"Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget" is the sequel to the 2000 Aardman Animations film "Chicken Run". Featuring the voices of Thandiwe Newton, Zachary Levi, Bella Ramsey, and Miranda Richardson, it is an amusing, albeit unnecessary follow-up to the original film that still manages to be entertaining.
Sometime after the events of the first film, the freed chickens of Mr. And Mrs. Tweedy's Farm have all settled into their new lives on an island far away from humans. Ginger (voiced by Thandiwe Newton) and Rocky (voiced by Zachary Levi) have since become a family after their daughter Molly (voiced by Bella Ramsey) hatches from an egg. As she grows older, Molly becomes more curious about life outside the island, and one night decides to ignore her parents' warnings and sneak out across to the mainland. The next day, Ginger and Rocky learn of Molly's disappearance and set out with a group of other chickens to look for her. Meanwhile, Molly has been captured and taken to Fun-Land Farms, a technologically advanced chicken farm operated by Mrs. Tweedy (voiced by Miranda Richardson) and her new husband Dr. Fry (voiced by Nick Mohammad). Upon learning of this, Ginger, Rocky, and the rest of their team quickly conspire a plan to break into the heavily guarded farm and rescue Molly before she is turned into chicken nuggets.
One notable animation style that I think ages well is claymation, which when done right can give the product in question a timeless presentation. The British studio Aardman Animations has been using this particular technique since their founding over 50 years ago, producing many short films, advertisements, and opening titles for TV shows. In 2000, Aardman created their first feature length film "Chicken Run", a story about a group of chickens who plot an escape from their farm before their tyrannical owner can turn each of them into pies. Even more than 20 years later, "Chicken Run" still holds the record for the highest grossing stop-motion animated film of all time, and remains a favourite among viewers of all ages. In 2023, Aardman released a sequel titled "Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget", which retains most of the charm of the original, despite having little reason to exist in the first place.
For those who haven't seen the original, things were wrapped up pretty nicely at the end so it seems like a strange decision to want to continue things from there. With that in mind, this sequel does a decent enough job of establishing a follow-up story to justify another film. We see that the chickens are now living in a carefree utopian society, and Ginger and Rocky are now parents to the inquisitive Molly, who has no idea about life outside of their current peaceful existence. It is here we learn that Ginger suffers from PTSD related to the events of the previous film, making her reluctant to talk to her young daughter about what lies beyond their idyllic island home. As a result, Molly's curiosity grows even stronger, frequently relying on information about the outside world from the chickens' rat associates Nick and Fetcher. I liked that the film told things mostly from Molly's perspective, reflecting that younger generations often have no idea how much easier they have it than their parents in some regards, and her interest in finding out for herself helps set the plot in motion.
As mentioned earlier, Aardman films are renowned for their claymation art style, and this film is one of their best looking yet. Nearly every frame of this movie is so bright and colourful that it's hard to look away at times. Best of all, the set-design was crafted by hand in a studio as opposed to CGI added in post-production, which of course makes the film look even better. I also found myself observing all of the everyday items that were being used as props, like a spoon as a shovel (which was also done in the original film) or an egg holder as a drinking cup. Like all of Aardman's productions, the film has a distinctly British feel. The humour is dry and witty, and the quirky personalities of the chickens allows for the odd chuckle at the expense of the situations they land themselves in. It pleases me that Aardman have always stayed true to their British roots, never allowing any blatant Americanisation of their work to compromise their vision.
Although the voice acting was very good all round, I still can't help but feel sad that some of the main characters from the original film had their actors recast. Thandiwe Newton has replaced Julia Sawalha as Ginger, and while I did like the level of emotion Newton brought to the role during her parental scenes with Molly, it would have been nice if Sawalha had returned to the part instead. Allegedly, Sawahla was replaced due to her sounding "too old" for the character, which is why it seems weird that the filmmakers cast Newton over her, who is only four years younger and sounds slightly different. To add to the confusion, there are flashback scenes to the first film that have dialogue from Sawalha's Ginger that cut back to modern day with Newton's Ginger, making the vocal differences particularly noticeable.
