CHICKEN RUN: DAWN OF THE NUGGET

Despite my fondness for stop-motion animation I cannot deny that Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget has no real artistic or narrative reason to exist, even if the film entertains.

From the very first minutes of this Chicken Run sequel you get the feeling that something is slightly off. The animation is a little too smooth, the jokes a little too forced, the narrative not quite there. It's a feeling that never fully goes away, even if the film certainly has its entertaining moments.

As with most Aardman films, Dawn of the Nugget works best when the picture fully indulges in its pop culture references. This time there's a fair bit of James Bond, Mission: Impossible and classic sixties TV series The Avengers about and from the design to the soundtrack and the witty animation: all those nods and winks will bring a smile to your face.

Where Dawn of the Nugget struggles is where the original Chicken Run excelled: the new film just doesn't make you care about the characters enough. It doesn't help either that the narrative lacks the multiple layers that the best Aardman films contain.

The animation of course is gorgeous as always, but has reached such a degree of technical mastery that part of the hand-made charms are lost. As for the mostly new voice cast: one can't help but feel that they recorderd their lines in seperate sound booths as the witty interplay between the voices lacks a spark.

Dawn of the Nugget is still more than a cut above most animated fare but compared to the original Chicken Run it is definitely a few eggs short of a dozen.

release: 2023

director: Sam Fell

starring: Thandiwe Newton, Zachary Levi, Bella Ramsey, Miranda Richardson