Beloved studio Aardman Animations, known for popularizing claymation, had produced decades of television for BBC when its first feature film, Chicken Run, came out in 2000. If you know anything about the legacy of Aardman and this landmark animated movie, then you might be the audience Netflix is looking for with its new partnership. Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, the long-awaited sequel to the Wallace & Gromit creator’s first film is for these longtime fans, but you would do well to put those high expectations on hold and enjoy the continuation.
‘Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget’ Plot Summary
Picking up right where the first film left off, Tweedy’s Farm escapees Ginger, Rocky, and the rest of the hens live the good life in an island paradise while our heroes raise their first child. When a suspicious compound abducting scores of chickens interferes with their new freedom, Ginger springs into action once again.
A Fresh Cast Blends With a Couple of Returning Voices in the Sequel
The most significant person involved with Chicken Run, co-director/creator Nick Park, failed to return to the sequel, leaving only original screenwriter Karey Kirkpatrick and one score composer to come back behind the camera. The voice cast similarly strikes the viewer as a complete shake-up, though the listening experience in the film is far more seamless than you would expect. Big-name actors Thandiwe Newton and Zachary Levi step into their respective roles with hardly an extra glance required, and the other replacement actors fare equally as well.
Of the returning voice actors, the memorable supporting hens Babs, Bunty, and Mac all retain their original voices. Furthermore, a surprising reprisal intensifies the trauma left in Ginger from the frightening events of the first film. The new and old cast members work together expertly to deliver dialogue reminiscent of the original, surrounded by first-rate animation that has never looked better from the exceptional animation studio.
Still from ‘Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget’
Why ‘Dawn of the Nugget’ Does Not Quite Live Up to Expectations
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget puts all the right pieces in place, with fresh voices like Bella Ramsey and Nick Mohammed bringing new characters a life worthy of watching. However, the entire execution misses the mark. Where Chicken Run ached with darkness and impending doom in sequences worth triumphantly conquering, the sequel feels far more frivolous by comparison. Rocky and Ginger’s interactions are much safer, necessitated by having a child together, leading to corny sentiments that befit lesser children’s entertainment.
Chicken Run‘s entertainment value equivalent for adults and kids is not present here, as the inevitable need to compare the two films brings the quality down. This sequel will be a perfectly thrilling viewing with children, a quick and easy experience that showcases characters willing to charge into danger thanks to perseverance and hard work. Even a 10-year wait would make the problems more forgivable, but after 23 years, many will find Dawn of the Nugget just acceptable.
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget is streaming now on Netflix.