Will Chicken Run 2 spark a roast chicken revolt? Aardman co-founder Peter Lord says new film set in Bond villain-style nugget factory ISN’T a statement against eating meat amid claims it will spark a rise in children turning vegan

For millions of people around the world, they are a crunchy, meaty treat that goes well with ketchup.

But for vegetarians and vegans, chicken nuggets are the embodiment of mass-produced hell.

However, when one of the key figures behind the well-received sequel to 2000 megahit Chicken Run was asked if his film is a statement against meat-eating and factory farming, he had bad news for campaigners.

Following the release of Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, Peter Lord, co-founder of Aardman Animations, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'It's not. It's definitely entertainment, that's why we made it.”

But in a boon for animal lovers, he added, “It is true that we involve the audience with the heroes, who are chickens, and we make them care very much about those chickens.

'And then they meet people who want to eat them. So it's pretty clear where your sympathies lie. So on the side of the chickens.'

His comments came after activists praised the “morality story” in the sequel, which is set in a James Bond villain-style chicken nugget factory run by the evil Mrs. Tweedy, from whom the heroes escaped in the first film.

Matthew Glover, founder of Veganaury and meal alternatives series Chick'n, said last week that he thinks the story “pushes the needle” in the right direction, adding: “I've never seen a cartoon like it.”

And Richard McIlwain, chief executive of the UK Vegetarian Association, was a fan of the film's approach.

He told the guard: 'Whether or not they want to make a vegan morality tale, the reality is that this is what happens on poultry farms. They're not making it up.'

The Vegetarian Society had asked on its Facebook page whether people think the new film has a 'morality story'.

One mother responded, “My daughter has refused to eat chicken since she saw the first Chicken Run movie.”

In the sequel, Mrs. Tweedy's husband, scientist Dr. Fry, has devised a brainwashing regime in which the chicken prisoners spend their last days in a theme park decked out with an all-you-can-eat buffet before being slaughtered.

Mr Lord said: 'It's true that we involve the public with the heroes, who are chickens, and we make them care deeply about those chickens.' Above: At the French premiere of Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget earlier this month

The film is set in a James Bond-style chicken nugget factory run by the evil Mrs. Tweedy, from whom the heroes escaped in the first film.

Mrs. Tweedy, voiced by Miranda Richardson, returns as the villain in the new film

Mrs. Tweedy then plans to turn them into gold nuggets, which is a novel creation in the 1950s film setting.

It will take the power of familiar heroes, including Ginger, Rocky, Babs and Bunty, to rescue Molly, who is trapped in the factory.

Sam Fell, the director of the new film, admitted that he became a vegetarian while making it.

He said Chicken Run 2 isn't “here to preach,” but did joke that it could help promote the fast-food chain's vegetarian options.

“People love eating nuggets, it seems, so I don't think everyone will suddenly stop – and above all we want the film to be engaging and entertaining and above all a great ride,” he told The Metro.

“But hey, if you come away thinking a little more like a chicken at the end, that's okay.”

The new film was released in selected cinemas last week and can be seen on Netflix from Friday.

It will take the power of well-known heroes including Ginger, Rocky (pictured with rats Nick and Fletcher), Babs and Bunty to rescue Molly, who is trapped in the factory.