“ | All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others. | „ |
~ Napoleon's ultimate mantra and most famous quote. |
“ | Long live Animal Farm! | „ |
~ Napoleon’s catchphrase |
Napoleon is the main antagonist of George Orwell's 1945 novel Animal Farm and its adaptations. He is a greedy, sadistic Berkshire boar and the tyrannical ruler of Animal Farm. He was Snowball's arch rival and Benjamin's arch nemesis.
In the animated film, he was voiced by the late Maurice Denham. In the live-action film, he was voiced by Sir Patrick Stewart, who also played Dr. Jonas in Conspiracy Theory, Zobek in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, Darcy Banker in Green Room and John Bosley in Charlie's Angels.
What Makes Him Pure Evil?[]
- Even though he was once a good trusted right hand and friend of Snowball by assisting him and the other animals in getting rid of Mr. Jones and taking control of Manor Farm (later renamed Animal Farm), all of that changed completely as he became a sadistic and greedy tyrant.
- Took away Jessie's newborn puppies to raise, torture, abuse and train them into becoming his bloodthirsty and hostile bodyguards so he could dispose of whoever opposed him. This foreshadows Snowball's banishment and Napoleon's rise to power later on.
- In the live-action adaptation, he persuaded Pincher, one of Manor Farm's dogs, to take an oath of loyalty on the memory of Old Major, and names him chief of the "Animal Guard" before sending him to take away Jessie's puppies to have them brought over to Napoleon so that he can train them as his secret police. When Jessie later demanded that she needed to see her children, Napoleon even forbids her from seeing them.
- When Snowball announces his plans to modernise the farm by building a windmill, Napoleon had his dogs chase him away (and in the animated adaptation, kill him) in order to declare himself leader of Animal Farm and enacting changes to the administration structure of the farm by replacing communal meetings with a committee of pigs who had the power to pass laws.
- Had his dogs slaughter the animals that were supposedly traitors, in many cases for crimes they didn't even commit. In the animated adaptation, it's also heavily implied that Napoleon made at least one dog to be evil in his/her own right, as shown when the said dog killed the cat without being ordered to do so.
- In the live-action adaptation, it is shown via propaganda films that he had animals on trial for working with Snowball sentenced to death by hanging them as a form of execution.
- He engaged in trade with Mr. Whymper and hired him to act as the liaison between Animal Farm and human society while the latter would procure alcohol for Napoleon and the pigs.
- In the live-action adaptation, it is Pilkington whom Napoleon engaged in trade with shady deals because he persuaded Napoleon to be more dictator-like.
- In the live-action adaptation, there is an implication that he was plotting to take over Animal Farm by getting rid of Snowball even seconds after the revolution.
- In the novel version, some of his victims of the mass executions were pigs, which shows that even his fellow pigs weren't safe from his cruelty.
- Employed cruel methods to dispose of animals whom he deemed a threat and adopted tyrannical and dictatorial policies almost identical to those used by the humans, even eventually making hypocritical changes to the sacred Seven Commandments of Animalism, which was Animal Farm's core belief system.
- In the live-action adaptation, he had Old Major's skull placed to oversee the farm's progress and even has a statue of himself erected nearby.
- Sent Boxer off to a glue factory under the pretense that the horse was actually sent to a vet so he could treat his sickness. It turned out that he engineered the sale of Boxer to the knacker, allowing him and his inner circle to acquire money to buy whisky for themselves.
- Made the other animals no longer be able to tell the difference between the pigs and the humans.
- Though he does have some comedic moments in the live-action adaptation, his actions are still played seriously.
- Though he treats his dogs and Squealer with respect, the only reason why he takes good care of them is because they are very useful to him, though he doesn't care about the animals because he just used them as his slaves for doing the dirty work, such as building the windmill, even not caring that the animals were starving because he and the pigs consume a lot of food.
- In the live-action adaptation, his actions result in the farm falling into ruin and almost every animal within dying except for Jessie, Benjamin, Muriel and a few other animals, who ran away from the farm.
- Growing up as a pig in Mr. Jones' farm is the animalistic equivalent to living in poverty and under constant death threat, yet Napoleon went far past it when he became worse than the original oppressor.
- In the novel, he ends up winning in the end without any consequences going towards him. This makes him a prime example of a Karma Houdini.
- In the films, his demise isn't played for sympathy, showing no remorse for his crimes at all, making it well-deserved karma as a result of his terrible actions against the farm animals.
Trivia[]
- Napoleon is based on Joseph Stalin as both used to be one of the trusted right hands during a revolution before betraying them for power by overthrowing their superiors, taking over their leadership and ruling with an iron fist, despite his namesake being that of Napoleon Bonaparte.
- In the French version, his name was changed to Caesar, as Napoleon was a French and controversial ruler.
External Links[]
- Napoleon on the Villains Wiki
- Napoleon on the Hate Sink Wiki
- Napoleon on the Ultimate Evil Wiki
- Napoleon on the Unpublished Villains Wiki