Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget
I don’t know why it took 23 years to get a sequel to Chicken Run. Whatever the reason, at least the filmmakers took their time to devise a plot that stays true to the spirit of the original while still carving out its own niche. As the title implies, the making of chicken nuggets is at the heart of the tale. Becoming a nugget is a fate no chicken wants to face. There’s a certain dignity in becoming a patty or a finger. But a nugget? To quote Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now, the horror…the horror…
Having successfully escaped being turned into potpies at the Tweedy’s farm, the chickens now live on an island that, to them, feels like paradise. However, there’s an all-new threat in the form of a factory that makes – you guessed it – chicken nuggets. A teen chicken named Molly (Bella Ramsey) goes in search of adventure and ends up there, not realizing what it is. Her parents, Ginger (Thandiwe Newton) and Rocky (Zachary Levi, replacing the problematic Mel Gibson), launch a rescue mission that puts them face-to-face with old nemesis Mrs. Tweedy (Miranda Richardson).
Like the original Chicken Run, the sequel is on the flat side when it comes to characterization. The poultry in this movie are light on personality, especially in comparison to the many lovable figures animated fare has given us since 2000, like Puss in Boots, Olaf from Frozen, and Wreck-It Ralph. Each of them has one minor identifiable trait, and that’s about it. None are particularly memorable.
The things they do, on the other hand, are memorable. Dawn of the Nugget comes up with a series of devilishly funny antics. Molly and friend Frizzle (Josie Sedgwick-Davies) sneak into the factory via a plan that would make Ethan Hunt jealous. Chickens are duped into thinking the factory is a giant playground, unaware of its sinister function. There’s a frantic chase through the machinery that manufactures the nuggets. Those are just a few examples. The movie is consistently entertaining in its comic mayhem.
The talented folks at Aardman once again deliver the goods when it comes to stop-motion animation. Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget is one of their most visually complex works. They push the boundaries of what we traditionally think clay-based animation is capable of. Inclusion of weird little background jokes is an additional pleasure the company indulges in, and another way this wonderfully wacky movie keeps you continually cracking up.
out of four
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget is rated PG for peril, action, and some thematic elements. The running time is 1 hour and 37 minutes.
