No matter your age, there’s no point in denying that there’s a special place in most people’s hearts fora good family movie, and sometimes there’s nothing better for abad day than an animated movie. There are always plenty of chances, whether with the kids or on a lonely rainy day, to snuggle up and watch a comforting animation to bring positive vibes and make us smile. Most of the time, something we love about these kinds of movies is that there is always a positive and hopeful message behind them that inspires us and can often be quite thought-provoking for both adults and children. One of those movies is 2022’s new animated comedy-adventure,Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness.
Chickenhare’s Journey to Self-Love
Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darknessis a beautifully animated film onNetflixbased on the graphic novelChickenhare, by Chris Grine. In a wonderfulcoming-of-age journey, we are introduced to two hare brothers, Peter and Lapin, who are on a mystical journey to find the Hamster of Darkness. Although, what they find instead causes a cuteness overload for viewers: a one of a kind, very adorable baby who was born half chicken, half hare.
When a decision is made by Peter to adopt the baby, we travel forward in time to watch Chickenhare’s life develop. Chickenhare dreams big about becoming an adventurer with the Royal Adventure Society, but when his chicken features cause him to fail, he does everything he can to stop himself getting disheartened. In a quest to prove himself a worthy adventurer, Chickenhare decides to search for the Hamster of Darkness himself with his friends' help.
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We join their brave journey across the desert of death and watch as they overcome every obstacle in their way, like being trapped in a bamboo forest, and being sacrificed by a tribe of pigs. Along the way, Chickenhare becomes sad, as he believes that his appearance is the cause of all of his problems and believes that he is not a worthy adventurer. With the kind words from his friend Meg, who tells him that she decided to love her own skunk nature and that Chickenhare’s features got the group so far already, he remembers that he has attributes that no one else has - he can even use the fact that he can kind of fly to defeat the bad guys; no one else can do that. Once he had embraced his appearance, he becomes the adventurer he always dreamed of being, with the support and love of his amazing friends.
Chickenhare is About Embracing Your Differences
What might seem like your averageanimated kids movieactually holds a very important and loving message when you look at it again. Not only are the visuals brilliant and enjoyable to watch, the storyline exciting, adventurous, and full of fun, and thevoicovers brilliantly engaging, but what we really see is a young Chickenhare who is extremely self-conscious of the way he looks. Doesn’t that sound familiar to how a lot of people feel, both children and adults?
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Throughout his life, Chickenhare was told he couldn’t be the adventurer he dreamed of purely because of the way he looked, and that doesn’t seem quite fair. In real life, society has taught us that we should look a certain way, or maybe that we can’t get the friends, love, or jobs we want to unless we act, dress, and think appropriately, or conform to the necessary standards. In this way,Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darknessis actually quite relatable.
However, after years of wearing false legs to make his chicken legs look like a rabbit’s, Chickenhare eventually stops conforming and embraces his unique features and the things that make him different. It is beautiful to see the love, support, and encouragement that he gets from his friends; Peter even says to Chickenhare, “the things that make us different are the things that make us special.” If that’s not the most brilliant message we can teach our children, then what is?
In a way, the message shown throughout this movie is one that can resonate with the parents too, by reinforcing that we should be teaching children to love their unique qualities, instead of allowing others to bring them down (as well as them bringing down others). Showing the support Chickenhare receives is also a clear sign that you can still make friends even if you’re different from others; children might believe that if they’re not like other children, then no one will want to be friends with them, which simply isn’t true. Chickenhare shows us that there are always other people like us, and that we will always find others that want to embrace our quirkiness with us.Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darknessis really a movie about pushing back against the standard oppressive norms dictated by culture.
There’s no better way to share an incredibly important and meaningful message than through a family movie, where children who will grow into future leaders and citizens can learn integral themes, and what’s better is that it is excellently animated too. In a child-friendly way,Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darknesshas shared the beauty of being unique and nothing less than yourself, which is relevant to both adults and children alike.
