Lio by Mark Tatulli for January 11, 2023

Porky and Daffy or Babe and Ferdinand sitting there with Lio?

I hated that book.

Watching with a pig and a duck. Yeah, he’s read it.

Watch out for the pig, Lio, he may be more equal than others!

…and the advert for ‘Animal Farm’ the breakfast cereal!!

Ishmael qualifies as an animal. Just not that kind.

Arnold the Pig’s next role after he finished “Green Acres”…

there’s not a Snowball’s chance in hell of that being a successful series

Back in 1999 there was an “Animal Farm” TV movie that was advertised in a way that made it look like a “Babe” style cute talking animal movie in which animals take over their farm and wacky high-jinks ensue. My parents, who aren’t the most well-read people, watched the movie with that expectation. They were disappointed, to say the least.

Uh. “The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which”.

Animal Farm is an allegory of demonstrating the tyranny of collectivism and loss of individual freedom. No wonder Lio likes it.

It’s the assumption that any book with an animal in it is a children’s book. Worst example (after Animal Farm) is Black Beauty. It was written as an expose of how cruelly horses are treated.

And soundtrack by Pink Floyd.

4 legs good, 2 legs better.

Walter R. Brooks’ Freddy the Pig series had the First Animal Republic. The talking animals on the Bean Farm set up their own government complete with a flag. Mrs. Wiggins, the very sensible, plain spoken cow was president. Freddy did not ever come to look just like the humans although when he did detective work he often disguised himself as a human.

Yeah, Animal Farm is not for kids, but it sure was prophetic.