Similarly, Zachary Levi takes over from Mel Gibson as Rocky, who also does a reasonable job but doesn't reach the level of charisma as his predecessor. Gibson has always had a unique style of confidence that shone through in his depiction of Rocky, which Levi unfortunately is unable to replicate. Of course, it makes sense for Gibson to have been replaced considering his controversial past, but that just means Rocky will never feel the same way as he once was. Other actors have been replaced as well, like David Bradley voicing Fowler instead of Benjamin Whitrow, who passed away in 2017, as well as Timothy Spall as Nick and Phil Daniels as Fetcher, who are now voiced by Romesh Ranganathan and Daniel Mays, respectively.
Fortunately, Jane Horrocks, Imelda Staunton, Lynn Ferguson, and Miranda Richardson all managed to return to reprise their respective roles as Babs, Bunty, Mac, and Mrs. Tweedy. If there were one other cast member I'm most glad was able to come back, it would be Miranda Richardson, as it was her intimidating performance as Mrs. Tweedy in the first film that made her such a memorable villain in the first place. This time, her hatred of chickens feels more personal as a result of the events that took place previously. She's much smarter and more conniving than before, fully aware that the chickens are not as dumb as she initially thought, which is notably reflected in the scenes where she fights back against Ginger. It's worth noting that Mrs. Tweedy has a different husband in this film, which means that she and Mr. Tweedy either got divorced or he died off-screen somehow (Mr. Tweedy's voice actor Tony Haygarth died in 2017 so the latter reason is plausible).
However, it's not all bad news regarding the cast as I did enjoy Bella Ramsey's performance as Molly, the adventurous daughter of Ginger and Rocky. It was quite cute to see Molly taking an interest in the world around her and Ramsey helps bring a likeable curiosity to this character and why she wants to step outside her comfort zone. At first, I was concerned that Molly would be another perfect "Mary Sue" type protagonist, but she actually struggles throughout her journey quite often, learning that things aren't always going to go her way and that she needs to work hard to overcome any adversity she faces. Some of the film's best scenes are with Molly and her mother, the latter of whom understands what it is like to long for a different life beyond where she is now.
For a belated sequel that didn't really need to exist, "Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget" is a fun ride that fans of the original can appreciate for its impressive claymation effects and signature sense of humour. Though it could have been better in places, there's no denying that the film's appeal is more than enough to reach both children and adults alike. It's crazy to think that people like myself who were kids when the original came out are now old enough to have kids of their own, so any Millennial-aged parents showing this film to their children are sure to have an enjoyable time watching this one together as a family. And for that reason alone, I would say the film has accomplished its goal.
I rate it 7.5/10.
Sometime after the events of the first film, the freed chickens of Mr. And Mrs. Tweedy's Farm have all settled into their new lives on an island far away from humans. Ginger (voiced by Thandiwe Newton) and Rocky (voiced by Zachary Levi) have since become a family after their daughter Molly (voiced by Bella Ramsey) hatches from an egg. As she grows older, Molly becomes more curious about life outside the island, and one night decides to ignore her parents' warnings and sneak out across to the mainland. The next day, Ginger and Rocky learn of Molly's disappearance and set out with a group of other chickens to look for her. Meanwhile, Molly has been captured and taken to Fun-Land Farms, a technologically advanced chicken farm operated by Mrs. Tweedy (voiced by Miranda Richardson) and her new husband Dr. Fry (voiced by Nick Mohammad). Upon learning of this, Ginger, Rocky, and the rest of their team quickly conspire a plan to break into the heavily guarded farm and rescue Molly before she is turned into chicken nuggets.
One notable animation style that I think ages well is claymation, which when done right can give the product in question a timeless presentation. The British studio Aardman Animations has been using this particular technique since their founding over 50 years ago, producing many short films, advertisements, and opening titles for TV shows. In 2000, Aardman created their first feature length film "Chicken Run", a story about a group of chickens who plot an escape from their farm before their tyrannical owner can turn each of them into pies. Even more than 20 years later, "Chicken Run" still holds the record for the highest grossing stop-motion animated film of all time, and remains a favourite among viewers of all ages. In 2023, Aardman released a sequel titled "Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget", which retains most of the charm of the original, despite having little reason to exist in the first place.
For those who haven't seen the original, things were wrapped up pretty nicely at the end so it seems like a strange decision to want to continue things from there. With that in mind, this sequel does a decent enough job of establishing a follow-up story to justify another film. We see that the chickens are now living in a carefree utopian society, and Ginger and Rocky are now parents to the inquisitive Molly, who has no idea about life outside of their current peaceful existence. It is here we learn that Ginger suffers from PTSD related to the events of the previous film, making her reluctant to talk to her young daughter about what lies beyond their idyllic island home. As a result, Molly's curiosity grows even stronger, frequently relying on information about the outside world from the chickens' rat associates Nick and Fetcher. I liked that the film told things mostly from Molly's perspective, reflecting that younger generations often have no idea how much easier they have it than their parents in some regards, and her interest in finding out for herself helps set the plot in motion.
