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Going to the movies and grabbing a meal afterwards has always been a popular activity during school breaks. However, the storyline of one of the current top family films might make the usual post-movie meal less appealing.
In the film Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, which will be released in theaters on Friday, a group of hens must be saved from a factory that turns them into nuggets. The hens are kept in a constant state of happiness through the use of collars controlled by remote, which have a lobotomizing effect. According to a scientist, this is because when a bird is scared, it causes their muscles to tense and their connective tissue to form knots, resulting in tough and tasteless meat. By reprogramming the hens’ response to the traumatizing process, the flavor and sales of the nuggets are expected to improve significantly.
The kids who went to a special showing of the Aardman movie on Sunday in London seemed to really like it. None of them were overheard saying they wanted chicken nuggets after leaving the theater.
“It’s making a significant impact,” states Matthew Glover, the creator of Veganuary and the plant-based alternative brand Chick’n. “I’ve never witnessed a cartoon of this nature before.”
“I greatly admire the approach,” states Richard McIlwain, CEO of the Vegetarian Society in the UK. “Even if their intention was not to create a vegan moral lesson, the truth remains that this is the reality of poultry farms. They are not fabricating it.”
The creators of the film have denied accusations of trying to preach, and stated that any reevaluation of diets would be purely coincidental.
The director of the film, Sam Fell, has expressed his desire for it to be both captivating and enjoyable, and an exciting experience overall. However, he also hopes that viewers will leave with a newfound understanding or perspective, even if it resembles that of a chicken.
Several of the main actors in the movie, such as Thandiwe Newton and Bella Ramsay, are vocal advocates for veganism. Director Fell also adopted a vegetarian diet during filming.
Actor James Cromwell became vegan during the filming of the 1995 movie, Babe, which follows the story of a pig who believes it is a sheepdog. This film is responsible for the largest increase in vegetarianism in recent history.
Richard Makin, the writer of Anything You Can Cook, I Can Cook Vegan, believes that the impact of Babe on society has stood the test of time. The film is responsible for promoting compassion, but its impact is often overlooked. Up until the release of Okja in 2017, a Netflix movie about a young girl and her friendship with a pig-like creature, Babe was the sole influencer among young people. Okja’s release caused a rise in sales for Quorn.
“It certainly did have an impact,” says Jon Ronson, who co-scripted the film with director Bong Joon-ho, who also converted to vegetarianism during production. “I remember loads of people tweeting that they were never eating meat again.”
Ronson believes that the upcoming Chicken Run remake will have a similar effect as the original. He acknowledges that the story may be distressing, but he trusts that Aardman will approach it in an entertaining manner.
“Across the globe, there are countless animals being kept indoors. Art is meant to depict a somber truth. Therefore, I commend their efforts.”
It is difficult to overstate the impact of Chicken Run 2. The initial movie still holds the record for the most successful stop-motion film, with a box office earnings of £180m ($225m) in 2000, which is equivalent to over £400m when accounting for inflation. The sequel is also available on Netflix simultaneously with its theatrical release.
According to McIlwain, Netflix is taking on the role of a catalyst for change in the industry. In recent years, he notes that the Vegetarian Society has seen a significant increase in membership due to the impact of two Netflix documentaries: Cowspiracy, which explores the environmental impact of the meat industry, and Game Changers, which highlights the health benefits of veganism.
“Even David Attenborough praised the benefits of a plant-based diet on Planet Earth 3 this week. We are on the verge of a movement, as this message becomes increasingly popular in mainstream media.”
Children’s movies from studios such as Disney, Pixar and DreamWorks have tended to avoid the issue, perhaps with an eye on fast-food outlet tie-in deals, which form a key pillar of such films’ merchandising and promotional push. Even figurines from the gently pescatarian Finding Nemo were given away with McDonald’s Happy Meals – Filet-O-Fish included.
Aardman’s autonomy grants it greater creative freedom. Despite the main character Wallace’s love for Wensleydale cheese, the studio’s films have consistently promoted a mutually beneficial bond between humans and animals. Additionally, it is important to note that the original Chicken Run drew parallels between an egg farm and a POW camp.
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The latest movie takes place several years after, during the early 1950s, when fast food was just beginning to emerge. The chicken nugget production facility is a massive structure reminiscent of a combination between Dr. Strangelove and a Bond villain’s lair, with the chickens crammed into a fluorescently lit imitation amusement park. Their sole means of escape is a colorful escalator, adorned with lights and music, that brings the selected chickens to the nugget-making machine.
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 2013 research published in the American Journal of Medicine, it was discovered that the chicken nuggets sold by two popular fast-food restaurants in the United States contained primarily fat, followed by muscle, tissue, and bone.
In a recent survey conducted in the UK, it was discovered that nearly 20% of 2,000 adults consider nuggets to be an essential part of their lives, and 13% would even choose them for their last meal. This survey, commissioned by Impossible Foods, also revealed that 16% of individuals preferred vegan nuggets.
The creator of Nugs, the first restaurant in the UK that solely serves nuggets, Reis Esiroglu, disagrees with these results. He claims that 95% of his sales come from chicken nuggets. While a shift towards vegan options would bring in higher profits with cauliflower nuggets, Esiroglu does not anticipate a decrease in demand for chicken nuggets in his establishment.
He expressed a desire for McDonald’s to have a drop-off, as he was concerned about how their products are made. He boasted that their own products are of high-end and top quality.
The Guardian reached out to popular fast food establishments such as McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC, and Nando’s, as well as organizations like the National Farmers’ Union and various nugget retailers and producers like Findus, Birds Eye, and Iceland. However, all of them declined to provide a comment.
According to Glover, from Veganuary, the general public’s lack of action towards advocating for better animal welfare standards is largely due to the meat industry’s control over lobbying efforts and their ability to conceal the truth. While people may have a desire to know the source of their food, they often choose to trust the information they are given rather than investigate further.
Worries about the impact of climate change have increased the demand for chicken as individuals worried about the environmental effects of raising beef and lamb turn to poultry. This has resulted in a significant increase in the number of animals being raised for consumption. While a cow may feed many people, a chicken only has two legs and two breasts.
Makin believes that the release of Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget is timely. He notes a decrease in enthusiasm for veganism. The controversial turkey product, Turkey Twizzlers, which were previously removed from stores due to Jamie Oliver’s advocacy, resumed production in 2020 after 13 years.
Makin is hopeful that the next generation will take up the responsibility of ethical practices, and that their parents will also join in this effort. He acknowledges that many people tend to disconnect from their emotions when it comes to food, as it can be difficult to face the reality of the harm caused by industrialized food production on both humans and animals.
Following our initial instincts may hold the solution. “We often have preconceived notions and must unlearn them. Maybe we should take more cues from children, as their initial reactions to learning where meat comes from may reflect our own deep-seated feelings.”
The mysterious facility in Chicken Run 2 features the cryptic phrase, “Where chickens discover their joyful conclusions.” There is anticipation that the movie may help bring about just that.
Source: theguardian.com
