Because characters in animation never get old—just ask Bart Simpson—Aardman Studios was able to release “Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget,” a sequel, 23 years after the critically acclaimed original film. If only the Netflix production lived up to its clever title. It’s a warm-over, needless rehash that’s only occasionally and moderately entertaining.
Giving in a little to the passing of time, the creators swapped off the main original voices, which in this otherwise distinctly British production included, somewhat surprisingly, Mel Gibson. This time, Thandiwe Newton and Zachary Levi play Ginger and Rocky, who not only made it out of Tweedy’s Farm alive and into a safe haven, but also quickly had and raised a daughter named Molly (played by Bella Ramsey of “The Last of Us”).
Life appears to be as nice as it gets, but where’s the pleasure, in terms of movies? An industrialized plant that turns out chickens (or parts thereof) soon poses a threat to the chickens, drawing them into their wide-eyed demise with the allure of a theme park that effectively hypnotizes them.
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Molly shares part of mom’s grit, and the feisty Ginger isn’t going to take this threat lying down. That changes the dynamic from running from danger in the last film to facing it head-on, no matter how unlikely and out of character that battle may be. A few of the elegant performers, including Miranda Richardson and Imelda Staunton, return to their parts in Sam Fell’s film “ParaNorman,” which is directed from a screenplay written by Rachel Tunnard, Karey Kirkpatrick, and John O’Farrell (who wrote the original).
Even so, Aardman’s stop-motion technique, which was used on successful films like “Wallace & Gromit” and “Shaun the Sheep” (as well as less popular jokes like “Early Man”), manages to hold onto its classic charm and unique style in the era of computer-generated animation. However, the plot feels like a cliched attempt to retell the original tale with a few minor changes in an attempt to appeal to both adult nostalgia and a possible younger audience.
Of course, big studios frequently carry out similar tasks, but Aardman has always benefited from having a more quirky, smaller business. Take into consideration that while “Chicken Run” was a hit at the box office, its sequel now finds a home on Netflix, where viewers can readily see the original film as well.
Based on streaming math, that may be sufficient justification to launch “Dawn of the Nugget,” but Netflix would be well to follow the old, wise counsel to avoid counting chickens before they hatch in order to determine whether or not that trip down memory lane will be worthwhile.
