Leafie, A Hen into the Wild facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Leafie, A Hen into the Wild |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Oh Sung-yoon |
| Produced by | Shim Jae-myung Lee Eun Son Gwang-ik Kim Seon-gu |
| Written by | Na Hyun Kim Eun-jung |
| Starring | Moon So-ri Yoo Seung-ho Choi Min-sik |
| Music by | Lee Ji-soo |
| Cinematography | Lee Jong-hyuk |
| Editing by | Kim Hyeong-ju Kim Jae-bum Kim Sang-bum |
| Studio | Myung Films |
| Distributed by | Lotte Entertainment |
| Release date(s) | July 28, 2011 |
| Running time | 93 minutes |
| Country | South Korea |
| Language | Korean |
| Money made | US$11,094,345 |
Leafie, A Hen into the Wild (Hangul: 마당을 나온 암탉; RR: Madangeul Naon Amtak), also known as Daisy, A Hen into the Wild in English-speaking countries, is a South Korean animated movie from 2011. It tells the story of a brave hen named Leafie who dreams of freedom and becoming a mother. She ends up raising an adopted duckling, showing amazing motherly love. This film was a huge hit in South Korea, watched by over 2.2 million people, making it the most popular animated movie made there at the time. Critics also loved it!
Contents
The Story Behind the Film
The movie Leafie, A Hen into the Wild is based on a very popular children's book. The book was written by Hwang Sun-mi. It first came out in South Korea in 2000. Over 1 million copies of the book have been sold in South Korea alone!
Book's Popularity Around the World
The book has been sold in many countries, including France, Poland, Japan, and China. In Poland, the translated version of the book won "Best Book of the Year 2012". It was also named "Best Book of Spring 2012" by a famous literary group.
The book was translated into English by Chi-young Kim. It was published by Penguin Books in 2013. The English title is The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly.
Movie Plot Summary
The story begins with Leafie (whose name means "leaf" and "sprout"). She is a hen living on a chicken farm in a small cage. Leafie dreams of being a mother and hatching her own eggs. But she can't do this in her cage.
Leafie's Escape and New Friends
To escape, Leafie pretends to be dead. The farmer takes her out of the cage to throw her away with other dead hens. Once alone, Leafie wakes up. Suddenly, a one-eyed weasel named One-Eye appears and threatens her! Luckily, a mallard duck named Wanderer saves her. He traps the weasel and then leaves without saying a word.
Leafie tries to join the other farm animals in the yard. But the farm rooster is mean and won't let her join his flock. He says her only job is to lay eggs. With nowhere to go, Leafie leaves the farm.
Life in the Wild
In the wild, Leafie meets Mr. Otter. He has heard about Leafie and helps her find a place to live. She meets Wanderer again and finds out he has a mate. But that night, One-Eye attacks, and Wanderer's mate sadly dies.
Leafie finds a single egg in the nest. Wanderer asks Leafie to look after his egg. He tells her to take his unborn child to the everglades. He says she will understand why later. Wanderer then leaves to fight One-Eye. Leafie watches as Wanderer is killed by One-Eye. Leafie is heartbroken.
Raising Greenie
The egg hatches into a duckling. The duckling thinks Leafie is his mother. Leafie cries but accepts him as her son. She names him "Greenie" (because of his green head). Together, they go to the everglades, as Wanderer asked.
Leafie raises Greenie and watches him grow. Mr. Otter teaches Greenie to swim. Later, a bat and an owl help Greenie learn to fly. One day, Greenie tries to make friends with some mandarin ducks. But they make fun of Leafie, calling her crazy.
Leafie is sad because the water birds don't accept her. Greenie, upset from being teased, blames Leafie for him being an outcast. He feels he doesn't need her anymore and leaves.
Secrets and Reunions
Mr. Otter comforts Leafie. He tells her that Wanderer was once a guard duck. He hurt his wing fighting One-Eye, who lost an eye in that same fight. Wanderer was captured by the farmer but escaped.
