to animated films. It features the voices of Seth Rogen as Napoleon, Glenn Close as Freida, Woody Harrelson as Boxer, Steve Buscemi as Mr. Whymper, Jim Parsons as Carl, Kathleen Turner as Benjamin, and several more. Yet so far, the film has only grossed around $3.3 million against a budget of around $35 million. It’s a brutal reception for something with this much cultural weight behind it.
But while the overall critical perception is negative, and the box office is stacked against it, there’s a chance a playful marketing stunt like this can encourage people to watch the movie. Whether or not that affects its overall reputation – or ever puts it on the same level as the original novel – is a different issue altogether.
Source: Comingsoon.net