I know this is a stretch when it comes to relating an animated movie to Beloved, but Chicken Run reminds me a lot of certain elements of Beloved. This movie is about a group of chickens that are stuck on Mrs. Tweedy's farm. Mrs. Tweedy has planned to stop using them to lay eggs for her, and instead she will make them into chicken pot pies. First of all you are presented with bird imagery. The thing that really connects it to Beloved to me is that the chickens are presented as if they are almost enslaved. They devise a plan to break free from this slavery. Since they cannot fly it will be hard for them to get away. Over the course of the movie they work to get free. Even though this takes place in England, I think if you watch the trailer or the movie you will see my point.
2 comments:
I actually see the connection, which is very weird. I had never even thought about it, but chicken run does seem very much to me like an allegory for escaping slavery when one thinks about it. This movie actually always used to creep me out as a kid, and now I have a valid reason. But on a serious note, from a timed perspective, this movie is definitely kind of similar to the novel if you consider the events before the infanticide.
I see the connection too. It kind of terrifies me. Honestly, I always hated this movie because Mrs. Tweedy is the scariest villain in any children's movie I have ever seen. Especially when you bring in the whole "are they humans or are they animals" thing. The chickens have human reasoning, feeling, and action. However, the humans don't recognize th m as intellectual beings worthy of respect. Just to be clear, I am not saying that slaves were animals. I'm merely drawing parallels between creatures of equal intellectual capabilities who are treated very differently.
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