Meanwhile, Greenie meets some white ducks from the farm. He visits the farm and is caught by the farmer. The farmer tries to clip his wings. Chirpie, a sparrow who is Leafie's friend, sees this. Chirpie warns Leafie.
Leafie, with Mr. Otter's help, frees all the hens. Leafie reunites with Greenie. Mr. Otter frees Greenie by biting the string holding him. The Rooster tries to stop them. The animals discover his comb is fake! One of the ducks takes his place as leader. Leafie, Greenie, and Mr. Otter escape.
Leafie and Greenie make up. Suddenly, One-Eye appears and hunts Greenie. Leafie tries to help. Greenie falls off a cliff but learns to fly just in time! One-Eye saves herself by grabbing a ledge.
New Beginnings and Sacrifices
A flock of ducks arrives for autumn. Leafie realizes why Wanderer wanted Greenie in the everglades. Greenie meets the flock and learns about a contest to choose a new guard duck. The ducks are scared of Greenie because of the string on his leg. Leafie removes part of the string and encourages him. Greenie enters the contest, competing with a duck named Red Head.
Greenie wins the contest and becomes the new guard duck! After the race, Leafie finds a nest of baby weasels. She starts to care for them.
Greenie looks for Leafie to say goodbye. He finds One-Eye attacking a female duck and saves her. Their fight leads them to Leafie and the baby weasels. One-Eye pins Greenie down. Leafie tries to help, but One-Eye warns her away.
Then, Leafie realizes the baby weasels are One-Eye's children. One-Eye was only hunting to feed her family. Leafie agrees not to harm the babies if Greenie is let go. One-Eye agrees. Leafie sees that One-Eye is very weak from the winter.
The ducks prepare to leave. Leafie and Greenie say goodbye. Greenie flies off with his flock, ready to see the world. Leafie wonders why she never learned to fly. One-Eye finds her. Leafie knows One-Eye needs food for her babies. Leafie decides to let One-Eye kill her. This way, One-Eye can feed her starving offspring. One-Eye sadly kills Leafie. It is shown that Leafie's spirit can now fly, watching Greenie with his flock.
Main Characters
- Leafie/Yipsak/Sprout/Daisy Voiced by: Moon So-ri (Korean), Stacey DePass (English)
- Leafie is the main character. She is strong, free-spirited, and brave. She doesn't accept her fate but welcomes challenges. Leafie tends to speak loudly, a trait Greenie also has. She escapes from an egg farm by pretending to be dead. She falls in love with Wanderer, but that changes when she learns he has a mate. Wanderer asks her to raise his unborn child. Leafie faces many challenges raising Greenie. She was also getting sick and likely wouldn't have survived the winter.
- Greenie/Chorok Head/Green-Top/Willie Voiced by: Han Shin-jeong & Yoo Seung-ho (Korean), Bryn McAuley & Toby Proctor (English)
- Greenie is a male mallard duck. He is Wanderer's son but is adopted by Leafie after his biological parents die. As a teenager, Greenie found it hard to make friends because his mother was a chicken. He thought about leaving Leafie. But after an adventure at the chicken farm, he accepts Leafie as his mother. Thanks to Mr. Otter, a bat, and an owl, Greenie grows into a strong duck and a great flier. He wins a contest to become a "guard duck." Greenie also speaks loudly, like Leafie.
- Wanderer/Nagnae/Straggler/Wilson Voiced by: Choi Min-sik (Korean), Ryan Hollyman (English)
- Wanderer is a mallard and a former guard duck. Guard ducks protect their flocks from dangers. He saves Leafie from One-Eye at the start of the movie. Leafie falls for him, but he has a mate. He and his mate are killed by One-Eye, leaving behind one egg. Before he dies, Wanderer tells Leafie to take his egg to the everglades. Mr. Otter later explains that Wanderer was injured fighting One-Eye, losing his ability to fly with one wing.
- Rooster Voiced by: Um Sang-hyun (Korean), Juan Chioran (English)
- Rooster is the proud and bossy leader of the chicken flock in the farmyard. Leafie looks up to him, but he sees it as disrespect. He refuses to let Leafie join his flock. Later, it's discovered his comb is fake! This makes the other farm animals make him work for them. He eventually leaves the farm to find a home with Mr. Otter.
