Leafie, A Hen into the Wild

Leafie, A Hen into the Wild
Theatrical release poster
Hangul	마당을 나온 암탉
RR	Madangeul naon amtak
MR	Madangŭl naon amt'ak
Directed by	Oh Sung-yoon
Written by	Na Hyun Kim Eun-jung
Based on	The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly by Hwang Sun-mi
Produced by	Shim Jae-myung Lee Eun Son Gwang-ik Kim Seon-gu
Starring	Moon So-ri Yoo Seung-ho Choi Min-sik
Cinematography	Lee Jong-hyuk
Edited by	Kim Hyeong-ju Kim Jae-bum Kim Sang-bum
Music by	Lee Ji-soo
Production company	Myung Films
Distributed by	Lotte Entertainment
Release date	July 28, 2011 (2011-07-28)
Running time	93 minutes 87 minutes (English version)
Country	South Korea
Language	Korean
Box office	US$11,094,345

Leafie, A Hen into the Wild (Korean: 마당을 나온 암탉; RR: Madangeul naon amtak), also called Daisy, A Hen into the Wild in English-speaking countries, is a 2011 South Korean animated drama film based on the book of the same name. It depicts the freedom, will and instinctive motherly love of a hen as she raises an adopted duckling. The film made box office history by drawing over 2.2 million viewers, the largest audience for a home-grown animated film in South Korea. It also received widespread critical acclaim upon release.

Plot

Leafie lives on a chicken farm with many other egg-laying hens in battery cages. She dreams of being a mother, despite her inability to incubate her own eggs. Dreaming of having her own young, she escapes from the farm feigning death but is confronted and threatened by a one-eyed weasel, her younger sister Raspberry and adoptive brother Blackweed. She is saved by mallard duck named Wanderer who traps the three weasels in the farmer's wheelbarrow. Leafie tries to join the group of animals residing outside the farm, but their resident rooster refuses her into his flock, insisting that she would only spend her life laying eggs. Leafie leaves the farm and into the wild, meeting Mr. Otter, wild boar Bagel, sika hind Rose, hare Cactus and hedgehog Spikeball who help her find a home on Wanderer's behalf. Leafie discovers Wanderer has a mate, whom One-Eye later kills and feeds to her siblings, leaving Wanderer distraught.

At Wanderer's nest, Leafie finds a single egg. Wanderer leaves the egg in Leafie's care as he goes to confront the weasels, pleading her to take his unborn child to the Everglades, believing she will understand its purpose there. That night, One-Eye returns and Wanderer engages her in a fight to the death in which One-Eye prevails, before feeding him to her siblings, leaving devastating and saddened Leafie. The egg then hatches into a duckling that imprints on Leafie. She adopts the duckling, naming him Greenie, before heading to the Everglades from the forest. As Leafie raises Greenie, Mr. Otter, Bagel, Rose, Cactus and Spikeball teach him to swim, with help from a bat and owl to teach him to fly. Meanwhile, they accidentally confess that the local waterfowl are unaccepting of Leafie in their community. She then meets up with Greenie, who has been bullied by the other ducks and blames Leafie for him being an outcast before running away.

Mr. Otter's group attempt to comfort Leafie by telling her Wanderer's story: he was a flock guard that lost his wing fighting the weasel siblings; permanently blinding one of One-Eye's eyes and defeating the other two before the farmer captured him. Meanwhile, Greenie is lured by four white ducks to be caught by the farmer, intent on clipping his wings. To rescue Greenie, Leafie and Mr. Otter's group release all of the hens from their cages, causing a stampede, scare off the farmer and free Greenie. However, the rooster stops them, calling Leafie a disgrace to the chickens. The barnyard animals notice that his comb is fake, so one of the white ducks replaces him as the farm leader, helping the group escape. Later, One-Eye, Raspberry and Blackweed plan to devour Greenie. The four plummet over a cliff, but Greenie flies and recovers from a selfless sacrifice as the weasels climb back up.

