Film Name: 鸡妈鸭仔 / Leafie: A Hen Into the Wild / 마당을 나온 암탉, 잎싹
By the film’s conclusion, I found myself crying uncontrollably. Glancing around, the children seemed largely unfazed, but every adult had reddened eyes. Every mother who brought her child to see this movie was weeping openly.
This was a scene I’d never encountered in all my years of watching animation. The adults who came to accompany their children ended up being the film’s true audience, while the little ones seemed like the guests.
I watched this movie at the Capital Cinema, located on the tenth floor of Xidan Joy City. After the screening, pretending to text, I kept my head down and walked straight to the lobby. I avoided the elevator, taking the stairs all the way down to the first floor to steady my emotions. Stepping outside Joy City onto the bustling street, my heart surged again. It took several moments to regain my composure.
Perhaps I’m just overly sentimental.
The film offered almost no comedic moments. Some children even remarked midway, “This movie is so boring.” Apart from the otter “Water Brother” adding a bit of gimmickry, I scarcely heard any laughter from the audience.
The character designs in this film weren’t particularly outstanding either. Most of the characters weren’t cute, weren’t chubby, weren’t endearing—sometimes they even felt a bit ugly.
The voice acting in this film wasn’t particularly impressive either. Especially the voice of Mother Hen Yaya—it sounded immature and uncertain.
Yet the film possesses one shining quality: genuine emotion. It celebrates unparalleled maternal love with unparalleled sincerity. This makes the entire film glow as brightly as the yellow feather on Mother Hen’s back.
I understand why every mother who watches this film cries. Little Duck Green’s journey truly touches their hearts. I couldn’t help but see myself reflected in Green’s story. There was the childhood nestling in my mother’s embrace, the mischief of adolescence, the rebellion of youth, and the ambition to seek independence and soar high as an adult. Yet unseen was my mother growing older day by day. Her once vibrant plumage faded, just like the little flower pinned to her tail, transforming from youthful bloom to withered decay.
Mother Hen sometimes chattered incessantly, just like a real mother, inevitably drawing her son’s irritation. But for the son, one day, when he truly wanted to hear that chatter again, he would only be able to listen to it in his memories.
Mother Hen never stopped thinking about her duckling. When the duckling played in the water, she feared it might drown and plunged into the lake without a second thought. When the duckling was captured, she fought fiercely to save it. When the duckling competed in the flying contest, she watched silently from the sidelines, waiting.
The happiest yet saddest moment for any mother is that final embrace when her child grows up and leaves. The mother hen selflessly devoted herself to the duckling, earning in return a heroic son and such a hug.
The mother hen said, “How I wish I could soar like the duckling.” In the end, she chose a breathtakingly astonishing way to “fly high.” At that moment, the cinema fell silent.
This is why the film resonates so deeply with adults. For even if not everyone has children, everyone has a mother. Human growth is built upon a mother’s tireless sacrifice and comes at the cost of her own aging. Let us forever remember this truth! No matter how high we soar, may we never forget this profound love!
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