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Chicken Run 2 is Moving Forward at Aardman Animations
Aardman Animations is finally developing a sequel to its stop-motion animated film Chicken Run. The original Chicken Run movie hit theaters in 2000 and it remains the highest grossing stop-motion animated feature of all time, with a worldwide take of $225 million. Widely celebrated by critics and general audiences alike, Chicken Run was directed by Aardman cofounder Peter Lord and Nick Park (creator of Wallace and Gromit) and features the voice talents of Mel Gibson, Miranda Richardson, Timothy Spall, and Imelda Staunton.
Chicken Run has often been described as “The Great Escape, but with chickens” and lovingly pays homage to John Sturges’ 1963 WWII adventure with both its story and visuals. The plot revolves around the chickens of the evil Mr. and Mrs. Tweedy’s farm, who face a certain death at the hands of their farmers. Unwilling to accept their fate, the intrepid Ginger (Julia Sawalha) devises an elaborate escape plan to help her and her fellow chickens escape the Tweedy farm, with the assistance of an American rooster named Rocky (Gibson), who may or may not be able to fly.
THR is reporting that Aardman is developing Chicken Run 2 with StudioCanal, which has backed most of Aardman’s recent films, and original Chicken Run co-financier Pathe. Chicken Run screenwriters Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell are returning to write the sequel, with Sam Fell taking over as director. Fell previously called the shots on Aardman’s 2006 film Flushed Away, but is perhaps best known for helming stop-motion animation studio LAIKA’s Oscar nominated 2012 supernatural horror comedy/adventure, ParaNorman.
Chicken Run 2 will be the second movie sequel from Aardman, following the release of the upcoming Shaun the Sheep Movie Farmageddon (which was formerly known as simply Shaun the Sheep Movie 2). Aardman is currently in production on the second Shaun the Sheep movie and is expected to begin work on the Chicken Run sequel not too long after that film wraps photography. It’s not yet clear which actors from the original Chicken Run voice cast will be reprising their roles for the followup, but that should change over the year ahead.
The original Chicken Run is not only a charming adventure many people grew up watching (and loving) as kids, it also ends on a happy note that doesn’t exactly beg for a sequel to happen. Nevertheless, Aardman’s track record over the years speaks for itself and the creative team in place already for Chicken Run 2 sounds promising. Ginger is similarly a beloved animation heroine for good reason, so here is to hoping her sequel does justice by her and her fellow fowls.
