20 years after the first Chicken Run hit theaters, the film is finally getting a well-deserved sequel. And it seems fitting that it be released exclusively on Netflix during the height of the streaming wars. Using the same stop-motion animation and claymation techniques that Aardman is known for, director Sam Fell tells a new story in Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget involving our favorite chickens, only this time, Ginger and her flock have to put their hard-earned freedom at risk and go back into the dangerous coop they were imprisoned in when a new threat that endangers their freedom emerges.
The film features the voice talents of Thandiwe Newton as Ginger and Zachary Levi as Rocky, with Bella Ramsey, Romesh Ranganathan, David Bradley, Daniel Mays, Jane Horrocks, Imelda Staunton, Lynn Ferguson, Josie Sedgwick-Davies, Nick Mohammed, and Miranda Richardson.
Pre-production for the film officially began in 2019, with principle photography commencing in 2021. The sequel might have a few changes that retcons the original film’s ending. The sequel indicates that Ginger and her flock find peace on an idyllic island when the first film ends with chicks being trained by Fowler. Secondly, it has been confirmed that Julia Sawalha, the voice of Ginger in the first film, will not be returning. Instead, she would be replaced by Newton. Some called the move ageist, although Sawalha took the recasting in joking stride.
And based on the trailer, it still has the exact charms and whimsical magic as any Aadrman film. It’s what sets them apart from any other animated film. And the fact that it sees our favorite flock breaking into a place where they had to break out of originally puts a new spin on the heist genre.
Karey Kirkpatrick, John O’Farrell and Rachel Tunnard pen the screenplay using an original story by Kirkpatrick and O’Farrell.
“Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget” is set to stream on December 15, 2023
Here’s the official plot synopsis for “Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget:”
From the multi Academy and BAFTA award-winning Aardman (Creature Comforts, Wallace & Gromit, and Shaun the Sheep), and Academy Award® and BAFTA-nominated director Sam Fell (ParaNorman and Flushed Away, respectively), comes Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, the eagerly anticipated sequel to the beloved and highest-grossing stop-motion animated film of all time, Chicken Run. Having pulled off a death-defying escape from Tweedy’s farm, Ginger has finally found her dream – a peaceful island sanctuary for the whole flock, far from the dangers of the human world. When she and Rocky hatch a little girl called Molly, Ginger’s happy ending seems complete. But back on the mainland the whole of chicken-kind faces a new and terrible threat. For Ginger and her team, even if it means putting their own hard-won freedom at risk – this time, they’re breaking in!