A flock of ducks soon arrive in autumn, from whom an adult Greenie learns of an upcoming contest to nominate the new flock guard. The ducks were horrified seeing the farmer's twine on Greenie's leg and flees, but Leafie reassures Greenie's participation, removing the twine. Greenie returns to the flock and announces his wishes to compete, quickly forming a rivalry with another duck named Red Head. Greenie recalls the words of his mentors, winning the contest and becoming the new guard, while the flock praises him as a hero.

Meanwhile, Leafie finds a litter of baby weasels while the rooster begins finding a home with Mr. Otter's group after escaping. Greenie tries to find Leafie but comes across One-Eye and her siblings, saving a female duck from them. As they prepare to kill Greenie, she reveals that the weasel babies are her own children, Blackweed and Raspberry's nephews and nieces. Leafie realizes that she only killed for food to nourish her children, so she agrees to spare them in exchange for Greenie's life. She also discovers that One-Eye is unable to lactate for them.

The ducks prepare to leave the Everglades, so Leafie and Greenie bid each other farewell. One-Eye corners Leafie at the cliff, but Leafie, weakened and unable to survive the winter, knowingly lets herself be killed and eaten so that One-Eye's children will not starve. The film comes to an end as Greenie flies alongside with his flock.

Characters

Leafie/Yipsak/Sprout/Daisy Voiced by: Moon So-ri (Korean), Stacey DePass (English)

The leading character, Leafie, exhibits strength. Free-spirited and courageous, she doesn't settle for the fate she is given but accepts challenges and welcomes adventure. It is shown that Leafie tends to speak loudly, a trait that Greenie inherits. She was originally stuck in an egg farm, but she escapes by playing dead. While in a pit filled with dead chickens, the One-eyed, raspberry and black Weasel appears and attacks Leafie to eat her, when Wanderer shows up, and saves her. Leafie immediately falls in love with him, but this quickly changes when she finds out he already has a mate. Before Wanderer died, he told her to take his unborn child to the everglades. When she asks why, he says "you will find out in time." She then raises Greenie despite numerous difficulties. It's been shown throughout the film that Leafie developed a cold and would not have likely survived the winter month.

Greenie/Chorok Head/Green-Top/Willie Voiced by: Han Shin-jeong & Yoo Seung-ho (Korean), Bryn McAuley & Toby Proctor (English)

Greenie is a male wild mallard duck, and is the son of Wanderer, but is adopted by Leafie after Wanderer and his mate (Greenie's biological mother) dies. As a teenager, Greenie had a difficult time making friends with the other ducks, because his mother is a chicken. Because of this, he considered leaving Leafie, but after the scuffle at the chicken farm, Greenie accepts Leafie as his mother. Thanks to Mr. Otter, Bagel, Rose, Cactus, Spikeball, a bat, and an owl, Greenie grows up to be a strong duck and a good flier, and, thanks to this, he wins a contest held by the ducks to become a "guard duck". Greenie noticeably inherits Leafie's trait of being loud.

Wanderer/Nagnae/Straggler/Wilson Voiced by: Choi Min-sik (Korean), Ryan Hollyman (English)

Wanderer is a mallard and a former guard duck. Guard ducks help defend their flocks from predators. He helped protect Leafie from the 3 Weasels at the beginning of the film, which leads to Leafie falling in love with him, but this quickly changes when she finds out he already has a mate. He lived with his wife in a brier patch until the one-eyed, raspberry and black weasel killed them both. They left behind one egg, which Leafie hatched, and later named the duckling Greenie. Before Wanderer died, he told Leafie to go to the everglades with his unborn child. When she asks him why, he says "you will find out in time." Mr. Otter and his animal friends tells Leafie that, when Wanderer was a guard duck, he got into a fight with the weasel, One-Eye, Raspberry and Blackweed. In the end, he couldn't use his right wing to fly anymore, but, in return, at first the weasel loses sight in one of her eyes, then the siblings were knocked out.

