Chichen Run: Dawn of the Nugget Quick Review.
So I adored the first film as time went on but going into the second I will admit to being sceptical.
As a direct follow-up to the original film, we follow Ginger and Rocky as they become new parents who are trying to raise a daughter who just wants to explore. It shows the evilness of the outside world for chicken as Ms Tweedy returns now owning a factory that makes happy chicken nuggets. It's a comical, family-fun adventure film that will please everyone (my screening was mostly all adults.) It does not have the same essence as the first film but it is still an excellent humorous movie.
The voice-over in the movie is worth highlighting, as some people have expressed online that the new cast poses an issue. At first, I tried to compare the new voices to the original cast, but I couldn’t really imagine it being a problem or remember how the original cast sounded. However, during the movie, I noticed a difference and it became more apparent to me. Despite this, I still enjoyed the movie and didn’t find the new cast to be a major issue. Furthermore, I found the new characters to be excellent and the voice-over work was what made them so endearing.
The animation style is gorgeous looking although we know Aardman are skilled at their stop-motion animation, I was in awe by how incredible every moment looked. Though their very limited environments, whether it is the small village the chickens reside in or the evil farm, the colours pop and the small places are full of life.
The main issue that I had with this film and what truly hinders this from being a standout movie is the lack of depth. As stated I loved the plot that was filled with adventure and action but with no messages or exploring a deeply underlying narrative the film just lost some essence in making this movie sensational. Although I could argue not every film needs to have this, as the film was just an enjoyable entertaining family movie that does not slam you with something deeper. I think with the plot of growing up and revenge it maybe could have tapped into something a little more as when ranking it fell behind films like Puss in Boots 2.
Overall, the movie does fail to reach the levels of the first instalment but regardless it's still worth watching as it's the perfect family movie to unwind to and laugh along with. With its lovable characters (new and old), and its gorgeous stop-motion visuals, the only shame is that it is missing a large screen due to dropping on Netflix. I do recommend checking this out.