'Chicken Run' Actress Denies Producers' Claims Her Voice Sounds 'Too Old' for Sequel

DreamWorks

Julia Sawalha, one of the stars of the 2000 Aardman Animation classic “Chicken Run,” said Thursday she was not asked to return to the recently announced sequel because producers thought her voice now sounds “too old.”

In a statement shared Thursday, Sawalha said that an actress normally would be allowed to do a voice test to prove they can still match the pitch and tone of the original character, but she said she was informed by producers without being given that chance.

In response, she recorded her own voice demonstration and shared it with producers and posted it to Vimeo, in which she mimics the lines of her character Ginger from the original “Chicken Run.” You can listen to Sawalha’s demo here.

Also Read: Mel Gibson's Role in 'Chicken Run' Sequel Will Be Recast

“I went to great lengths to prove to the production that my voice is nigh on the same as it was in the original film. If they will be using some of the original cast members… let’s be frank, I feel unfairly dismissed,” Sawalha said. “To say that I am devastated and furious would be an understatement. I feel totally powerless. Something in all of this doesn’t quite ring true. I trust my instincts and they are waving red flags.”

Representatives for Aardman and Netflix, which will distribute the new film, did not immediately reply to TheWrap’s request for comment.

Sawalha said she did then receive a “very kind and thoughtfully written response” from one of the creatives on the film explaining that though he agreed her voice did not sound older, some of the other voice cast did, and they would still be proceeding to re-cast the voice of Ginger in “Chicken Run 2.”

She added that she also learned that the character of the “Lone Free Ranger” from the original film would not return, and that Mel Gibson’s role of Rocky would also be recast because his voice also sounded too old. TheWrap previously confirmed that Gibson’s role would be recast in the sequel, though no reason was given. (The actor has also come under fire since the original film for a series of racist and anti-Semitic comments.)

Also Read: 'The Simpsons' Will No Longer Have White Actors Voice Nonwhite Characters

“I am sad that I have lost the chance to learn from Nick Park and Peter Lord, from whom I learnt so much. The three of us, together, created Ginger,” Sawalha said. “Today I responded by wishing the production the best of luck and the greatest success with the sequel.”

Other voice actors who starred in the original film included the original “Chicken Run” from 2000 also included Phil Daniels, Imelda Staunton and Timothy Spall.

The “Chicken Run” sequel will pick up the story of the chickens who pulled off an escape from Tweedy’s farm in the original film where Ginger (voiced in the original by Sawalha) has finally found her dream – a peaceful island sanctuary for the whole flock, far from the dangers of the human world. When she and Rocky (originally Gibson) hatch a little girl called Molly, Ginger’s happy ending seems complete. But back on the mainland the whole of chicken-kind faces a new and terrible threat. For Ginger and her team, even if it means putting their own hard-won freedom at risk — this time, they’re breaking in!

Also Read: 'The Last of Us' Voice Actor Says Josh Brolin Should Star in Upcoming HBO Series

Sam Fell (“Flushed Away,” “ParaNorman”) will direct the new film from a script by Karey Kirkpatrick, John O’ Farrell and Rachel Tunnard; Nick Park, creator of Aardman hits like “Wallace and Gromit” and “Shaun the Sheep,” will have a consulting role in the film. Steve Pegram and Leyla Hobart will produce, while Peter Lord, Carla Shelley and Karey Kirkpatrick will return as executive producers.

The 2000 “Chicken Run” grossed nearly $225 million at the worldwide box office and remains the top-grossing stop-motion animated hit of all time.

Read Sawalha’s full message here.