Rooster Voiced by: Um Sang-hyun (Korean), Juan Chioran (English)

Rooster is the leader of the chicken flock and a pompous and egotistical rooster that lives freely in the yard, who serves him as master of the animals. Even though Leafie admires him greatly, Rooster views her admiration as disrespect and refuses to allow Leafie to join his flock and tells her to go back to laying eggs. Near the middle of the film, it is discovered that his comb is a fake, which then leads the animals of the barn to make him work for them. He then leaves, after seeing Greenie racing Red Head, and goes to find a home with Mr. Otter, Bagel, Rose, Cactus and Spikeball.

Mayor or Mr. Otter Voiced by: Park Chul-min (Korean), Christian Potenza (English)

Mr. Otter is the local real estate agent who runs the wildlife community. He helps Leafie survive in the wild by helping her find a place to live and introducing her son to mentors, such as a bat and an owl who teach Greenie how to fly. Before Greenie leaves with the flock, he tells Mr. Otter to watch over his mother.

Bagel/Pang/Bread Voiced by: Ryu Seung-ryong (Korean), Phill Jupitus (English)

Bagel is a funny, kind-hearted yet smelly wild boar who's best friend of Mr. Otter, however he has a small tusks to repel off the predators.

Rose/Jangmi/Belle Voiced by: Jad Saxton (English)

Rose is a female doe deer who lives in the forest, she is best friend of Mr. Otter and Bagel,  She has a hooves to escape and do not afraid of weasels.

Cactus Voiced by: Mike Pollock (English)

Cactus is a male hare, who lives in the forest, he is best friend of otter-boar-doe trio, however he has a fastest legs to escape the intruders

Spikeball/Seupaikeubol/Nail-Balloon Voiced by: Ryan Hollyman (English)

Spikeball is a male hedgehog who lives in the forest, he is best friend of Mr. Otter, Bagel, Rose and Cactus however, he has a sharp pricks to poke the intruders.

One-eyed Weasel Voiced by: Kim Sang-hyeon (Korean), Stacey DePass (English)

One-Eye is a female scarred weasel portrayed as the antagonist in the story, as she persists in hunting Leafie and the ducks, reaching the top of food chain. She is a monstrous predator feared by those who live in the brier patch and everglades, and only eats live prey and those that catches her interest. During her first fight with Wanderer, she lost an eye during the struggle, but managed very well without it afterwards. However, at the end of the story, it is revealed that she is not actually evil, just trying to provide food for her family as she became a mother too. She is only mustelid character in film, has vocal animal sound effect noises like big cats (mountain lion, leopard, jaguar etc), wolves, foxes and crocodiles (snap only).

Raspberry Voiced by: Shim Eun-kyung (Korean), Jane Horrocks (English)

Raspberry is a female weasel who is One-Eye's younger sister portrayed as the secondary antagonist in the story, as she persists in hunting Leafie and the ducks. During her and older sister had first fight with Wanderer, she was knocked out during the struggle but managed very well without it afterwards. However, at the end of the story, it is revealed that she is One-Eye's sister, just trying to provide food for her family as she became an aunt.

Blackweed Voiced by: Mike Pollock (English)

Blackweed is a male weasel who is One-Eye's adoptive brother and a antagonist accompanying his sisters in hunting Leafie and the ducks, helping Raspberry reach the top of the food chain.

Red Head/Ace Voiced by: Sa Seong-ung (Korean), L. Dean Ifill (English)

Red Head is a rival wild duck that competed with Greenie to be a guard duck. However, after the competition, he good-naturedly becomes friends with Greenie after his redemption.

Chirpie Voiced by: Jeon Suk-kyeong (Korean), Bryn McAuley (English)

A high-pitched talking sparrow who is friends with Leafie and Greenie. He always visits Leafie at the farm sometimes, When he saw Greenie being attacked by the farmer he and his fellow sparrow friends distracted the farmer, while his gull-crow duo alies join the fight. He possess a dislike towards Rooster who always chases his flock off.

Raddish Voiced by: Ryu Seung-ryong (Korean), Ron Basch (English)

Raddish is a male hooded crow who is friends with Mr. Otter, Bagel, Rose, Cactus and Spikeball. He always visit five animals in the wilderness. When he saw Greenie being attacked by the farmer he and his gull friend distracted the farmer who was clashing by Chirpie and the sparrows.

