Animation and poultry fans can finally rejoice as the release date for the follow-up to the hugely successful Chicken Run has been announced. Humorously titled Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, the Aardman sequel will be hitting Netflix just in time for Christmas.
Having been announced at the Annecy International Animation Festival taking place this week, the streaming giant revealed that audiences can expect to see Dawn of the Nugget on December 15th, 2023. The sequel comes 23 years after the first film, a joint production between Dreamworks Animation and Aardman Animations which still holds the title to this very day as the highest-grossing stop motion animation in cinema history, earning over $200 million at the box office.
Speaking at the Annecy festival, Aardman co-founder and Chicken Run co-director Peter Lord, who returns as executive producer for Dawn of the Nugget, said: “It’s wonderful to be returning to Annecy, the greatest animation festival in the world.”
On revisiting the film’s world and characters, he added, “I came here years ago with Nick Park when we co-directed our first movie Chicken Run. We both felt that there hadn’t been nearly enough truly memorable chicken heroes in movies, and we set out to correct that injustice with our film.”
“Since then, it’s been amazing to watch those characters become beloved by audiences all over the world.” Lord continued, praising the director of the newest instalment of the animation franchise: “Well, now they’re making their return in Dawn of the Nugget – a thrilling new chapter which I’m delighted to say is being directed by the equally amazing Sam Fell. For all of us, humans and chickens alike, the adventure continues.”
As for the plot of the new Chicken Run film, which sees a return of some familiar faces as well as the introduction of new ones, the official synopsis reads: “Having pulled off a death-defying escape from Tweedy’s farm, Ginger has finally found her dream – a peaceful island sanctuary for the whole flock, far from the dangers of the human world.”
“When she and Rocky hatch a little girl called Molly, Ginger’s happy ending seems complete. But back on the mainland, the whole of chicken-kind faces a new and terrible threat. For Ginger and her team, even if it means putting their own hard-won freedom at risk – this time, they’re breaking in!”
