Chicken Run: 23 Years On, the Message of Freedom Still Prevails

The trailer for Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget was released in September. This is the highly anticipated sequel to Chicken Run, which is the highest-grossing stop-motion animated film to date since its release 23 years ago. After seeing Ginger, Rocky, Mac, and Babs (although their voices have changed) in the trailer, I re-watched Chicken Run and saw the cruelty in the film that I did not understand as a child. I also appreciate the uniqueness of Chicken Run as an animated movie.

The Survival Crisis of Chickens

Chicken Run depicts a flock of chickens residing on Tweedy's Chicken Farm as they search hard for ways to escape the farm and break free from oppression and exploitation by the Tweedys. Similar to the protagonist in any jailbreak narrative, the lead character, Ginger, is intelligent, resourceful, and determined. The difficulties that she and her fellow companions face make Chicken Run more than just a typical prison break story; it is also a story about rebelling against totalitarian oppression and pursuing freedom.

The farm is dark and dismal, which is reminiscent of Nazi concentration camps where the Jews were imprisoned during World War II. The chickens are confined within a fenced area and their coops resemble the Nazi barracks—small, overcrowded, and packed with small bunk beds. Apart from the harsh living conditions, they also face a major survival crisis, as the farm owners, Mr. and Mrs. Tweedy, closely monitor their daily activities and egg production. Hens that do not lay eggs for several days in a row will be taken away for a “vacation”— that is the slaughterhouse. I remember the horror of watching the scene where Mrs. Tweedy kills Edwina, a non-laying hen, for the first time at the age of 10. That was also the first time I witnessed the death of a positive character in an animated film, even though her death is already very subtly hinted at in the movie.

It was only a few years later that I realized Chicken Run was inspired by The Great Escape. The 1963 film is based on a true story of Allied soldiers who attempted to escape from a German prisoner-of-war (POW) camp during World War II. The death of one of the POWs is a significant turning point in the movie. One of the directors of Chicken Run, Peter Lord, admitted that he is not worried about children not being able to comprehend the film due to the incorporation of elements from The Great Escape and other movies in the animated feature. Indeed, they did understand. When I was watching the movie back then as a child, the death of the cute little chickens undeniably left me horror-struck, but it also taught me a lesson about death, that is, it truly exists. The world does not operate the way things do in animated movies where characters can always pull through all types of dangers. Death is a real and inevitable part of life and it does not just come after antagonists as a punishment. From this perspective, I begin to question why most of the children-oriented animated movies avoid the topic of death. As such, I appreciate Chicken Run, which came out in 2000, more for choosing to talk about death openly, allowing countless children like myself to understand its meaning for the first time.

Escape for Freedom

Death itself is an objective reality. Chicken Run has an impactful narrative because it awakens the desire in hens to fight for their survival and freedom through the death of an adorable hen. Initially, the other chickens were unlike Ginger who is determined about escaping. Their varying attitudes towards escaping reflect their different character traits. One of Chicken Run’s appealing factors is the design of the different characters and its plot which establishes different character images, allowing the audience to naturally put themselves in the characters’ shoes and see things from their perspectives. Be it Ginger, naive Babs, rational Mac, resentful Bunty or elderly Fowler who is always reminiscing the good old days; regardless of a chicken’s personality, one will face the question of life and death. They either wait passively for their deaths or escape to survive.

In the story, the arrival of rooster Rocky sparks hope in Ginger and the other hens to escape by learning to fly. There are many funny moments when Rocky, whose voiceover was done by Mel Gibson, interacts with the native chicks on the farm. It is ludicrous how Rocky teaches the other chicks to fly when he himself cannot do so. The differences between the British and American cultures also create many comedic moments during their interactions. Fowler, who fought in WWII, makes fun of Americans for being slow to join every war. Rocky continues this tradition by leaving the farm when his lies are about to be exposed, but later returns to help the chickens during their final battle against the farm owners.

Chicken Run follows a typical genre film narrative where the audience knows that Ginger and all the other chickens will eventually successfully escape and gain freedom. However, at the start of the film, there is a montage of their failed escape attempts. The Tweedys, who are the villains, are almost invincible compared to the chickens. Nonetheless, they use their imagination and teamwork to fly to freedom. Although the power of evil can be indomitably strong and the process of overcoming evil can be challenging, the desire for freedom in every soul gives them the courage to fight evil and makes victory against it possible. Therefore, when Mrs. Tweedy is defeated in Chicken Run, it is not seen as an offense by the chickens against humans. In the world of Chicken Run, only the chickens are living souls, while the farm operators are alienated by money and machines. When the audience cheers for the chickens’ victory, they are actually applauding the pursuit of freedom and a happy life.

The Residual Glory of Stop-Motion Animations

The sequel of Chicken Run, which is also produced by Aardman Animations, will be available on Netflix starting December 15. Although it has a new director, Sam Fell, and most of its voice actors have changed, the main characters from the original Chicken Run remain the same: Ginger, Rocky, Mac, Babs, and even the almighty mice duo Nick and Fetcher. This time, Ginger and Rocky start a brand-new blissful life after moving to a new world where they raise their daughter, Molly. However, they return to the land they once escaped from for the sake of the entire flock’s fate. This means that their mission has transformed from saving themselves to saving all the chickens.

While their responsibilities have been upgraded, the stop-motion animation market has changed drastically. Nowadays, CGI animation has become the mainstream of animated movies. Stop-motion animations like Chicken Run, which required several thousand tons of clay for the entire production, one week of filming for a one-minute scene and two years for completion, have become unconventional. As a fan of Chicken Run, I am looking forward to its sequel, and I cannot wait to hear what the audience and movie industry think of it. We will find out in December whether Dawn of the Nugget will be able to bring new hope to the fading industry of stop-motion animations or be reduced to an average/a run-of-the-mill work like Aardman's previous releases, Early Man and A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon. Meanwhile, why not rewatch Chicken Run? I believe it will still bring you as much joy and inspiration as it did the first time you watched it.