Team behind 'Chicken Run' sequel hail stop-motion filmmaking

The director of a long-awaited sequel to stop-motion classic "Chicken Run" believes the "unique" filmmaking technique has enduring cinematic appeal, as the new film premiered in Britain on Saturday.

"Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget", from Aardman Studios — the British animation studio behind "Wallace and Gromit" — had a big-screen debut at the London Film Festival ahead of its release on Netflix on December 15.

The beloved original in 2000 — a spoof on wartime prison escape dramas, about a flock of chickens fleeing the clutches of a sadistic farmer — remains the highest-grossing stop-motion animation of all time.

The painstaking filmmaking method involves physically manipulating objects — in this case puppets of chickens, other animals and human characters — frame-by-frame to create the illusion of movement.

Sam Fell, the director behind the follow-up, expects it to prove similarly popular on the streaming platform because people still crave "the handmade" even as society becomes ever more technological.

"Stop motion is truly handmade, it's a very tactile thing, and a piece of stop-motion animation is a one-off event that's been captured on camera — it's lightning in a bottle," he told AFP ahead of its red carpet unveiling.

For the film's production designer Darren Dubicki, the use of physical materials in the process helps forge a special relationship with audiences.

"When you see characters made from materials that you're kind of used to... there's a warmth and charm to it that really appeals," he said.

"Dawn of the Nugget" sees returning lead characters Ginger and Rocky safe on an island bird sanctuary, but with a daughter, Molly, who is itching to see the world but gets trapped on a factory farm.

Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.

Fell and Aardman Studios have been labouring over the much-anticipated sequel for six years, carefully plotting how to bring their cherished creations back to the screen for another action-packed adventure.

"In the end, the thing that cracked it was a simple line... 'this time they're breaking in'," the director explained.

"It just conjured up a new kind of movie for Aardman, like a break-in movie, like a heist film, and all of the promise of that premise."

Finishing the film took so long in part because of the Covid pandemic, which required some special measures for the crew — some of whom worked on the original — as well as the puppets.

"Once a chicken had been animated, it had to go into quarantine. So there was a chicken quarantine area with UV lights, where the chicken would be out of action for three weeks!" recalled Fell.

Dubicki, one of those to work on the original, as a graphic artist, was left amazed by the elaborate sophistication of the puppets used in stop-motion today.

ALSO READ:

• Calling all '80s, '90s kids: Dubai restaurant turns family home into nostalgic haven

• Post 'Haddi' success, Anandita Studios unveil the first look of 'Navras- Katha Collage'

• Meet the British actor changing the movie landscape for global audience