Before the world premiere of long-awaited sequel “Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget” at the BFI London Film Festival, the team behind the Aardman production revealed that they set out to make a “feminist classic” that is also an “homage to heist films.”
“Dawn of the Nugget” comes 23 years after the original “Chicken Run” was released. In the sequel, Ginger (Thandiwe Newton) and Rocky (Zachary Levi) embark on another dangerous adventure when daughter Molly (Bella Ramsey) flees their idyllic island home for the mainland.
“The last one was an homage to escape films, and this one is an homage to heist films,” said writer Karey Kirkpatrick, who also penned the first “Chicken Run.” “John [O’Farrell] and I started on this movie in 2014, and we started out with an inside joke, actually. We knew it was a heist film, but what’s the diamond in this heist for chickens? They don’t care about money. So we thought, the diamond is a kid.”
O’Farrell added that the story originally focused on a father-son relationship but, along with writer Rachel Tunnard, they decided to center the hens instead.
“We did two drafts of a father-son story, and then all the women at Aardman went, ‘What are you doing? This is a feminist classic!'” O’Farrell said. “Ginger is a feminist hero, an icon, and so we said, ‘OK you’re right, we’re going to make it a mother-daughter story.'”
Director Sam Fell was also present at the premiere — which didn’t include any stars of the voice cast due to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike — and explained why it took so long to come up with another “Chicken Run” film.
“The bar was so high I just knew we had to come up with something at least as great, on its own terms,” Fell said. “So many people love it that we had to do it justice, which is why it took almost a quarter of a century.”
The sequel was well-received at London Film Festival, resulting in plenty of laughs and enthusiastic cheers during the film. Audience members were greeted at their seats by a “Dawn of the Nugget” poster and engaged in chicken-themed puns while awaiting the start of the movie.
“Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget” will release on Netflix Dec. 15.
