Review | Netflix movie review – Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, sequel to the 2000 mega-hit, is fun but unremarkable, with Zachary Levi in for Mel Gibson among voice changes
- Zachary Levi and Thandiwe Newton replace Mel Gibson and Julia Sawalha as the voices of Rocky and Ginger in Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget on Netflix
- The original saw the poultry crew break out of a farm – this time, they are breaking into one. Expect to see some familiar faces but perhaps not the same laughs
3/5 stars
Finally hatched, Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget is the long-awaited Netflix-backed sequel to British animation company Aardman’s US$224 million-grossing mega-hit from the turn of the millennium.
Inspired by The Great Escape and other “breakout” films, Chicken Run was typical of the Aardman stable, with its cute stop-motion characters and irreverent humour. The same can be said for Dawn of the Nugget, only this time it is a “break in” movie: think Ocean’s Eleven with poultry.
Living contentedly on an island paradise, the chickens that escaped the farm years ago are sheltered away from human interference. But then Molly (Bella Ramsey), the chick that belongs to Rocky (Zachary Levi) and Ginger (Thandiwe Newton), sneaks off the island, encountering the Scouse-accented Frizzle (Josie Sedgwick-Davies), a fellow chicken who takes her on an adventure.
Unfortunately, that is to Fun-Farm, a hi-tech processing plant that looks more like a Bond villain’s lair. There, they run into Dr Fry (Nick Mohammed), a scientific genius who has invented a method to make all chickens radiate positive vibes before they are sent to be turned into nuggets, thereby improving the taste.
Aiding him is his wife, Mrs Tweedy (Miranda Richardson), who fans of the original will recognise. With a fast food emporium, Sir Eat-a-Lot, about to take full delivery of these zombie-fied chickens, it is a race against time, with Rocky, Ginger and the others attempting to rescue Molly and save the day.