The origins of "The Ghost of the Wandering Chicken"

A special interview with Jean-Luc Marçais, director and main creator of The Ghost of the Wandering Chicken, and the producer Alexis Laffaille from Kawanimation, reveals the unique features of this animated film project.

Can you describe the origins of The Ghost of the Wandering Chicken project and highlight its most distinctive features?

Jean-Luc Marçais:  The Ghost of the Wandering Chicken (or the Soul, we’re not sure of the title yet) is the adaptation of a children’s book I wrote.

It was released in June this year.  I originally wanted to write the story for an animation movie and then just really enjoyed the process of writing a children’s book. I sent it to publishers and got a positive response from Bayard Jeunesse, a big French publisher. This was in the year 2020, during the Covid pandemic. It was a logical consequence to go back to the animated film project.

As for the story itself, it comes from childhood memories of visiting my grandparents in the refugee camp where they lived until they passed away in the early 90s. I would go there for holidays and spend between 1 week and 2 months with my family and all the other people in the camp.

The families arrived there in 1956 and the story takes place in the 80s, 30 years after their arrival. During that time, the people had created a kind of mini-Vietnam in the camp.  Separated from the outside world by huge laurel hedges.  The setting, the people and the atmosphere were really unique. It was a military camp, pretty appalling and not suited for families, but the people there really managed to make it their own and create a warm and welcoming place. So the environment itself is probably the most distinctive feature of the film.

From these memories, I created a narration mixing some of the Vietnamese heritage I have (the ghosts, the magic in all aspects of everyday life, the importance of food), and I wanted it to be anchored in history. Because the story of the camp is deeply linked to the history of France’s former colonies, as is my family history (my grandfather was a soldier from Djibouti, another french colony).  I also chose to base it on the transmission of memory and how we can prevent its erasure, because it’s also a real life issue, for this camp but for most people of foreign descent.  As a matter of fact, the existence of these camps in France is almost unknown to the general public.

Who are the central characters in the story, and what roles do they play?

J.-L. M.:  The main characters are 2 kids, Jean-Luc and Yaya. They get along very well.

Jean-Luc is me when I was about 9 years old and Yaya is his younger cousin. He is a bit shy and afraid, while she is the one who initiates the adventures and goes where there might be danger. He is a city kid whereas she lives in the camp all year round. But they both feel somewhat alienated from their Vietnamese heritage.

In a way, they are seeds that have grown up in a new world, and they must find a way to connect with their elders from a distant country, knowing that this land they don’t know is also a part of who they are.  The two children are accompanied by the ghost of a former soldier from Indochina, who has reincarnated as a chicken (hence the title The Ghost of the Wandering Chicken). He acts a bit silly when the tension needs to be released.  Then we have the witch, who appears mean at first…

And then, there’s the children’s grandmother, who they find boring at first, because she’s holding on to her past and the memories of a story they don’t know.

What industry events has The Ghost of the Wandering Chicken attended so far, and what feedback has it received?

Alexis Laffaille: We pitched the project at the last Cartoon Forum in Toulouse. We received a warm welcome and met a lot of interest afterwards, from distributors to coproducers.