Netflix UK film review: Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget
Review Overview
Cast
8Concept
9Quotability
6Ivan Radford | On 15, Dec 2023
Director: Sam Fell
Cast: Thandiwe Newton, Zachary Levi, Bella Ramsey
Certificate: PG
The Great Escape with chickens. That was the high-concept premise of Chicken Run, the first feature film from Aardman Animations. Now, 23 years later, Aardman is back with a reversal of the format, as the chickens – who broke out of Tweedy’s Farm in the original – are breaking into a farm to stop more feathered friends prematurely coming home to roost.
The sequel picks up almost immediately after the first film’s finale, with Ginger (Thandiwe Newton) and Rocky (Zachary Levi) enjoying freedom on a remote, idyllic island. They’re soon joined by their daughter, Molly (Bella Ramsey), who hatches with every inch of Ginger’s defiant streak and Rocky’s taste for adventure. So it’s not long before she’s dreaming up a great escape of her own – enticed by pictures of impossibly cheerful chicks on a nearby farm.
Of course, things aren’t as perfect as they appear, and the family end up on a rescue mission that brings back some old friends – Babs (Jane Horrocks), Nick (Romesh Ranganathan) and Fetcher (Daniel Mays), and Fowler (David Bradley) – and introduces some new ones, such as Frizzle (Josie Sedgwick-Davies). Going up against the tech-savvy Dr Fry (Nick Mohammed) and the fast food tycoon Reginald Smith (Peter Serafinowicz), they find themselves facing the dawn of a terrifying new age.
It’s a sequel that’s bigger and unexpectedly darker than the first time round, with the script from Karey Kirkpatrick, John O’Farrell and Rachel Tunnard succeeding when it really leans into the horrors of factory farming – coupled with Ginger’s nightmarish flashbacks to Mrs Tweedy (Miranda Richardson), there’s a surprising depth to the film’s exploration of the trauma of the food industry that goes beyond the “I don’t like gravy” quips of the 2000 romp.
That’s not to say, though, that Dawn of the Nugget is lacking in lighthearted fun. There are fewer memorable lines in the mix – “There go the goujons…” is the standout – but the cast have enthusiasm to spare, particularly Ramsey’s plucky youngling and Sedgwick-Davies’ rebellious Scouser. Zachary Levi proves a warm and very welcome replacement to Mel Gibson as Rocky and Thandiwe Newton is great as the resilient Ginger, although why she had to replace the wonderful Julia Sawalha is another matter entirely. Together, they emerge as the heart of the film, as they learn not to keep Molly locked up in the way that they once were.
But like Chicken Run before it, this bird is best when it’s in flight. Director Sam Fell (the inferior Flushed Away) deftly balances CGI flourishes with the tactile slapstick of stop-motion to conjure up some wonderfully inventive set pieces and enough sight gags to warrant a repeat viewing for pausing. Wallace and Gromit would be pleased with the egg-centric gadgets on display, from magnifying glasses being used to heat up popcorn to snorkels, robot ducks and the most inspired version of retina-scanning security ever seen on screen. The result is a fun family outing that offsets feelings of familiarity by knowingly sticking to its heist concept. Ocean’s Eleven with chickens? Yes please.