The new Chicken Run film has been tipped to spark the biggest ever wave of veganism.
Out in cinemas on Friday (December 15), Dawn Of The Nugget tells the tale of a shady poultry farm where birds are brainwashed into being happy with lobotomising collars. It stars vegan actors like Bella Ramsey and Thandiwe Newton and its director Sam Fell became a veggie during production.
Vegan organisations have heaped praise on the flick and some reckon it could have the same effect as pig film Babe, which sparked the largest spike in vegetarianism in memory.
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Actor James Cromwell, who played the farmer in the 1995 film Babe, also turned vegan during filming. The timing of the new Chicken Run film, just before Veganuary next month when thousands ditch meat for January, means it will pack an extra punch.
Founder of Veganuary Matthew Glover said of the film: “"t’s really pushing the needle. I’ve never seen a cartoon like this." CEO of the UK Vegetarian Society Richard McIlwain added: "The reality is that this is what happens in poultry farms." Director Sam said he would welcome any change for the better. He added: "If you think a little bit more like a chicken by the end of it, then that’s not a bad thing."
It comes after Aardman Animations, the studio behind Chicken Run and the stop-motion puppets Wallace and Gromit, has revealed it has been “playing around” with the fledgling tech AI for future shows. Its co-founder Peter Lord said there is a magic in making clay puppets like the inventor and his dog – but it is exploring using the new technique in case AI becomes popular.
He said: “If the world moves on so far that nobody cares about stop-motion, we’ll adapt. "But we will keep doing what we do so well, as long as people want it. And we’ll still offer it up to them, even if they don’t know they want it.” Although he admitted his studio is exploring using the technology, he thinks folk will always love stop-motion because they “can see how it’s done”.
He said: “Perfection doesn’t interest me much. It’s nice, sometimes, that animation can perfectly imitate real life. But I much prefer it when it gives us the essence of real life and simplifies it.” Peter said the Bristol-based company has “ten, possibly more” projects in the pipeline including the new Wallace and Gromit film, which is due out in 2024.
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The studio is expected to use up the last clay it has always used since the early 70s to make the film, after the one company that makes it, Newclay Products, closed its Newton Abbot plant this year. Aardman announced the clay stock is running out this week in a statement but reassured fans of its animations that it had plenty of other clay in stock. A spokesperson for the company said there is “absolutely no need to worry”, adding: “We have high levels of existing stock of modelling clay to service current and future productions.”
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, which is being released 23 years after the original film, has taken six years to make and features 200 models. The Wallace and Gromit comedy film series has been a huge hit with audiences for more than 30 years. The animated productions by Aardman Animations about an inventor and his dog were created by Nick Park, with their first outing coming in 1989 in A Grand Day Out.
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