Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget Movie Review

In the year 2000, the British studio Aardman Animation made their cinematic debut with Chicken Run, bringing the art of claymation to the masses with a witty and endlessly entertaining release. The follow-up has been a long-time coming; with multiple cast changes and a release on Netflix, can Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget deliver? For the most part, the answer is yes.

Many years after their escape from the Tweedy farm, Ginger (Thandie Newton) and Rocky (Zachary Levi) have started a family with the young Molly (Bella Ramsay) hatching in the opening. When Molly ventures out to the human world, she winds up in Fun-Land Farms, a heavily industrialised complex with a sinister plan for the chickens. Ginger and Rocky, teaming up with Mac (Lynn Ferguson) Bunty (Imelda Staunton), Babs (Jane Horrocks), Fowler (David Bradley), Nick (Romesh Ranganathan) and Fetcher (Daniel Mays), all set out to save her, this time breaking into the high-security complex. The first act delivers exactly what you’d expect and is fairly predictable; a family raising their daughter and getting to grips with her desire to explore. The film really gets started when the motley crew infiltrates the high-tech factory; we’re treated to so many clever moments involving everyday objects. All of it unfolds in a tightly edited and straightforward manner that always keeps the pace moving; the narrative swaps between Ginger, Rocky and Molly in a seamless manner as they explore different areas of the facility before the action kicks in. When we do reach the centre of this grand scientific scheme, a familiar antagonist reappears. While it’s great to see Miranda Richardson back in the role, the film doesn’t go into detail on the return. In one sense, this does allow the film to keep pushing forwards without slowing down, but it would have been good to see more of a bridge between the two stories.

The sequel to Chicken Run has a large voice cast with many notable replacements that caused some controversy in the lead-up to release. Luckily, no one delivers a bad performance and the film maintains the same humorous wit of the original. Thandie Newton replaces Julie Sawalha, Zachary Levi fills in for Mel Gibson and David Bradley takes up Fowler instead of Benjamin Whitrow among others. Everyone has distinctive characteristics that make them stand out and the newcomers are equally strong. Bella Ramsay brings a lot of heart to Molly and Nick Mohammed makes for a very wacky scientist all the way through. Dawn of the Nugget fully embraces a silly side which always shines through as the characters make their way inside Fun-Land farms. They all have their moment in the spotlight and the film is able to juggle a large number of characters without issue.

Over two decades on from the original Chicken Run, Dawn of The Nugget will really impress you on a technical level. From the moment we first see the island paradise, the lush green colours paint an beautiful picture effortlessly. In fact, much of the film is bright and colourful, drawing a major contrast with the original’s prison atmosphere. Every item, texture and model is brilliantly rendered, blending seamlessly with the backgrounds. The camera angles are also far more ambitious with a greater variety of perspectives and movements. You really get a sense of the factory’s scale with additional lighting effects that set the mood. The flashy funland Molly finds herself in feels too bright to be natural and by the end we have a metallic red that blends well with the machinery. The music, once again composed by Harry Gregson-Williams relies on some familiar cues while taking steps into more industrial-sounding tracks. In an animation landscape filled with 2D and 3D styles, Dawn of the Nugget really stands out; the detailed craftwork on display is a rare thing indeed.

The opening is standard fare and the return of a familiar villain isn’t really explained, but Chicken Run: Dawn of The Nugget is a solid sequel. It packs in so many fun and inventive scenarios while also taking huge steps forward in vibrant stop motion. Whether you’ve seen the original or not, this is one animated flick that will offer great entertainment for the whole family.

Rating: 4/5 Stars (Great)