CHICKEN RUN: DAWN OF THE NUGGET – Review

So, since we’re deep into the holiday season (the biggie is just ten days away), what better time to revisit some old friends? And it really has been a long stretch, actually more than twenty years. That’s quite a gap between sequels, especially in animation where franchises seem to abound almost annually. Yes, the decades set this flick apart, but also its style. It’s not drawn at the old “light-desk’ nor is fashioned from pixels via an army of computers. This piece would truly be considered “old school’ as it returns to the techniques of “stop-motion animation”, which has been a cinema staple for over a hundred years. These days it’s mainly employed in the service of “selling” in TV commercials or the occasional TV special. But these wacky “wizards of clay” at Aardman (the main characters are molded and sculpted) are masters of this time-consuming craft and they’re returning to bring back some fine feathered friends (and some human foes) in CHICKEN RUN: DAWN OF THE NUGGET.

The plot of this fable explores what comes next post “they all lived happily ever after”. At the conclusion of the 200 original, Rocky the rooster, and the hens escaped the terrible Tweedy Farm. And they’ve been living peacefully on an island, far from the shore of the countryside. Ginger (voice of Thandiwe Newton) and Rocky (Zachary Levi) are enjoying the domestic life and are delighted when their egg hatches. Soon the chick grows into a spirited, feisty teenager they’ve named Molly (Bella Ramsey). Keeping her out of trouble seems to be a full-time job for her parents and most of the neighbors. Then Molly climbs a tree for a “bird’s eye view” of that world across the water and soon makes her escape. When Ginger sees that she’s AWOL, she enlists Rocky and the rest of the old “henhouse crew” (Babs, Bunty, Mac, and old Fowler) on a rescue mission. After hitching a boat ride from their rat “sea trader” pals Nick and Fetcher, the gang arrives just in time to see Molly and her new best pal, a feral hen named Frizzle (Jose Sedgwick-Davis), get scooped up by a truck from Fun Land Farms. The island chickens follow it to the gate of a nearly impenetrable fortress. Ginger has no choice but to actually break into the “processing plant” to rescue her only daughter. But can she and her friends triumph when they learn that an old adversary is behind this new method of turning their ilk into tasty crunchy “nuggets”?

The new vocal cast (save for one former nemesis) does a splendid job of selling the verbal jabs and jokes in this new adventure fantasy. Newton and Levi are a good match as parents with different “nurturing styles”. Ginger is the more pragmatic while Rocky has a casual “have a blast” attitude (similar to many modern sitcom couples). Ramsey conveys all the optimistic energetic spirit of youth with much curiosity and naivete. And there’s great supportive work from Nick Mohammed as the sinister super-genius Dr. Fry (get it). All these actors service the superb skills of talented designers, sculptors, and animators (working with clay rather than a pencil or a keyboard/mouse). The island sequences have a warm natural feel with the foilage jutting into the tranquil lake. But it all turns dark and sinister for the nocturnal capture of Molly. And then the story “shifts gears” in the spiky citadel of Fun Land Farms. It certainly reflects the tone of the sequel. While the original film played as a parody of WWII POW camp epics (think THE GREAT ESCAPE or STALAG 17), this one has “a laugh” at the 1960s and 1970s spy capers. We can almost imagine 007 or even Derek Flint or Matt Helm dashing through the shiny metallic hallways of “the farm” (it feels as though it should be inside a volcano or mountain). Plus there are terrific parodies of sci-fi (maybe THE MATRIX meets THE STEPFORD WIVES0 and a playful poke at amusement parks with a phony plastic pastel backdrop. These bug-eyed birds are just so hilarious as they try to become action heroes. It does go on a bit too long, as one ending shifts into another challenge, but the film should keep every member of the family entertained and amusing. So, the witty script and dazzling visuals make CHICKEN RUN: DAWN OF THE NUGGETS a truly tasty holiday treat.

3 Out 4

CHICKEN RUN: DAWN OF THE NUGGET is now streaming exclusively on Netflix