Animal Farm with John Ross Bowie

Actor, comedian and playwright John Ross Bowie (Brushstroke) joins to discuss the 1954 animated adaptation of George Orwell's ANIMAL FARM featuring the voices of Gordon Heath and Maurice Denham. Co-directed by John Halas and Joy Batchelor, ANIMAL FARM is a beast fable symbolizing decades of Russian history as an animal uprising on a brutally-maintained farm. Partially funded by the CIA's Office of Policy Coordination, ANIMAL FARM was intended as a covert piece of anti-communist propaganda, but performed poorly at the box office, eventually finding its biggest audience in American classrooms. We delve into this animated oddity in the context of Bowie's new play, BRUSHSTROKE, a Cold War comedy thriller dealing with the CIA's involvement in the modern art movement. Plus, we leave room for some off-topic diversions into The Secret of NIMH, The Green Berets, No Way Out, Mike Leigh, Andy Serkis, Captain America, Captain Phillips and much, much more!ANIMAL FARM is currently streaming for free on Freevee and Tubi.BRUSHSTROKE is currently playing at the Odyssey Theater in Los Angeles.Tickets at: https://odysseytheatre.com/tickets/?eid=111850