Today’s the big day, chicks! The eagerly awaited Aardman sequel Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget has come home to roost on Netflix today (Friday, December 15). With the wide release, critics have hatched more reviews for the pic, which is holding steady on Rotten Tomatoes with a 78% rating (from 76 critical reviews) and an 89% audience score, as well as a decent 61 points on MetaCritic (23 reviews).
Directed by Sam Fell (ParaNorman, Flushed Away) from a screenplay by Karey Kirkpatrick & John O’Farrell and Rachel Tunnard, the stop-motion film picks up with Ginger (voiced by Thandiwe Newton), Rocky (Zachary Levi) and the rest of the coop escapees as they’ve settled into a peaceful life of freedom from the farm. But when fearless daughter Molly (Bella Ramsey) is led astray by her curiosity about the mainland, the birds will have to break back in to Tweedy’s (Miranda Richardson) to foil her new, more terrifying poultry plot.
Excerpts from this week’s reviews can be found below; read the first impressions from the film’s BFI London Film Festival premiere here.
“The sequel is inspired by Mission: Impossible, James Bond and various other spy thrillers and heist movies, and this shift in genres has allowed for a faster, zanier caper with a brighter colour palette, more ambitious action set pieces, more inventive designs, more white-knuckle jeopardy, and more robotic ducks. The trick is that the filmmakers balance the shiny surfaces and high-tech devices of a futuristic 1960s science-fiction adventure with enough old-fashioned, analogue elements to ensure that Dawn of the Nugget is unmistakably the work of Aardman.”
— Nicholas Barber, BBC
“It’s rare to see family animated films as purely focused on fun as this one. Though there’s an obligatory message moment about how parents should listen more to their kids and recognize their shared similarities, the explicit lecturing lasts for just one scene … If Dawn of the Nugget holds any disappointment, it’s that the most elaborate contraptions show up upfront, and there’s no grand, Indiana Jones-style setpiece for a finale. Fortunately, the emotional hook is stronger …”
— Luke Y. Thompson, AV Club
“Aardman, as of late, has embellished its stop-motion traditions with a little CGI wizardry, so that the odd crowd scene and wide vista offers somewhat of a blockbuster scope. But that’s not why anyone watches these films, and the studio, thankfully, has dished out plenty of what people have come to see: silly, hodgepodge contraptions built with the British can-do spirit – subtle reminders that these stories are truly handmade creations … And while Newton and Levi make fine substitutes [for Chicken Run stars Julia Sawalha and George Clooney], it’s Ramsey’s joyous, buoyant performance that really carries the film.”
— Clarisse Loughrey, Independent (U.K.)
“This movie, while perhaps not quite as charming as the 2000 original “Chicken Run” (lightning rarely strikes twice, even on chicken farms), is a hoot … There’s plenty of silly, beautifully animated fun (as well as a few surprisingly scary moments) to be had along the way. I was particularly fond of a strangely mournful snail character, a delightfully goofy dance performed by Ginger’s mate Rocky (Zachary Levi), a pair of rats who say things like ‘It’s an impossible mission!’ but end up playing a key role, and of course Ginger herself, who I hope is on my side if the apocalypse ever comes …”
— Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times
“Despite the newfangled attitude, the Claymation (original director Nick Park also created Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep) still has that old school, instantly endearing caveman quality from the 2000 movie. It’s a soulful-looking film, even with the addition of complex machines and an “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” 1960s aesthetic — especially when it comes to resurrected villain Mrs. Tweedy (Miranda Richardson).
Dawn of the Nugget is not the best roast chicken you’ve ever had. But it remains a clever and just-scary-enough good time for kids. Even a Costco rotisserie can really hit the spot.”
— Johnny Oleksinski, New York Post
“It brings me absolutely no joy to report that Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget is fine. That’s probably more than enough for parents looking for something to keep the kids busy on Netflix next week, but it’s not the standard set by the creative geniuses at Aardman Animation … A lack of ambition, just-off comic timing, and inferior world-building keep this bird from flying, despite there being just enough bits that work to make it worth a look, especially if you forget who made it.”
— Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com
