Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget was always going to face an uphill battle to justify its existence. Any legacy sequel arriving more than two decades after the original is going to be hard to explain, but Aardman Animation‘s Chicken Run (2000) is also a relatively perfect movie with an ending that leaves very little wiggle room for further story. Chicken Run was also the first full feature film from the British animation studio, known for stop-motion and clay animation classics like Shaun the Sheep and Wallace and Gromit. It is with great surprise and joy, then, to discover that Dawn of the Nugget not only justifies its existence as a sequel, but it excels beyond expectations too.
Directed by Sam Fell and written by Karey Kirkpatrick, John O’Farrell, and Rachel Tunnard, Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget picks up almost 20 years after all the chickens escaped Tweedy’s farm. Having put that diabolical farm behind them, Ginger, Rocky, their new young daughter Molly, and their extended flock settle down on a secluded near-utopian island. Molly, brilliantly voiced by Bella Ramsey, is as curious about the outside world as her mother Ginger used to be. The young chicken is kept permanently on the peaceful island sanctuary, with her parents insisting it’s the safest option because of their trauma from the evil Mrs. Tweedy (Miranda Richardson).
One night, though, Molly sneaks out and ventures to the mainland. But after being picked up by a chicken van, the whole flock is this time forced to break into a farm to help her escape. The inversion of the plot from the first film brings a welcome change to the formula and makes for numerous delightful gags. The emotional drive to save Molly from the dangers of the human world, something that all of these characters are familiar with, justifies Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget by giving the cast a renewed and fresh sense of motivation. A new and rebellious young character introduced in a sequel is so often a hard line to walk, but this is done with aplomb by Aardman.
Molly also shares many of her scenes with Frizzle voiced by Josie Sedgwick-Davies, another new introduction who steals the show. Given the two decades that have passed since the original film and the design of the plot, much of Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget hinges on how likable the daughter character is. It is no surprise, however, that Bella Ramsey anchors the sequel beautifully with their charming voice performance. The biggest issue with the movie, unfortunately, is found in the voice casting of the other two leads.
While Ginger and Rocket make a return after more than 20 years, neither of the original two voice actors reprise the roles with Julia Sawalha and Mel Gibson being replaced by the voices of Thandiwe Newton and Zachary Levi respectively. The replacement of Mel Gibson is welcome due to the actor’s repeated allegations of antisemitism and racism. Zachary Levi, though, is not the ideal choice to voice Rocky. The known bravado and charm of Rocky are replaced by a charisma-vacuum performance from Levi. Rocky’s role in the sequel leaves him as a loose end in the script, and Levi’s insipid performance reinforces this.
The replacement of Julia Sawalha by Thandiwe Newton, however, is a less straightforward one. Newton does just fine in the role, out-acting Levi in every scene and demonstrating good chemistry with Ramsey. But Sawalha was iconic as Ginger and was shockingly announced to not be returning to the role in mid-2020. In an open letter, the actor said that she had been informed by email that the studio was looking to cast a younger voice, and without as much as a voice test, she was let go.
Ignoring for a second that Newton is just four years the junior of Sawalha, the decision is indicative of studios being pressured into bringing in a “bigger name” for a sequel. Even if Sawalha’s voice did sound older than Newton’s despite the minimal age difference, this is still a thoroughly baffling decision that reeks of ageism. Especially since Aardman brought back other fan-favorite supporting voices for Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, such as Jane Horrocks as Babs, Lynn Ferguson as Mac, Imelda Staunton as Bunty, and David Bradley as Fowler the elderly Rooster. The only two notable characters that have been replaced with new voice actors are the rat duo Nick and Fetcher, who are now voiced by Romesh Ranganathan and Daniel Mays.
Wanting Ginger to sound exactly the same would not represent the point of this film – that Rocket and Ginger are older, they’ve grown, and they occupy different roles in the narrative. As such, Newton’s performance works fine, but keeping Sawalha would have made the story much more interesting. An area where Chicken Run has not changed is the fantastic balance it strikes between family fun and mature themes. Many young viewers, including myself, remember being terrified of Mrs. Tweedy and finding moments of the first movie genuinely disturbing. Even if the terror in Dawn of the Nugget doesn’t get the same reaction as an adult, there are moments in the sequel that will undoubtedly illicit the same reaction for a whole new generation of children.
While maintaining an air of unrealism that is expected from a cartoon about talking chickens taking part in a great death-defying escape, the most unnerving moments are those steeped in some form of reality. At the end of the day, the biggest test of Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget is whether it delivered laughs and a beating heart that matches the original. Despite Zachary Levi’s best efforts, it does so in spades. Dawn of the Nugget is loveable, fun, and feels like a worthy successor to the 2000 classic, making it a must-watch family film for this holiday season.
