In order to make the story more suitable for children the script is simplified and a lot of the atmosphere of the melancholy is ignored. The political issue like the cat who was meant to a traitor is not used in the film to make it less complicated for the kids.
The struggle of building the windmill is not shown much in the film, as it could be too violent for the children. As in the fights of the windmill a lot of the animals are killed this will be too upsetting for the kids, so this fact is neglected.
The hard times like the harsh, cold winters where the animals’ food rations are reduced dramatically and they have to work extra hours for the windmill to be finished in time and not to be delayed any more, are also not included in the film. While the pigs are having a good time living in the house (even though this wasn’t allowed) with enough food and all the luxuries in the world could have been shown more in detail in the film to show the real side of the pigs.
Although the pigs do put the other animals to work (they sing the catchy "Work Is Freedom," its tune a clear echo of "Whistle While You Work"), the pig's dream of a Workers' perfect place is eventually realized through the introduction of adorable, naive agricultural animals. These animals frequently sang "Napoleon's Got Semolians Now", thinking that the pigs were always right. But none of the animals ever saw the real side of the pigs, till the end. The pigs always deceived the animals but when the animals had a doubt it was soon cleared by lies in the novel. For example, when the pigs sell Boxer to the horse slaughter without the other animals realising. And when one of the animals did realise what was happening, the pig announced that he was taken to the hospital and died there after three days, which wasn’t the truth. None of the animals dared to question the pigs. This is very sad as Boxer is showed as a very hard-working, obedient and a loyal horse towards Snowball and Napolean. This is a very sad moment in the novel so it is missed out in the film. I think this makes the pigs look less nasty in the film. And also in the film, I think the novel's rivalry between Snowball and Napoleon (often equated with Stalin) for the power of the farm is reduced in the film to make it more suitable for the kids and at the same time making it simpler.
In the end, the theme of the story is softened slightly by adding an epilogue where the other animals successfully revolt against the pigs. The ending here is completely changed as it cannot be used for children’s films. This is because children’s stories always end in a happy ending.
Although readers of the book may be put off by of Orwell's political message the film makes it more interesting by visual and sound aids. The little chick makes it funny, as it is different from the other animals. The humorous rollicking songs such as "Four Pig's Feet," "Snowball in Heaven's Chance" and "Work is Freedom" make it a good time for the kids and adds to the humour of the film.
