Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, the long-awaited sequel to Aardman’s 2000 smash hit Chicken Run — still the most successful stop-motion animated feature of all time almost quarter of a century later — is set to get its world premiere at the BFI London Film Festival.
The film, which The Hollywood Reporter first broke news of back in 2018 and was later swooped upon by Netflix, comes from Oscar and BAFTA-nominated director Sam Fell (ParaNorman, Flushed Away), and will bow on Oct. 14 at London’s Royal Festival Hall, with simultaneous preview screenings at sites around the U.K.
With the London Film Festival having last year screened the world premiere of Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, which went on to claim the Oscar for best animated feature, Academy favorites Aardman should be hoping that the festival proves to be a similarly successful springboard (while the original Chicken Run missed out on the 2001 awards, it is said to have led to the creation of the best animated film Oscar category, which was added in 2002).
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget’s voice cast, made up of new arrivals to the coup and returnees, is led by Thandiwe Newton (Ginger), Zachary Levi (Rocky) and Bella Ramsey (Molly), alongside Imelda Staunton (Bunty), Lynn Ferguson (Mac), David Bradley (Fowler), Jane Horrocks (Babs), Romesh Ranganathan (Nick), Daniel Mays (Fetcher), Josie Sedgwick-Davies (Frizzle) and Nick Mohammed (Dr. Fry).
Set shortly after the original, the sequel follows brave chicken leader Ginger who, having pulled off a death-defying escape from Tweedy’s farm, 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!
“What an honour to world premiere our film on home turf at the London Film Festival this year,” said Fell. “Dawn of the Nugget showcases the amazing talent and ingenuity of the crew at Aardman backed by the enduring passion of the team at Netflix. We’ve poured everything we’ve got into making this a treat for both die-hard fans and the new generation of families discovering Chicken Run for the first time.”
Added BFI London Film Festival director Kristy Matheson: “We are so excited to be sharing the magic and artistry of the Aardman studio and their favourite feathered friends with audiences this October with a film that’s brimming with fun and has such enormous heart.”
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget is set to debut globally on Netflix on Dec. 15.
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