| Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget | |
|---|---|
 Release poster | |
| Directed by | Sam Fell |
| Screenplay by |
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| Story by |
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| Based on | Chicken Run byPeter Lord Nick Park |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Charles Copping |
| Edited by | Stephen Perkins |
| Music by | Harry Gregson-Williams |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Netflix |
Release dates |
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Running time | 101 minutes[2] |
| Country | United Kingdom[3][1] |
| Language | English |
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget is a 2023 British animatedcomedy film directed bySam Fell and written byKarey Kirkpatrick,John O'Farrell, and Rachel Tunnard.[4] It is the sequel toChicken Run (2000), and was produced byAardman Animations forNetflix. The film starsThandiwe Newton,Zachary Levi,Bella Ramsey,Romesh Ranganathan,David Bradley,Daniel Mays,Jane Horrocks,Imelda Staunton,Lynn Ferguson, Josie Sedgwick-Davies,Peter Serafinowicz,Nick Mohammed, andMiranda Richardson. The story follows Rocky and Ginger who lead a rescue mission when their daughter has been abducted to a highly-advanced poultry farm run by their old enemy Mrs. Tweedy.
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget had its world premiere at theBFI London Film Festival on 14 October 2023, and was released by Netflix on 15 December 2023. The film received generally positive reviews from critics.
Since the chickens escaped from Mr. and Mrs. Tweedy's Farm,[a] they have settled in an idyllicsanctuary on an island in a lake, where they can live happily, safe from humans. Ginger and Rocky start a family with a hatchling named Molly. The rats Nick and Fetcher visit periodically with supplies.
Molly grows into an adventurous young girl, whom Ginger and Rocky try to protect from the outside world. The appearance of trucks and construction on the mainland concerns Ginger, who fears that another chicken farm is being built. With her more cautious perspective as a parent, she leads her community in hiding more effectively.
Molly's curiosity leads her to sneak away to the mainland, where she is saved from being run over by another young chicken named Frizzle. The two friends stow away on a truck full of chickens being transported to Fun-Land Farms, which initially appears appealing to them. Ginger and Rocky form a search party with Babs, Bunty, Mac, and Fowler. They give chase and discover that the "farm" is actually a highly advancedpoultry processing plant bristling with security systems.
Inside, Molly and Frizzle discover an expansive amusement area, where the other chickens — all wearing numbered electronic collars — go on rides, play games, and more. Rocky impulsively catapults into the compound, inadvertently activating various security systems and providing Ginger and the others with the information they need to infiltrate. They are joined by Nick and Fetcher, who become separated from the group but eventually reunite with Rocky.
Molly and Frizzle discover that the collars, when activated, turn the other chickens into carefree, mindless drones. Frizzle is captured by the facility’s scientist, Dr. Fry, and fitted with a collar. Molly escapes, promising to come back for her.
Ginger reunites with Molly, and learns in horror that her nemesis Mrs. Tweedy is running the operation alongside Dr. Fry, her new husband. The collars serve to suppress the chickens' fear, to make tastierchicken nuggets for Reginald Smith, a fast-food chain businessman looking for new food items. Mrs. Tweedy captures Ginger and puts a collar on her, which she resists unsuccessfully, but Rocky intervenes and Molly frees her. The hens, rooster, and rats are reunited in acorn silo, which they escape by turning it into popcorn. Molly mourns the fate of Frizzle, prompting Ginger and the others to turn back and help the other chickens as well.
Mrs. Tweedy orders Dr. Fry to begin production of chicken nuggets, triggering a struggle for the remote control that brainwashes the chickens. Rocky, Ginger, and Molly battle Mrs. Tweedy for control, while the rest of the rescue squad tries to hold back the chickens as they march mindlessly toward the processor. The trio wins the fight, sending Mrs. Tweedy tumbling into the nugget machine, where she is breaded like a chicken nugget. Meanwhile, the entire population of chickens—and the rats—escape in a truck. Mrs. Tweedy tries to stop them, but Fowler knocks her into the compound’s moat, where she is apprehended by the facility’s security as the site explodes from the chickens’ sabotage.
The chickens return to the island, and their life returns to normal, now with Molly and Frizzle doingaerial reconnaissance for chicken farms on the mainland and the chicken crew liberating those they find.