As mentioned earlier, Aardman films are renowned for their claymation art style, and this film is one of their best looking yet. Nearly every frame of this movie is so bright and colourful that it's hard to look away at times. Best of all, the set-design was crafted by hand in a studio as opposed to CGI added in post-production, which of course makes the film look even better. I also found myself observing all of the everyday items that were being used as props, like a spoon as a shovel (which was also done in the original film) or an egg holder as a drinking cup. Like all of Aardman's productions, the film has a distinctly British feel. The humour is dry and witty, and the quirky personalities of the chickens allows for the odd chuckle at the expense of the situations they land themselves in. It pleases me that Aardman have always stayed true to their British roots, never allowing any blatant Americanisation of their work to compromise their vision.
Although the voice acting was very good all round, I still can't help but feel sad that some of the main characters from the original film had their actors recast. Thandiwe Newton has replaced Julia Sawalha as Ginger, and while I did like the level of emotion Newton brought to the role during her parental scenes with Molly, it would have been nice if Sawalha had returned to the part instead. Allegedly, Sawahla was replaced due to her sounding "too old" for the character, which is why it seems weird that the filmmakers cast Newton over her, who is only four years younger and sounds slightly different. To add to the confusion, there are flashback scenes to the first film that have dialogue from Sawalha's Ginger that cut back to modern day with Newton's Ginger, making the vocal differences particularly noticeable.
Similarly, Zachary Levi takes over from Mel Gibson as Rocky, who also does a reasonable job but doesn't reach the level of charisma as his predecessor. Gibson has always had a unique style of confidence that shone through in his depiction of Rocky, which Levi unfortunately is unable to replicate. Of course, it makes sense for Gibson to have been replaced considering his controversial past, but that just means Rocky will never feel the same way as he once was. Other actors have been replaced as well, like David Bradley voicing Fowler instead of Benjamin Whitrow, who passed away in 2017, as well as Timothy Spall as Nick and Phil Daniels as Fetcher, who are now voiced by Romesh Ranganathan and Daniel Mays, respectively.
Fortunately, Jane Horrocks, Imelda Staunton, Lynn Ferguson, and Miranda Richardson all managed to return to reprise their respective roles as Babs, Bunty, Mac, and Mrs. Tweedy. If there were one other cast member I'm most glad was able to come back, it would be Miranda Richardson, as it was her intimidating performance as Mrs. Tweedy in the first film that made her such a memorable villain in the first place. This time, her hatred of chickens feels more personal as a result of the events that took place previously. She's much smarter and more conniving than before, fully aware that the chickens are not as dumb as she initially thought, which is notably reflected in the scenes where she fights back against Ginger. It's worth noting that Mrs. Tweedy has a different husband in this film, which means that she and Mr. Tweedy either got divorced or he died off-screen somehow (Mr. Tweedy's voice actor Tony Haygarth died in 2017 so the latter reason is plausible).
However, it's not all bad news regarding the cast as I did enjoy Bella Ramsey's performance as Molly, the adventurous daughter of Ginger and Rocky. It was quite cute to see Molly taking an interest in the world around her and Ramsey helps bring a likeable curiosity to this character and why she wants to step outside her comfort zone. At first, I was concerned that Molly would be another perfect "Mary Sue" type protagonist, but she actually struggles throughout her journey quite often, learning that things aren't always going to go her way and that she needs to work hard to overcome any adversity she faces. Some of the film's best scenes are with Molly and her mother, the latter of whom understands what it is like to long for a different life beyond where she is now.
For a belated sequel that didn't really need to exist, "Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget" is a fun ride that fans of the original can appreciate for its impressive claymation effects and signature sense of humour. Though it could have been better in places, there's no denying that the film's appeal is more than enough to reach both children and adults alike. It's crazy to think that people like myself who were kids when the original came out are now old enough to have kids of their own, so any Millennial-aged parents showing this film to their children are sure to have an enjoyable time watching this one together as a family. And for that reason alone, I would say the film has accomplished its goal.
I rate it 7.5/10.