Dec 14, 2023

'Dawn Of The Nugget' Review Roundup: sequel to Aardman's 'Chicken Run' retains the handcrafted charm of its predecessor

Chicken Run Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nuggets, the stop-motion sequel to Aardman Animations' first theatrical release, Chicken Run, will be released worldwide tomorrow, December 15.

The consensus among critics at this point is that "Dawn of the Nugget" is a fun family film that Aardman fans will greatly enjoy. It has the handmade charm of the studio's previous films, with a few modern techniques added to expand the scale of the film.

While "Dawn" may have the aesthetic appeal of its predecessors, the general criticism of the film is that it lacks the narrative appeal of its predecessors; the dangers faced by the chickens 20 years ago are not present in the new film, and some reviewers say that "Dawn" lacks a sense of danger.

"Dawn of the Nugget" is directed by Aardman veteran Sam Fell, who was nominated for an Academy Award for "Flash Away" and "ParaNorman." In the film, Ginger, Rocky, and their daughter Molly have settled on an island sanctuary far from the dangers of the human world. Molly, who has only known paradise, can no longer stand the boredom of her idyllic life and runs away. When Ginger learns of her daughter's escape and that the girl is trapped on a factory farm, she gathers her flock and breaks into a facility reminiscent of a Bond villain to save her daughter.

Critics' comments on "Chicken Run" include:

John Nugent, writing for Empire magazine, said the film provides plenty of laughs, especially for those who like British humor. The characters, both recurring and new, are like no other: Fowler is a "Monty Python"-like, always bemused RAF rooster; Babs is pure Victoria Wood silliness; Frizzle is a "Me and you, kidda , all the way," etc., and the Scotsman's chicken. The evil chicken farm in this film takes the form of an elaborate Bond villain's lair, complete with guards, electric fences, and a moat patrolled by laser-guided exploding ducks. It's full of bank holiday humor like no other.

Variety's chief film critic Peter DeBruge praised the film's adherence to the classic Aardman aesthetic decisions that have been in place for decades:

Cary Kirkpatrick and John O'Farrell from "Chicken Run" and newcomer Written by Rachel Tunard, this sequel doesn't offer many surprises plot-wise, but its wannabe fun is consistent. Aardman is no stranger to puns, and "Nugget" is loaded with details that will keep you entertained no matter how many times you watch it. Speaking of detail, the crew is currently working with a very sharp digital camera. This is characteristic of a studio that embraces certain imperfections, enough to reveal the hands of the artists behind the scenes.

Indiewire's Sophie Monks Kaufman greatly enjoyed the film, especially the animation, but thought Dawn of the Nugget was perhaps too cautious in the supposedly high-stakes world of a prison break:

Every detail For all its meticulously crafted visuals, Dawn of the Nugget evokes a standard sense of unease about a sequel. The atmosphere is filled with the feeling that Sam Fell has been saddled with a huge responsibility, and in an attempt to recreate the reasons why the original was so beloved, one sees moving parts like a conveyor belt carrying brainwashed chickens to their doom. Whereas the original used noirish shadows early on to shock us with the death of the chickens, this time there is a risk-averse approach to showing such things. There are plenty of cries to save Molly, but without any assurance that the film will get there, the crisis seems cartoonish, and the eventual show of mass solidarity, which could have been a teachable moment for parents watching with their children, is as throwaway as an ill-shaped nugget of It is.

The Independent's Clarice Lowry says that despite the film's sheer scale, it retains the charm of an Aardman production:

Recently Aardman has added a bit of CGI wizardry to the stop-motion tradition, the odd crowd scene or broad landscape, blockbuster-like expansiveness. Thankfully, the studio offers a lot of what people came to see. It's a silly, messy contraption made with a British "can-do" spirit that subtly reminds us that these stories are truly handmade creations. Babs (Jane Horrocks) returns to knit a crocheted bicycle that quickly falls apart, bake popcorn with a magnifying glass, and make a scuba-diving kit out of pieces of junk.

Leslie Felperin of The Hollywood Reporter agreed that "Dawn" is a very Aardman-esque film, but that distinction also comes with a bit of baggage:

[The lack of laugh-out-loud one-liners and the entertaining and The lack of laugh-out-loud one-liners and the very predictable ending make the film a bit tedious for the wiser viewer. After all, what could be more retro than a conveyor belt full of deadly dangers? This is a technique that dates back to Max Fleischer's cartoons of the 1930s, think of the Popeye shorts where a baby wanders into a construction site. Aardman has used this kind of suspense as the climax of every film, characterizing the slapstick mayhem as well as the company's policy of changing the poses of the characters every two frames instead of every frame. This approach makes things look only slightly jarring, but like the knitting needles that Babs is always clicking and knitting behind, it is part of the handmade charm at this point. Moreover, this slight innuendo, like the crumbling infrastructure, the tasteless tea cookies, and the political stupidity of voting for Brexit, is inherently British, something that Aardman fans love.