After completingChicken Run in 2000,Jeffrey Katzenberg, the then-CEO ofDreamWorks Animation and one of the film's executive producers, proposed toAardman Animations the idea of making a sequel. However, Aardman declined as they felt unready to make a sequel as well as its employees feeling exhausted after completing the original film and instead moved on to different projects. Since then, ideas and talks of a sequel floated around for years until numerous crew members of the first film agreed to continue the story.[5]
A sequel toChicken Run was reported in April 2018 with Aardman Animations,StudioCanal andPathé set to produce.[6] DreamWorks had no involvement due to ending their partnership with Aardman after the box-office underperformance ofFlushed Away in 2006.[7]Sam Fell directed, with Paul Kewley producing.[8][9] Fell was approached by the film's original co-directorPeter Lord in 2016 at a party and convinced him to return to Aardman to direct the sequel.[5] The originalChicken Run writersKarey Kirkpatrick andJohn O'Farrell returned to write for the sequel.[10] Aardman co-founders Peter Lord andDavid Sproxton served as executive producers along with the original film's co-directorNick Park.[11][12][5]
On 16 October 2019, the film officially began pre-production.[13][14][15] Because very few props and models from the original film survived after being destroyed in a warehouse fire in 2005, Fell and his team resorted to using reference photos from the original film'smaking of book.[5] Aardman said thatMel Gibson was not asked to return as Rocky.[16] In June 2020, Fell released more details about the sequel, which would follow from the ending of the first film, where the chickens have settled into their new safe area. Molly, the chick of Ginger and Rocky, begins to outgrow the area, just as word of a new threat to the chickens arrives.[17] In July 2020,Julia Sawalha, the voice of Ginger in the first film, revealed Aardman's intention to recast her role, saying her voice now sounded too old, and commented "I have officially been plucked, stuffed & roasted". The decision was met with criticism, with some finding the decisionageist.[18][19]
Principal photography commenced in early 2021.[20][21][22] In January 2022,Zachary Levi,Thandiwe Newton,David Bradley,Romesh Ranganathan andDaniel Mays replaced Gibson, Sawalha,Benjamin Whitrow,Timothy Spall andPhil Daniels as the voices of Rocky, Ginger, Fowler, Nick and Fetcher, whileJane Horrocks,Imelda Staunton andLynn Ferguson reprised their roles as Babs, Bunty and Mac from the first film, with the film's title revealed asChicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget.[23]Bella Ramsey,Nick Mohammed and Josie Sedgwick-Davies voiced three new characters, Molly, Dr. Fry and Frizzle, respectively.[23] In September 2023, it was announced thatMiranda Richardson would reprise her role as the voice of Mrs. Tweedy and thatPeter Serafinowicz also joined the cast as Reginald Smith, a "slightly bemused businessman".[24]
Due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, the clay models were put inquarantine for 10 days after the animators had finished. The clay models were put in a tent withultraviolet lights.[25]
In June 2023, it was reported thatHarry Gregson-Williams, who previously scored the first film withJohn Powell, would return to compose the film, marking his fifth collaboration with Aardman. It is also the second time Gregson-Williams scored a sequel to an animated film solely by himself after he composed its predecessor with Powell, the first beingDreamWorks Animation'sShrek 2 (2004), as well asShrek the Third (2007) andShrek Forever After (2010).[26]Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget—Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released digitally on the day of the film's worldwide release.[27]
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget premiered at the67th BFI London Film Festival on 14 October 2023, with none of the cast in attendance due to the2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, with the film's characters walking the red carpet in their place.[28] It was released onNetflix on 15 December 2023.[29][30][31] The film had a preview at theAnnecy International Animation Film Festival on 11 June 2023.[32] Netflix purchased the worldwide distribution rights to the film, excluding China.[17]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 83% of 112 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The website's consensus reads: "Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget offers more of the easy laughs and eye-catching animation that fans of the original enjoyed, although there's a general feeling of diminishing returns."[33]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 63 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[34]
John Nugent forEmpire magazine wrote, "the ambition and technical scope are markedly bolder" than its predecessorChicken Run, adding it is "silly, witty, extremely British—this is a family film made with a very Aardman-y kind of craft and care".[35] Jacob Oller ofPaste Magazine complimented Ramsey for being "the clear star, putting an extra level of fear, awe or disillusionment into her few lines."[36]
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hollywood Music in Media Awards | 15 November 2023 | Best Original Score — Animated Film | Harry Gregson-Williams | Nominated | [37] |
| San Diego Film Critics Society | 19 December 2023 | Best Animated Picture | Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget | Nominated | [38] |
| Visual Effects Society Awards | February 21, 2024 | Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature | Jon Biggins, Jim Lewis, Charles Copping, Matthew Perry | Nominated | [39] |
| Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature | Charles Copping, Matthew Perry, Jim Lewis, Jon Biggins (for Chicken Island) | Nominated | |||
| British Academy Film Awards | February 18, 2024 | Best Animated Film | Sam Fell, Leyla Hobart and Steve Pegram | Nominated |
Aardman announced a video game that would follow the events ofDawn of the Nugget, titledChicken Run: Eggstraction. Originally set for release in 2024 as an exclusive Netflix game,[40] it was later put in development byOutright Games and is set for release on 24 October 2025,[41] onXbox One,Xbox Series X/S,Nintendo Switch,PlayStation 4, andPlayStation 5.[42] The game will featureRamsey and Sedgwick-Davies reprising their respective roles as Molly and Frizzle.[43] The game's story was written by Laurence Rickard.[44]
