Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget
- -A band of fearless chickens flock together to save poultry-kind from an unsettling new threat: a nearby farm that's cooking up something suspicious.
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23 Years Later, the Chicken Run Franchise Returns, But It Keeps Its Sense of Adventure.
The movie Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget is largely about aging, which is an ideal theme for a franchise that took 23 years to return.
What’s Good:
23 years after the first film, Aardman Animations is still pushing the boundaries of stop-motion animation, and their accomplishments are truly amazing.
What’s Bad:
Although the new voice cast performs admirably, they don’t have the same intensity as the previous cast.
Summary:
When the first Chicken Run was published 23 years ago, Aardman Animations, who were only well-known for their short films at the time, underwent a change of direction. Its first full-length feature film, Chicken Run, was well-received by critics and audiences alike. In Dawn of the Nugget, our favorite characters find themselves in a predicament where they must break in to save a loved one rather than escape a poultry farm.
Detailed Plot:
After escaping from Mr. and Mrs. Tweedy’s Farm, the chickens found a peaceful haven on an island in a lake where they can live contentedly and safely away from people. A hatchling named Molly is the first child of Ginger and Rocky’s family. Nick and Fetcher, the rats, drop by with supplies from time to time.
As Molly reaches the age of eleven, Ginger and Rocky work to shield her from the outer world. Ginger, a more careful mom, worries that another chicken farm is being created on the mainland based on the sight of trucks and construction, so she helps her community better conceal themselves.
Due to her inquisitiveness, Molly manages to smuggle herself to the mainland, where she is prevented from being driven over by Frizzle, an adolescent chicken. The two pals decide to take advantage of the opportunity and sneak onto a truck carrying hens on their way to Fun-Land Farms. With the help of the hens Babs, Bunty, Mac, and Fowler, Ginger and Rocky organize a search team. When they pursue, they discover that the “farm” is actually a highly developed poultry processing facility replete with security measures.
Molly and Frizzle discover an enormous entertainment area inside, where the other chickens—all donning numbered electronic collars—ride rides, play games, and so forth. With reckless abandon, Rocky charges into the property, unintentionally setting off multiple security systems and providing Ginger and the others with the information they need to sneak in. Nick and Fetcher, who have been separated from the others, join them after running across Rocky.
Molly and Frizzle find out that when the collars are activated, the other hens become thoughtless fools. Dr. Fry, the facility’s scientist, captures Frizzle and gives her a collar; Molly departs, vowing to return for her.
When Ginger and Molly get back together, she discovers with horror that Dr. Fry, her new husband, and Mrs. Tweedy, her archenemy, are in charge of the business. The purpose of the collars is to stifle the hens’ terror so that Reginald Smith, the ownPost
er of a fast-food franchise, can create more appetizing chicken nuggets. Ginger is apprehended by Mrs. Tweedy and given a collar, to which she tries in vain; however, Rocky steps in and Molly releases her. Reunited in a corn silo, the rats, hens, and rooster manage to get out by transforming it into popcorn. Ginger and the others decide to go back and assist the other hens as Molly laments Frizzle’s demise.
Mrs. Tweedy gives Dr. Fry the order to begin making chicken nuggets, sparking a battle between her and the team made up of Rocky, Ginger, and Molly for the remote control that brainwashes the chickens, while the other members of the rescue squad attempt to stop the chickens from marching blindly into the processor. As the entire population of chickens and the rats flee on a truck, the trio of chickens prevails in the fight and sends Mrs. Tweedy into the machine to be breaded like a chicken nugget. As the site explodes due to the hens’ sabotage, Mrs. Tweedy tries to stop them, but Fowler knocks her into the moat of the compound, where she is stopped by the facility’s security.
After returning to the island, the chickens lead a regular existence, with Molly and Frizzle conducting aerial reconnaissance for chicken farms on the mainland and the chicken crew rescuing any stranded chicks they come across.
Examining the screenplay:
The movie Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget is largely about aging, which is, in my opinion, an appropriate theme for a franchise that took 23 years to return. All of the characters have returned, but they have aged and experienced life’s changes, therefore the voice cast has altered to fit the film’s narrative. It feels appropriate to see that the protagonists’ definitions of freedom have changed from the first movie.
The narrative is split into two primary points of view: Molly, Rocky and Ginger’s daughter, and Rocky and Ginger, the two major protagonists of the first movie. The dual point of view effectively preserves the film’s dynamic by illustrating the meaning of freedom to the individuals at various points in their lives. When it comes to deciding who is right or wrong during the incident in the movie, the film never takes sides, which is a great approach to demonstrate how everyone, regardless of age, can learn from one another.
Miranda Richardson makes a comeback as the movie’s antagonist Mrs. Tweedy. Although it’s great to see an original cast member in such a significant capacity, Mrs. Tweedy’s presence feels somewhat lessened and lessens the stakes. Although we would have preferred to have her play a bigger role in this movie, we understand that the goal may have been to keep things vague regarding the character and its reappearance.
Star Performance:
The voice cast is excellent, but they don’t have the same intensity as the original cast from the first movie, which makes them much more entertaining to see and listen to. We’re not suggesting that the new voice cast isn’t talented; quite the contrary; yet there seems to be a lack of enthusiasm and attitude. All of the new actors, however, embody their roles in a very fitting manner. Given that Thandiwe Newton plays Ginger, whose character journey is among the most significant in the film, she must be exceptionally talented.
In addition, Bella Ramsey excels in her role as Molly, the newest addition to the chicken family. The actress, whose work in live-action series like The Last of Us and behind the microphone has been excellent, gives a funny performance here. Molly is clearly evolving during the movie, coming to the realization that perhaps she ought to have paid more attention to her parents. The remaining members of the ensemble, such as Lynn Ferguson, who plays a new character named Frizzie and provides the necessary anarchic Scottish flavor to the movie, are excellent.