Cackler Voiced by: Mike Pollock (English)

Cackler is a male black-headed gull who is friends with Leafie and Greenie. He always visits Leafie at the farm sometimes, When he saw Greenie being attacked by the farmer he and his crow ally distracted the farmer who was fighting by Chirpie and sparrow friends.

The Wolf Voiced by: Ron Basch (English)

An appearance of the Himalayan wolf who lives in the forest, he persists in hunting on wild animals like with weasels, reaching of the bottom of food chain. He often prowls and chases Rose after she entered the forest and intending to eat doe. Luckily, Mr. Otter came to the rescue by doing a tarzan yell swings a part of spider web and attacks the beast, while the hen, hedgehog, hare, and wild boar join him but only to scram him away.

Owl Voiced by: Seo Seung-won (Korean), L. Dean Ifill (English)

Owl helped Greenie how to fly.

Bat Voiced by: Hong Beom-gi (Korean), Ryan Hollyman (English)

Bat helped Greenie to do some flying tricks, but required the duck to hang upside down to begin his training, to which Greenie found impossible. He also possess a dislike towards Mr. Otter and his animal friends, who suggested the bat to live in a cave, but it drips constantly with water.

Wanderer's Mate Voiced by: Kim Ji-hye (Korean)

A female white duck who lived with Wanderer and was Greenie`s mother until the One-eyed Weasel killed her.

Bully Voiced by: Ron Basch (English)

A tough strong duck who competed in the race against Greenie.

Blade Voiced by: Drew Nelson (English)

A duck who participated in the guard duck race and tried to blind Greenie with sand but crashed into a tree during the race.

Flock Leader Voiced by: Ryan Hollyman (English)

A wise mallard who acts as the leader of the flock.

The Farmer Voiced by: Walker Boone (English)

An elderly man who owns the chicken farm, He often does his job picking up the dead chickens from their cages, putting them in his wheelbarrow and dumping them in a pit of dead chickens. He often captures wild ducks and keeps them in his farm just like he did to Wanderer after crippling his wing in the aftermath of his battle against One-Eye and her siblings (but managed to escape). Later in the film he caught Greenie after he entered the farm and tied a string on him and attaching it to his wheelbarrow, grabbed scissors and attempted to clip his wings, Luckily Leafie came to the rescue and attacked the farmer, but only to throw her in the chicken house. Chirpie and his fellow flock entered the combat tactics and distracted the farmer while Raddish and Cackler join the fight and after his chickens went free, causing a stampede, He was confused and couldn't get to Greenie and never harmed his wings, After that he is never seen again for the rest of the film. He is the only human character in the film.

Dol, Mee, Rae and Toe Voiced by: Shoshana Sperling (English; Dol), Angela Besharah (English; Rae), Drew Nelson (English; Mee), Catherine Disher (English; Toe)

Four small white ducks who are clumsy and weird. Dol and Toe are twins and Mee and Rae are twins. They all like singing songs about themselves due to their names as a pun on do-re-mi and like following the leader. After discovering Rooster's comb was a fake, Mee took it and played around with it.

The Dog Voiced by: Ron Basch (English)

A guard dog that barks and growls at strangers and acts ferocious and aggressive, but becomes docile once he's petted and scratched, revealing to be a softy.

The Barnyard Rabbits Voiced by:   Juan Chioran (English)

The rabbits who are lazy, clumsy and weird. They like eat carrots and playing hide and seek.

The Hens Voiced by: Shoshana Sperling (English; Barn hen), Catherine Disher (English; Mother hen)

Two hens who live freely in the yard. One of the hens has children of their own while the other one is still incubating their eggs. They have a strong dislike of Leafie and the other hen hates her children being near her. The two hens were later shocked when they discover Rooster's comb was a fake.

Production

Director Oh Sung-yoon struggled for more than twenty years as an animator under adverse economic circumstances before finally debuting with this feature film. Originally titled YIPSAK - A Chicken Wild, the movie took Myung Films six years (three years for pre-production including scriptwriting, and one and a half year for storyboard) and ₩3 billion (US$2.8 million) to produce.

