The Big Picture

Bella Ramsey discusses her experience working on Chicken Run and voicing the character Molly, highlighting the learning curve of adapting to new ways of working in animation. Ramsey draws similarities between her character Molly and her role as Ellie in The Last of Us, noting their feisty and headstrong nature while also exhibiting moments of vulnerability. Ramsey reveals that filming for The Last of Us Season 2 will start next year, expressing excitement for intense scenes and physical stunts, as well as the Dina and Ellie storyline.

The chickens are back, baby! Unfortunately, so is Mrs. Tweedy in Aardman Studio’s Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, the stop-motion sequel hitting Netflix 23 years after its predecessor. Both Rocky and Ginger return, now voiced by Zachary Levi and Thandiwe Newton, but they’re parents now, and their headstrong little chick is voiced by none other than The Last of Us star Bella Ramsey.

In Dawn of the Nugget, Ramsey plays a character named Molly. Molly, being the daughter of the (overly) confident Rocky and the ambitious Ginger, gives her parents a run for their money. While speaking with Collider’s Steve Weintraub, they discuss what it’s like recording for animation, how the experience on Chicken Run was different than working on Hilda, and why they like the “bizarre” task of recording efforts. They also talk about Molly’s “feistiness” and the other traits that this character shares with Ramsey’s role as Ellie in TLOU.

Finally, with the SAG-AFTRA strike ending and Pedro Pascal possibly joining the MCU, Ramsey comments on when fans can expect The Last of Us Season 2 to begin filming, as well as what they’re most looking forward to tackling while filming, and the Dina and Ellie storyline. For all of this and more, check out the full interview in the video at the top of the article, or you can read the transcript below.

Image Via Netflix Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget
Having pulled off an escape from Tweedy’s farm, Ginger has found a peaceful island sanctuary for the whole flock. But back on the mainland the whole of chicken-kind faces a new threat, and Ginger and her team decide to break in. Release Date December 15, 2023 Director Sam Fell Cast Bella Ramsey, Zachary Levi, Nick Mohammed, Thandiwe Newton Rating PG Main Genre Animation
COLLIDER: I’ve really enjoyed your work the last few years, but hypothetically, say someone has never seen anything you’ve done before. What is the first thing you’d like them watching and why?

BELLA RAMSEY: What a great question. I’d love people to watch Time, which is a show that’s just come out on BBC, because that’s just so opposite from me, and I think it’s a cool one. I think it’s an interesting watch, as well, but also Chicken Run. It’s also very good.

Image via BBC

What surprised you about working on Chicken Run and voicing a character, Molly, in maybe ways you didn’t expect?

RAMSEY: I voiced some animation before. I’d done an animation for several years called Hilda, but this was an entirely new team. And I’d got used to that way of working with the Hilda team. So, it was a learning curve for me to adapt to new ways of doing things. I’m always blown away just by the process of animation, and the sound engineers, just being in a studio and watching them fiddle around with the buttons and the sliders. I was remote recording most of it when I was in Canada, or wherever I’ve been, so just the fact that it can be done from literally anywhere is remarkable, I think.

Same thing with interviewing people who are in London, and someone else is in LA.

RAMSEY: Well, exactly!

‘Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget’ vs. ‘The Last of Us’
Image Via Netflix

Do you see any similarities between Molly and Ellie or do you think they’re polar opposites?

RAMSEY: No, there are definitely similarities. I think they both have a similar feistiness. I think they’re similar in that Molly is just this curious, intelligent little chicken — which obviously Ellie isn’t a chicken — but this curious, intelligent little chicken who wants to explore the world and thinks that she’s brave and can do anything. But then you see moments of her being actually incredibly terrified, and I think that’s the same with Ellie. She comes across as this very headstrong adult most of the time, but then you see these moments of her just being like a terrified little child. So, I think they have similarities in that regard.

Do you enjoy recording efforts, or do you dread them?

RAMSEY: I quite like efforts. I think that they’re so bizarre, and so unlike anything that you do in live-action. When do you ever make yourself make an “oof” sound, you know? It’s so weird. Yeah, I quite like efforts. I see a sheet of efforts, and I’m like, “Yeah, this is gonna be fun.” Also, you just like rattle through them. Sometimes, trying to get a very particular “oof” is pretty funny.

Yeah, I’ve spoken to a lot of people and they tell me that the efforts are always at the end of the day, because you just shred your voice.

RAMSEY: Yeah, exactly. Especially if there are screams.

The Unintentional Veganism to ‘Chicken Run’ Pipeline

Exactly. I read that you’re vegan. I’m curious if you had any sort of personal connection to being part of Chicken Run because of that, or not at all.

RAMSEY: I actually didn’t think about it when I signed on to do Chicken Run. I got the audition. I didn’t pick up on that similarity, in terms of me being vegan. I’ve never had meat. I grew up pescatarian, and I went vegan. So I didn’t really make that connection, but I think that’s because it’s always been a part of my life, not eating meat, that I wasn’t like, “Oh, this is cool.” But now I think about it, yeah, I absolutely am behind the idea that we can watch this fun animated movie about chickens and then by the end of it be like, “Hm, maybe I don’t want to eat a chicken nugget.” I think that’s cool.

Bella Ramsey on Ellie and Dina in ‘The Last of Us’ Season 2
Obviously I am a huge fan of The Last of Us, like the rest of the world. I’m just curious, do you know when you’re actually starting to film Season 2?

RAMSEY: Next year.

Do you actually know or you don’t know?

RAMSEY: No, I do actually know. I mean, I temporarily know. Things are changing all the time, I think, with the strikes. Obviously, now they’re finished; that’s amazing. We can actually get going, and we can talk about it, but I think it’s delayed a couple of things, and availability and stuff. So, we’ll see. But it will happen at some point early next year, which is exciting.

Image via Naughty Dog

I’m sure the studio is like, “Please start filming as soon as you can.” My last thing for you about The Last of Us is, I’m sure you’ve played the game, I know you know the story, what are you most excited for in Season 2 to film? Is there a sequence or a scene or something that you’re already thinking about?

RAMSEY: Yeah, lots of things. I’m excited for the really intense stuff because I did a bit of that in Season 1, obviously. But to do that and, actually, more physical scenes because Ellie is obviously more physically fit in Season 2. I love stunt stuff and waking up with bruises the next day and finding myself with a black eye, just because it feels so good to have done it. So I’m looking forward to doing that stuff, and also the Dina storyline. Obviously, I had the one episode in Season 1 with Ellie and Riley, but to have it as a storyline throughout the whole of the second game in terms of Ellie and Dina is really exciting.

Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget will premiere on Netflix on December 15 in the U.S.