In Chicken Run: Dawn Of The Nugget, Nothing Is Scarier Than Being A Parent [Set Visit]
Parenthood is terrifying, and not just because of all the financial costs. As soon as babies learn to crawl and then walk, they have an uncanny ability to find the most dangerous thing in their vicinity, whether they're sticking their fingers in electrical sockets or eating mysterious objects off the ground. "Chicken Run" heroine Ginger learns that the hard way in the upcoming sequel, "Dawn of the Nugget," when she and Rocky hatch an adorable chick called Molly (voiced by "The Last of Us" star Bella Ramsey), who starts looking for trouble before she's even all the way out of her shell.
On a visit to the set of "Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget" at Aardman Animations, I learned that Molly was originally going to be a boy, and there was even a fully-built model of Rocky and Ginger's son. But director Sam Fell instead chose to tell a mother-daughter story about how the brave and fearless Ginger, who led the mass escape of revolting chickens from Tweedy's Farm in the first film, has seemingly lost her rebellious spirit. Fell explained:
"It was just so interesting to look at Ginger in the first film, I think she really drove the first film actually, like it was her dream and her want and everything and she drove the story. [Molly didn't necessarily] need to be a daughter, but the thing was like, 'Oh, what's Ginger going to do next?' She got a happy ending. Well, what happens if she had a daughter and her daughter was just like her, i.e. freedom-loving? What happens when that little island that Ginger's created turns out to be a bit limiting for Molly?"
Chicken Ripley
In the original "Chicken Run," much of Ginger's apparent fearlessness was actually the product of fear. As demonstrated to the audience in a scene that left scars on the psyche of many children (and a few adults), the chickens who failed to lay enough eggs to satisfy Mrs. Tweedy's quota got moved on to the next (and final) stage of their careers in the food production industry: a block of wood, an ax, and a swift chop. With nothing to lose and only a grim, bloody future ahead, it was easier to take risks. But with an idyllic island chicken paradise and a family to protect, Ginger has even more reasons to be afraid.
"Ginger's slightly traumatized, she kind of has a fear now," said Fell. "I looked at like Ripley in ['Aliens'], you know, she doesn't want to go back down to the planet because she knows what's out there." Molly, meanwhile, grows up in the safe cocoon of the island with no awareness of what happens to chickens in the outside world. And because she's inherited Ginger's bold spirit and Rocky's thrill-seeking daredevil ways, Molly is anxious to find out if the grass really is greener on the other side.
As if that prospect wasn't scary enough for Ginger, Fell also wanted to "make the threat bigger" in "Dawn of the Nugget." Tweedy's Farm wasn't exactly paradise, but compared to the modern horrors of factory farming, "it's kind of like a nice organic farm, really." As Molly seeks adventure beyond the island, Mrs. Tweedy is waiting with a new look, a new husband, and a sinister lair called Chicken Funland. Let's hope Ginger can find a powered exoskeleton that fits chickens.
"Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget" releases December 15, 2023, on Netflix.