‘Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget’ is fun for the whole family

If you want to experience fun in the purest way possible, then you need to see this film. Director Sam Fell and his team created a gem that hits theaters next week and then goes straight to Netflix.

Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget begins on a high note after the escape from Tweedy’s farm. Ginger’s (Thandiwe Newton) dream comes true as they build an island paradise to escape the dangers of the human world. When she and Rocky (Zachary Levi) hatch a little girl named Molly (Bella Ramsey), Ginger’s happy ending seems complete. But on the mainland, a new threat has surfaced that puts all of chicken-kind at risk. The gang faces a tough choice as a collective: stay in their peaceful sanctuary or leave and get involved. Last time they broke out. This time, they’re breaking in!

The original band of poultry pals is back: Mac (Lynn Ferguson), Bunty (Imelda Staunton), Babs (Jane Horrocks), and Fowler (David Bradley). We even get a hearty helping of continuous comedy from rat-duo Nick (Romesh Ranganathan) and Fetcher (Daniel Mays).

Audiences will get a well-deserved break from Disney and Dreamworks and venture off into the nostalgic world of stop-motion clay animation. Aardman Animations is responsible for some of the most fun stop-motion clay animations in the past 20 years. Their projects include the Wallace & Gromit series, Early Man, and Shaun the Sheep. In this, we get a true family comedy that’s easy to enjoy and chock-full of British humor.

A lot went into the making of this magical film. The story spans across three main spaces: Chicken Island, The Compound, and Fun-Land. The beauty of the idea behind Chicken Island is that the production designer and his team got to imagine what kind of community and infrastructure chickens would build. The team used crushed walnut shells to create road surfaces in the film, while the soil texture on the chicken village set was made from recycled fallen leaves from a leylandii tree outside the studio. The Compound was a massive, high-tech structure that served as an impenetrable processing plant. A total of 119 sets were built for the production, along with 130 animatable props. Among those props, included a corn conveyor and a windmill. At the heart of The Compound, you’ll find Fun-Land, an amusement park-like setup that was supposed to serve as a chicken utopia. Unbeknownst to chickens, there’s a shady secret that lurks behind the fake hills and never-ending supply of popcorn.

The very heart of the film surrounds the relatable subject of a parent protecting their child. In this case, Ginger and Rocky have differing opinions on what Molly should know about her past. Rocky thinks she should know everything and most importantly, that her mother is a hero. Ginger on the other hand wants the past to stay there, seeing Molly’s hatching as the official start to a perfect life. As we see here, parenting for humans runs the same risks as it does for chickens. Coddling a child can often result in rebellion, as we see with Molly. Ginger was indignant at Molly’s constant inquisitions regarding the mainland and her daughter’s thirsty curiosity could not be quenched by her or Rocky.

Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget gets a 9.5 out of 10. You’ll meet new characters on a new adventure that’s just as fun as the first. This truly is a family-friendly comedy that everyone can enjoy.

Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget hits select theaters on Dec. 8th and heads to Netflix on Dec. 15th.

-Jon Jones

Photos: Courtesy of Netflix