Shim Jae-myung (also known as Jaime Shim), the head of Myung Films, which co-produced Leafie in conjunction with the local animation studio Odolttogi, said that it was her experience with major motion pictures that made her want to produce animated films that could compete with those from Hollywood and Japan. "And as a woman and mother, the plot touched my heart," she said. "Many people were doubtful about whether the film would be a success, but I believed in the power of the novel."

When asked what they did to distinguish their film from films by the world's major studios, director Oh said he and the crew focused on making the visual effects as beautiful as possible. "Most of my staff and I majored in painting, and we chose to make the film two-dimensional, so that the entire product looks like a beautiful picture," Oh said. Though the sharply drawn foreground characters have an international look, the gentler backgrounds seem typically Korean in their use of landscape and flora (with the Upo wetlands in the south of the country inspiring the everglades in which much of the action takes place). "In addition to that, we have many quality animators on staff who draw for Pixar and Disney in Korea." Disney, Pixar and DreamWorks often hire small- and medium-sized Korean animation studios to work on their illustrations.

Soundtrack

The South Korean and English versions each contain a different soundtrack. The South Korean soundtrack is composed by Lee Ji-soo while the English soundtrack is composed by Patrick Cannell. The former was released in on CD in 2011, consisting of 22 tracks.

Reception

Historically South Korean animated features have struggled to draw viewers. This prolonged slump is evidenced by My Beautiful Girl, Mari (2001), Wonderful Days (2003), Oseam (2003), Aachi & Ssipak (2005), and Yobi, the Five Tailed Fox (2006) which all performed dismally at the box office. No domestic animated film had ever achieved 1 million viewers.

Undaunted by the knowingly discouraging prognoses from industry insiders, Leafie went on to rake in more than 2.2 million tickets, while recouping its production budget in just four weeks. It has become South Korea's most successful animated film since the country's first feature-length cartoon, A Story of Hong Gildong (1967).

Awards

Leafie won Best Sitges Family Film Diploma at the 2011 Sitges Film Festival in Spain as well as the award for Best Animated Feature Film at the 2011 Asia Pacific Screen Awards held in Australia.

For her contribution to the popularization of Korean animation, producer Shim Jae-myung (a.k.a. Jaime Shim) CEO of Myung Films won a Special Mention at the 2011 Korean Association of Film Critics Awards.

Localization

English version

Racking up numerous sales at the American Film Market, the film was picked up by Toronto-based 108 Media Group for distribution in English-speaking countries including Canada, U.S., Australia, Ireland, U.K. and New Zealand and was retitled Daisy: A Hen Into the Wild. It was released direct-to-DVD in the United States by Olive Films and in the United Kingdom by Signature Entertainment in 2014, and had also been broadcast on television on Starz Kids and Family. The English version was partly re-edited from the original version, with six minutes (such as a bit with the hens laying their eggs and One-Eye tearing up as she lunges at Leafie) being removed, the character names being changed (Leafie's name was changed to Daisy, Greenie was changed to Willie, Wanderer was changed to Wilson and Red Head was changed to Ace), and a new score composed by Patrick Cannell replacing the original score.

Other territories

Leafie also sold to German-speaking territories via Ascot Elit and Brazil's Conquest Filmes. It has so far secured deals for 46 countries around Asia, Europe and the Middle East after going on sale at Busan's Asian Film Market, Cannes's MIPCOM and Rome's Business Street.

It became the first Korean animated film to play at Chinese theaters, opening at 3,000 screens, which is over one-third of the country's total. Clearly elated at the film's warm reception by the Chinese media, director Oh said he hoped this breaks new ground as investors traditionally judge projects based on their appeal to viewers in English-speaking countries. "It's time to change the standard," he said. "In the future, I'll focus more on the cultural values of the animation rather than giving too much emphasis to the business aspect."

Stage adaptation

A stage play based on the book and film ran from June 22 to September 2, 2012 at the COEX Art Hall in Seoul.

External links

• Leafie, A Hen into the Wild at IMDb
• Leafie, A Hen into the Wild at HanCinema