Sam Fell, director of the upcoming animated sequel Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, has provided an unusual comparison to one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s most iconic locales. Following on from the hit 2000 stop-motion comedy Chicken Run, Dawn of the Nugget will pick up after the escaped chickens from Tweedy’s farm have established new lives for themselves on an island bird sanctuary. While a small handful of original Chicken Run voice actors are returning, the central characters of Ginger (previously played by Julia Sawalha) and Rocky (Mel Gibson), have been recast with Thandiwe Newton and Zachary Levi.
Speaking with Empire, Fell hints at Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget’s much “bigger scale” and supplies an unlikely comparison for the chickens’ new island home. Dubbing the movie’s Chicken Island as “Wakanda for chickens,” he explains that in their newfound freedom, the characters from Tweedy’s farm have established an idyllic society full of handmade flourishes. Check out his comments below:
“It’s Wakanda for chickens. The whole film is a bigger scale really. It’s all organic and warm, not a straight line in the place – nothing regimented, very organic and idyllic. It’s a beautiful, natural place. We spent time early on developing the world – the flowers, their gardens, and just thinking, ‘How would a chicken want to live? How would a chicken build a house? What’s their world like?’
“You get yourself down to that level and start imagining objects – how big they are, and how you might utilise them. They’re obviously semi-human, these chickens, they talk. It was just nice thinking it through from scratch. ‘What do they need on that island?’ They don’t need that much actually, chickens – that’s what I like about them.”
Will Chicken Run: Dawn Of The Nugget Live Up To The Original Aardman Classic?
Scheduled to arrive on Netflix on December 15, the streaming release of Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget will mark 23 years since audiences first met the rebellious Ginger and her feathered friends. Pulling in over $227 million in worldwide box office, the original Chicken Run remains the highest-grossing stop-motion animated movie of all time and one of the most memorable properties to come out of the critically acclaimed Aardman studios.
Because of the overwhelming success of the first Chicken Run, Aardman’s new sequel will have to contend with proving it can live up to the incredibly high standard set by the original. With Netflix stepping in to pick up international distribution for the movie after DreamWorks ended their partnership with Aardman following 2006’s Flushed Away, Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget will never even have the opportunity to see if it could have rivaled the record-breaking box office takings of its predecessor.
However, a simultaneous international streaming release during the December holiday period is still bound to generate considerable viewership numbers for Netflix. Furthermore, while the new movie may lack the instantly recognizable vocals of Gibson’s Rocky, both Newton and Levi are considerable talents in their own right, and are also being joined by the rising star of The Last of Us’ Bella Ramsey, who will play the pair’s daughter Molly. With any luck, Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget will prove itself a more than worthy continuation of the original Aardman classic.
