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A visit to the movie theater, followed by a meal, is a common indulgence during school breaks. However, the storyline of one of the popular family films this season may make the usual post-movie stop less appealing.
In the upcoming movie Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, releasing on Friday, a large number of hens need to be saved from a factory that turns them into nuggets. These hens are kept in a state of artificial happiness through collars controlled by remote, which lobotomize them. According to a scientist, this is because when a bird is scared, its muscles tighten and the connective tissue becomes knotted, resulting in tough and tasteless meat. By altering their response to the fear of being turned into nuggets, it is believed that the taste and sales of the chicken will significantly improve.
At a preview screening in London on Sunday, it seemed as though the children in attendance were enjoying the new Aardman film. None of them were overheard expressing a desire for a bucket of nuggets upon leaving the theater.
“The impact is significant,” states Matthew Glover, the creator of Veganuary and the Chick’n brand of meat alternatives. “I have never witnessed a cartoon with such influence before.”
Richard McIlwain, the CEO of the UK Vegetarian Society, praises the approach used in the project. He acknowledges that even though it may not have been the intention, the documentary accurately depicts the conditions in poultry farms. The events portrayed are not fabricated.
The creators of the film have denied accusations that they are trying to promote a specific message, and instead stated that any reconsideration of one’s diet would be a fortunate outcome.
The director of the film, Sam Fell, has expressed his desire for it to captivate and amuse viewers and be a thrilling experience. However, he also hopes that after watching the film, viewers will have a new perspective, even if it’s just a small one, on what it means to be a chicken.
Several of the main actors in the movie, such as Thandiwe Newton and Bella Ramsay, are enthusiastic advocates for veganism. The director, Fell, also adopted a vegetarian diet while making the film.
Actor James Cromwell became a vegan during the filming of the 1995 movie Babe, which follows a pig who believes it is a sheepdog. This movie is attributed to the largest increase in vegetarianism in recent history.
“It has stood the test of time,” states Richard Makin, the writer of Anything You Can Cook, I Can Cook Vegan. “And has played a significant role in promoting compassion, more than it is typically acknowledged for.” Babe had a significant impact on young audiences until the release of Okja in 2017, another Netflix movie about a young girl who forms a friendship with a pig-like creature. This led to a surge in sales for Quorn.
Jon Ronson, co-writer of the film alongside director Bong Joon-ho, acknowledges that it had a significant effect. He recalls numerous individuals on Twitter declaring their decision to become vegetarians after watching the film.
According to Ronson, the upcoming Chicken Run is expected to have a similar effect. Despite its potentially disturbing and traumatic themes, I have faith in Aardman’s ability to approach it in an entertaining manner.
“Across the globe, there are countless animals living in confinement indoors. Art is meant to depict the harsh truth of reality, so we should support these efforts.”
It is difficult to overstate the impact of Chicken Run 2. The original film holds the record for being the highest-grossing stop-motion movie of all time, earning £180m ($225m) at the box office in 2000, equivalent to over £400m when adjusted for inflation. The sequel is now available on Netflix, coinciding with its release in theaters.
According to McIlwain, Netflix is playing a major role in driving change within the industry. Recently, the Vegetarian Society has seen a significant increase in membership due to the impact of two Netflix documentaries: Cowspiracy, which sheds light on the environmental impact of the meat industry, and Game Changers, which highlights the health benefits of veganism.
This week, David Attenborough praised the benefits of a diet based on plants in the third installment of Planet Earth. It seems we are on the brink of a trend, as this message is gaining more popularity.
Movies meant for kids produced by major studios like Disney, Pixar, and DreamWorks have typically sidestepped this matter, possibly due to their focus on partnering with fast food chains for merchandising and promotional purposes. In fact, even toys from the seafood-friendly Finding Nemo were included in McDonald’s Happy Meals – complete with a Filet-O-Fish.
Aardman’s autonomy provides it with greater freedom in its storytelling. In addition, despite Wallace’s fondness for Wensleydale cheese, the studio’s films have consistently promoted a more mutually beneficial dynamic between humans and animals. It is important to note that the initial Chicken Run drew parallels between an egg farm and a prisoner-of-war camp.
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The new film is set a few years later, in the early 1950s, at the birth of fast food. The chicken nugget factory is a vast, Dr Strangelove-meets-Bond-villain concrete complex, with the chickens helter-skeltered into a Day-Glo faux-funfair. Their only escape is a pink and blue escalator, complete with lights and music, which transports the beatific chosen ones to the nugget-maker.
While other films have expressed scepticism about eating meat more widely, Chicken Run 2 ups the ante by putting a specific foodstuff in the crosshairs. About 2.3bn servings of chicken nuggets are consumed in the US each year, and the product is a key offering of chains including McDonald’s, KFC and Burger King – only the last of which offers a vegan nugget alternative.
In a research study published in the American Journal of Medicine in 2013, it was discovered that more than half of the chicken nuggets sold by two fast-food restaurants in the United States were composed of fat, followed by muscle, tissue, and bone.
A recent study in the United Kingdom revealed that nearly 20% of 2,000 adults consider nuggets to be an essential part of their lives, and 13% would select them as their last meal. The survey, commissioned by plant-based company Impossible Foods, also indicated that 16% of individuals prefer vegan nuggets.
The creator of Nugs, the UK’s initial restaurant dedicated solely to nugget dishes, located in Romford, east London, Reis Esiroglu, would challenge these discoveries. He claims that 95% of his sales come from chicken nuggets. While a move towards vegan options would bring in higher profits with cauliflower nuggets, he doesn’t anticipate a decrease in demand for chicken nuggets at his establishment.
“I hope McDonald’s offers a delivery option,” he stated. “I cringe at the thought of how they prepare their food. Our dishes are of superior quality.”
The Guardian reached out to several popular fast food chains such as McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC, and Nando’s, as well as organizations like the National Farmers’ Union and suppliers of nuggets like Findus, Birds Eye, and Iceland. However, all declined to provide a statement.
According to Glover from Veganuary, the majority of chicken consumed in the UK (around 95%) comes from factory farms due to public apathy towards advocating for better animal welfare standards. This is largely due to the meat industry’s strong influence in lobbying and their ability to cover up the truth. While people may be curious about the source of their food, they also prefer to stay ignorant and trust what they are told rather than investigate further.
Worries about the impact of climate change have led to an increase in the consumption of chicken, as individuals concerned about carbon emissions from beef and lamb turn to poultry instead. This trend results in a significant rise in the number of animals involved in the production system. While a chicken provides two legs and two breasts, a cow can feed a larger number of individuals.
According to Makin, the release of “Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget” could not have come at a better time. He notes that there has been a decrease in enthusiasm for veganism. In 2020, after a 13-year hiatus spurred by Jamie Oliver’s influential movement, the infamous Bernard Matthews Turkey Twizzlers returned to production.
Makin has faith that the younger generation will take up the ethical responsibility, and perhaps this time, their parents will join in as well. “We often distance ourselves from our emotions towards food in general. It can be overwhelming to confront the knowledge of human and animal suffering within the industrialized food industry.”
Following our initial gut reactions may hold the solution. “We often have preconceived notions and need to unlearn them. Maybe we should pay more attention to children because their initial reactions to learning where meat comes from likely mirror our own inner feelings.”
The mysterious factory in Chicken Run 2 features the cryptic phrase, “Where chickens discover their blissful conclusions.” Fans are hopeful that the movie will bring about just that.
Source: theguardian.com