- Mayor or Mr. Otter Voiced by: Park Chul-min (Korean), Christian Potenza (English)
- Mr. Otter is like the local helper in the wild animal community. He helps Leafie survive by finding her a home. He also helps Greenie by finding mentors, like a bat and an owl, to teach him to fly. Before Greenie leaves with his flock, he asks Mr. Otter to look after Leafie.
- One-eyed Weasel Voiced by: Kim Sang-hyeon (Korean), Stacey DePass (English)
- One-Eye is often seen as the bad guy because she hunts Leafie and the ducks for food. She is feared in the wild. She lost an eye fighting Wanderer but still hunts well. At the end of the story, we learn she is not evil. She is a mother trying to find food for her own babies.
- Red Head/Ace Voiced by: Sa Seong-ung (Korean), L. Dean Ifill (English)
- Red Head is a wild duck who competes with Greenie to become a guard duck. After the competition, they become good friends.
- Chirpie Voiced by: Jeon Suk-kyeong (Korean), Bryn McAuley (English)
- Chirpie is a high-pitched sparrow and a friend to Leafie and Greenie. He often visits Leafie at the farm. When he sees the farmer attacking Greenie, he and his sparrow friends distract the farmer. He doesn't like Rooster, who always chases his flock away.
- Owl Voiced by: Seo Seung-won (Korean), L. Dean Ifill (English)
- Owl helps Greenie learn how to fly.
- Bat Voiced by: Hong Beom-gi (Korean), Ryan Hollyman (English)
- Bat helps Greenie learn flying tricks. He makes Greenie hang upside down to start training, which Greenie finds very hard. Bat also dislikes Mr. Otter, who suggested he live in a cave that constantly drips water.
- Wanderer's Mate Voiced by: Kim Ji-hye (Korean)
- She is a female white duck who lived with Wanderer. She was Greenie's biological mother until One-Eye killed her.
- The Farmer Voiced by: Walker Boone (English)
- The farmer is an older man who owns the chicken farm. He collects dead chickens and dumps them. He also catches wild ducks, like Wanderer, and keeps them. Later, he catches Greenie and tries to clip his wings. Leafie attacks him to save Greenie. He is the only human character in the movie.
Movie Music
The South Korean and English versions of the movie have different music. Lee Ji-soo composed the music for the Korean version. Patrick Cannell composed the music for the English version. The Korean soundtrack was released on CD in 2011.
Awards and Recognition
Leafie won several awards. It received the Best Sitges Family Film Diploma at the 2011 Sitges Film Festival in Spain. It also won the award for Best Animated Feature Film at the 2011 Asia Pacific Screen Awards in Australia.
The movie's producer, Shim Jae-myung (also known as Jaime Shim), received a special mention at the 2011 Korean Association of Film Critics Awards. This was for her work in making Korean animation more popular.
Movie Around the World
English Version
The movie was bought by 108 Media Group for release in English-speaking countries. These include Canada, the U.S., Australia, the U.K., and New Zealand. It was renamed Daisy: A Hen Into the Wild. It was released directly to DVD in the United States in 2014. It also played on TV on Starz Kids and Family.
The English version was changed a bit from the Korean one. Some scenes were removed. Character names were changed (Leafie became Daisy, Greenie became Willie, Wanderer became Wilson, and Red Head became Ace). A new musical score was also created for the English version.
Other Countries
Leafie was also sold to German-speaking countries and Brazil. It has been sold to 46 countries in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
It was the first Korean animated movie to play in Chinese theaters. It opened on 3,000 screens, which is more than one-third of all screens in China! The director, Oh Sung-yoon, was very happy about how well the film was received in China. He hopes this changes how investors think about animated movies. He said he wants to focus more on the cultural value of animation, not just the business side.
Stage Show
A stage play based on the book and movie was performed in Seoul. It ran from June 22 to September 2, 2012, at the COEX Art Hall.