All 7 Aardman Animations Features Ranked, From 'Wallace & Gromit' to 'Chicken Run' (Photos)

In the same way that we look to France for fashion and Japan for electronics, we look to England for coziness. That’s at least in part due to Bristol-based Aardman Animations, the 46-year-old studio best known for its “Wallace & Gromit” franchise. With Aardman’s latest release “Early Man” hitting theaters, let’s revisit the studio’s feature-length output, from worst to best.
Aardman Animations
7. "Early Man" (2018)

“Early Man” is the closest Aardman has come to making a “bad” movie. This romp about the origins of soccer at the dawn of the Bronze Age is hardly shoddy, but there’s a definite whiff of second-rateness in the film’s predictable plotting, lazy puns and ceaseless slapstick. Aardman’s lesser works can rightly be accused of weightlessness, and “Early Man” fits the bill: A week after my screening, I forgot I saw it.
DreamWorks Animation
6. "Shaun the Sheep Movie" (2015)

Based on the popular “Wallace & Gromit” spin-off series, the imaginatively titled “Shaun the Sheep Movie” feels similarly inconsequential story-wise to "Early Man," but miles ahead in terms of ambition. The premise of a bored farm animal running away to experience the excitement of the big city is practically a children’s movie cliché, but this charming effort deserves respect for its wordless script and daring humility. By illustrating that cartoons for the masses need not involve endless mugging and patience-testing obnoxiousness, Aardman received its third Oscar nom for Best Animated Feature.
StudioCanal
5. "Flushed Away" (2006)

DreamWorks sends Aardman’s soul to The Sunken Place in this collaboration between the two studios. Set in the sewers (where we’re treated to the sight of a half-wrapped chocolate bar that looks like an all-too-realistic poo), “Flushed Away” revels in, well, toilet humor. And yet, I’d still rank this all-CG picture high: The story of a posh pet rat who doesn’t realize how lonely he is until he’s been banished to rodent-infested sewers is surprisingly fresh and resonant.
DreamWorks
4. "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" (2005)

Welcome to the splitting-hairs phase of this ranking. The remaining four Aardman features are all superlative, so it’s only after much quibbling and parsing that the “Wallace & Gromit” movie, which boasts the studio’s sole Oscar win for Best Animated Feature, lands on this list at No. 4. Aardman’s famous claymation has never looked better -- the entire picture is invitingly tactile -- and “Curse of the Were-Rabbit” showcases the studio’s secret weapon: a willingness to go dark, even a little dirty. But one nitpick persists -- the story of a dotty inventor who accidentally turns himself into a monster and the canine sidekick who has to clean up all his messes, no matter how delightfully executed, is still a bit familiar.
DreamWorks
3. "The Pirates! Band of Misfits" (2012)

Charles Darwin, Queen Victoria and a floundering buccaneer who goes by “Pirate Captain” tussle over the world’s only dodo in “The Pirates! Band of Misfits.” After “Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit,” this stop-motion–CG hybrid is the best showcase of Aardman’s brilliantly textural animation style. Just as winsome is the plot, based on the first book of Gideon Defoe’s “The Pirates!” series, which sends up pirate tropes while offering a modern revision of the British empire.
Sony Pictures Animation
2. "Arthur Christmas" (2011)

How is “Arthur Christmas” not a bigger deal? The only Aardman feature directed by a woman (Sarah Smith) is a forgotten masterpiece with a completely new take on the Santa story. Set against technological changes in the dynastic gift-distribution business, “Arthur Christmas” achieves that seemingly impossible balance between Yuletide sentimentality and pointed satire.
Sony Pictures Animation
1. "Chicken Run" (2000)

What other film could top a list of Aardman’s achievements? The studio’s debut feature is still its best, a silly but scary "Handmaid’s Tale"-evoking fable about hens forced to lay (eggs) or die. The chickens imagine a new future -- a farmer-less utopia -- but first, they have to escape their pen. Aardman’s magnum opus is cozy and endearing -- but also a sometimes truly ominous rebuke of American animation flash.
Aardman Animation

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How does “Early Man” rank among the British studio’s cartoon classics?

In the same way that we look to France for fashion and Japan for electronics, we look to England for coziness. That’s at least in part due to Bristol-based Aardman Animations, the 46-year-old studio best known for its “Wallace & Gromit” franchise. With Aardman’s latest release “Early Man” hitting theaters, let’s revisit the studio’s feature-length output, from worst to best.

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