My expectations going into Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget were quite like the ones I had going into Avatar: The Way of Water, which is telling considering how much the two films have in common. Both are sequels to films that were self-contained with no loose ends and both were released over a decade after their predecessor.

Right off the bat, Dawn of the Nugget is a lot easier to watch than The Way of Water, it is two times shorter after all. Dawn of the Nugget is a little more inventive in creating a new story for its pre-established characters however, like The Way of Water, it borrows a lot of beats from its precursor. On a side note, fans of the original may struggle to invest in the characters who have been recast. I definitely did.

Rocky (Zachary Levi) and Ginger (Thandiwe Newton) are enjoying their ‘happy ending’ having escaped Mrs Tweedy’s farm and living with their fellow chickens in a harmonious bird sanctuary. They have a daughter, Molly (Bella Ramsay), who, now a teenager, is curious about what lies beyond the sanctuary. Rebelling against her parents, she flees the island and enters the world of humans, where she is suddenly captured and imprisoned in a massive, industrialised poultry farm. Ginger, Rocky and the other chickens band together and try to rescue Molly.

The Characters

Dawn of the Nugget picks up from where Chicken Run ends in a predictable fashion; we see a delightful montage of Ginger, Rocky and the other chickens enjoying their new life and freedom. During this, we witness the birth of Molly and her growth to adolescence. Immediately we see her adventurous nature emerge and her parents’ struggle to contain it.

Like in The Way of Water, human activity is noticed by our protagonists but unlike The Way of Water, the humans aren’t the only inciting incident. Molly’s boredom and dissatisfaction with the sanctuary her parents worked so hard to build puts her on a rebellious path. She begins to question the history of the sanctuary and why her parents forbid her from exploring the outside world.  

This is the perfect way to continue the story of Chicken Run. The only way to resume a story that ends with the characters achieving harmony in the form of a promised land or a home is by introducing a new or younger perspective that disagrees with that harmony and wants something more. Dawn of the Nugget perfects this with Molly. A breach opens between her and Ginger as soon as she humours the notion of leaving the island. You understand both of their positions; Molly was fortunate enough to be born free hence she can’t appreciate the sanctuary like Ginger, who was born a slave.

Making Dawn of the Nugget a heist film is a genius idea, it’s the perfect inverse of the first film’s prison break plot. However, Dawn of the Nugget doesn’t play like a typical heist film. Molly’s escape from the island occurs quite early, as does Ginger’s plan to free her. You’d assume that Ginger and the gang’s effort to rescue Molly would be the climax but it’s not, Ginger and her team break into the farm not long after Molly’s been put there.

The bulk of the film is essentially a goose chase (no pun intended) where all the characters are constantly trying to find each other in the labyrinth that is the poultry farm, resulting in a climax that copies a lot from the first one.

If you’ve seen the trailers, this isn’t really a spoiler but seeing Mrs Tweedy, voiced again by the great Miranda Richardson, is an absolute joy. The moment when she and Ginger first see each other is easily one of the best in the film, a big treat for anyone who grew up with Chicken Run. As much as I enjoyed watching her, by the end I couldn’t help but think that her inclusion wasn’t really necessary. The confrontations she has with Ginger and Rocky are pretty brief and not as epic or tense as the film likes to think they are. A new antagonist should’ve been created for this story but then we wouldn’t have gotten to see Mrs Tweedy, who, while sort of wasted here, is still fun to watch.

The Voices

I only consider the technical aspects of a film when it either seriously hinders or seriously strengthens the viewing experience. For example, I could’ve just talked about the awful writing to deter people from watching Jeepers Creepers: Reborn but that would be ignoring the abominable CGI and green screen effects, which make the film even more difficult to watch than the writing.

For some people, the fact that the characters in Dawn of the Nugget look exactly like they did back in 2000 will be enough for them. I can’t say I’m one of them and I believe my reasons are good.

With a little rewrite, Dawn of the Nugget could’ve easily been a soft reboot. Like The Force Awakens, someone could’ve watched it having not watched the first Chicken Run and have no problem understanding what’s going on, but Dawn of the Nugget is not The Force Awakens. It’s The Empire Strikes Back and no one can follow The Empire Strikes Back without watching A New Hope.

Snippets from the first film are scattered throughout. Few characters get introductions, you’re expected to know them already. If you haven’t seen Chicken Run, nothing’s stopping you from watching Dawn of the Nugget first but you will miss a lot.

Some members of the cast in the original Chicken Run are either dead, too old (according to Aardman) or Mel Gibson. Regardless of why, recasting some of the characters is not a bad move in and of itself but if it hinders the film, especially its continuity with the first one, then I think it’s a decision worth challenging.  

Thandiwe Newton is a fine actress but she is seriously miscast as Ginger I believe. I’m not saying that bringing back Julia Sawalha would’ve automatically been the best choice but if the intention is to be a direct sequel to Chicken Run then surely a voice that resembles Sawalha’s in the first film should’ve been the goal. Newton couldn’t sound any less like Ginger. Her voice has a depth that can’t help but counter the height and softness of Sawalha’s Ginger. I could only accept her as a mere alternative take on Ginger, at no point during Dawn of the Nugget did I believe I was watching the same character I had last seen at the end of Chicken Run.

There are split-seconds where Zachery Levi’s voice resembles Gibson’s in the first film, which is more than I can say for Newton, but alas for most of Dawn of the Nugget, I could not convince myself that I was in the presence of the Lone Free Ranger.

The only recast voices that sound anything like their originators are David Bradley as Fowler and Romesh Ranganathan as Nick. They sound like they’ve made an actual effort to sound like the characters, instead of offering their own interpretations, which I’d think would be the bare minimum.

As I said before, the fact that the puppets are identical to those in the first film will be enough to convince some that they’re watching the same characters. I can’t say that I’m in that crowd. On the plus side however, the chemistry between Molly and her parents is charming, most of the jokes land and Mrs Tweedy is always fun. It may be cashing in on Zoomer nostalgia but the film’s creativity in its attempt to follow on from the first one seems genuine and worthy of appreciation.

I recommend it to everyone as I’m quite curious about how people feel about the recast voices. I may be alone in my opinion or one of many, I’m eager to see.

I give Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget a crispy 8 out of 10.