This animated movie is a pigsty.

I’ve read George Orwell’s book “Animal Farm” and watched the 1954 animated feature in high school, and believe me, this is not grade school stuff. This is the kind inspired by what led up to the Russian Revolution and into the Stalin era of the Soviet Union. And I grew up on the animated retelling of “Charlotte’s Web” as a kid, and believe me, that was a fable for all ages and a delightful version at that.

The new animated version of “Animal Farm” basically wants to be a “Charlotte’s Web” wannabe, but doesn’t even reach the level of “Home on the Range.” In fact, it follows tropes and exhausting jokes, such as fart jokes, poop jokes, teenage crushes, rap music, the villain’s annoying sidekick, and conglomerates trying to take over small businesses. It’s sad to watch a farm being transitioned into a factory with machines and big business emerging, and I can assume this version now takes place in the 2020s if that’s the case.

You know the story of how the farm animals get their abusive owner off the farm and take over with rules and the name “Animal Farm.” “All Animals Are Equal” and “No Animal Shall Kill Another Animal” are among them. The pig Snowball (voiced by Laverne Cox) establishes them, but the bad pig Napoleon (voiced by Seth Rogen and his laugh) takes over and makes life Hell for the animals. He changes the rules, spends their hard earned money on TVs and hot cars, collaborates with conglomerate Freida Pilkington (Glenn Close), and little regard for all the animals on the farm.

The movie’s obligatory young hero is a young pig named Lucky (voiced by Gaten Matarazzo), who tries to follow Snowbell’s old ways, but ends up following Napoleon. He’s the one with the crush on the girl pig Puff (voiced by Iman Vellani), the best friends in the forms of the horse Boxer (voiced by Woody Harrelson) and the donkey Benjamin (voiced by Kathleen Turner), and the gullibility between what’s right and wrong. Even he learns to walk on two legs and wear clothes, while worrying about his animal friends’ wellbeing.

This “Animal Farm” was directed by Andy Serkis, who voices of some of the characters like a rooster with bad puns (“Lets cock a doodle do this,” he says), while the screenplay was written by Nicholas Stoller, whose better family film credits include “The Muppets” and “Storks.” Their first collaboration is like something made out of a committee. Even a “Babe” reference feels forced, and the “That’ll do pig. That’ll do” quote actually worked in “Zootopia 2.” I wasn’t convinced for one minute this was a Serkis piece and I guess it would be a Stoller entry if we have the voice of Rogen and a lot of parties (think back to “Neighbors,” parents). All I was given was a statement about how the director became involved with Orwell’s story, which he says was a 15 year journey. After seeing this, I think it was a 15 minute journey for him.

This is also the second bad movie I’ve seen this decade with the pun “The Notorious P.I.G.” after “Space Jam: A New Legacy.” But I won’t go deep into that. Instead, I’ll mention that Angel Studios, which distributes it, makes sure that this “Animal Farm” is suitable for younger kids. The original story also suggested that Napoleon send the dogs to kill Snowball, and here, it looks more like an escort. Although, we adults can assume her death is off-screen. And “No Animal Shall Kill Another Animal” isn’t written in blood “Without Cause” here. This is basically the same thing as making little kids watch the 2005 “Chicken Little,” and later learning that the 1943 cartoon had the fox eating all the chickens thanks to its Nazi psychology.

Next week, the better family movie coming out is “The Sheep Detectives.” Trust me, the sheep in that film stick to the classics.