Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget review – "Another feather in the cap for Aardman"

Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget had its world premiere at the BFI London Film Festival. Here's our review... 

If 2000’s Chicken Run inspired a generation to become vegetarian, the long-awaited sequel will likely have a similar effect. This time around, the flock is rallying against the growth of fast food (or the Dawn of the Nugget) in another charming, weird and enjoyable win for Aardman Animation. Try stomaching your KFC after this one...

Set several years after the first, DotN sees Ginger (Thandiwe Newton), Rocky (Zachary Levi), and their brood living a quiet life on an island sanctuary. However, the plot chickens when they find out that the terrifying Mrs. Tweedy (played once again by the brilliant Miranda Richardson) is hatching an evil new plan. 

Though it takes a little while to get there, the sequel really shines when we swap the island’s chicken coop for the wider world "that finds chickens so delicious". Here, just as the first Run offered a take on prison-break classics, DotN goes all in when it comes to filmic references, from Tweedy’s James Bond-style lair to the Barbie Land for chickens that ends up more like The Truman Show. 

Meanwhile, though there’s a bigger budget and a streaming giant (Netflix) involved, the use of CGI thankfully remains minimal. Aardman’s stop-motion puppets are still front and centre here, brimming with nostalgic appeal. Every toothy grin and quirk of these beloved characters remains intact. 

Several of the original cast are back too, including Jane Horrocks’ naive Babs and Imelda Staunton’s cynical Bunty, as other new voices slot in. Bella Ramsey’s young chick Molly and Nick Mohammed’s Dr. Fry work particularly well, but sadly other additions may ruffle some feathers. 

Ginger’s controversial recasting is one of the casualties. While Thandiwe Newton does a fine job, the noticeable difference in voice acting from the first film is distracting, meaning that our hen-oine doesn’t translate quite as well as other characters. 

Fortunately, this is just a blip in an otherwise enjoyable showing for Aardman, executed under the watchful eye of director Sam Fell (Flushed Away). Rounding things off in grisly fashion, the Bristol studio manages to get away with a dark, tongue-in-cheek chick-flick that will have you thinking twice before ordering your next takeaway.

Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget will stream on Netflix from December 15. 

For more upcoming movies, check out our guide to 2023 movie release dates.