Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget
Netflix | Release Date: December 8, 2023 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
63
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 30 Critic Reviews
Positive:
16
Mixed:
13
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
The PlaylistBrian FarvourDec 15, 2023
It’s hard not to smile as Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget wraps things up, even if said smile comes unexpectedly; admittedly, this is the sort of surprising delight that serves to both remind an audience why the original remains such a gem while acting as a worthy successor. Read full review
100
The TelegraphRobbie CollinOct 17, 2023
This uproarious sequel to the Bristol studio’s beloved debut feature, which premiered at the London Film Festival today, takes what mercifully no one has yet labelled the Chicken Run Cinematic Universe and moves it on precisely one cultural notch. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubLuke Y. ThompsonDec 13, 2023
It’s rare to see family animated films as purely focused on fun as this one. Read full review
80
NMEPaul BradshawDec 15, 2023
Dawn Of The Nugget might have a bit too much Netflix polish in places, and the spark of the original film doesn’t ever burn as brightly here, but there’s still a lot to love about a family film pitched for the post-Christmas dinner funk that’s all about the horrors of the poultry industry. Read full review
80
BBCNicholas BarberDec 13, 2023
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget doesn't just reach the standards of its high-flying predecessor, but it soars above them. Read full review
80
EmpireJohn NugentDec 5, 2023
Silly, witty, extremely British — this is a family film made with a very Aardman-y kind of craft and care. A good egg. Read full review
80
Total FilmFay WatsonOct 16, 2023
Rounding things off in grisly fashion, the Bristol studio manages to get away with a dark, tongue-in-cheek chick-flick that will have you thinking twice before ordering your next takeaway. Read full review
75
SlashfilmJosh SpiegelDec 17, 2023
Another lighthearted, fast-paced adventure that is both enjoyable and can't help but feel slightly like reheated leftovers. Read full review
75
The Seattle TimesMoira MacdonaldDec 15, 2023
This movie, while perhaps not quite as charming as the 2000 original “Chicken Run” (lightning rarely strikes twice, even on chicken farms), is a hoot. Read full review
75
New York PostJohnny OleksinskiDec 13, 2023
The second “Chicken Run” grabs you by the giblets anyway, thanks to its terrific returning voice cast of big-personality Brits, such as bubbly Jane Horrocks and Imelda Staunton (who, in the 23 intervening years, has gone from the coop to Buckingham Palace), and earnestly funny writing. Netflix, to its credit, has not laid an egg. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriDec 15, 2023
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget is baggier than the original, not as funny, and it drags in parts and is on the whole less memorable. But dammit, it’s still fun, and that’s ultimately what matters. Read full review
70
The New York TimesAlissa WilkinsonDec 14, 2023
When the source material was so fun, the cover is bound to be enjoyable, and this one is, even if it sags a little around the two-thirds mark. There’s punning, and contraptions, and ducks that shoot lasers out of their eyes. It’s a good time. Read full review
70
Screen DailyNikki BaughanNov 1, 2023
Beneath all of the visual razzle-dazzle and quick-firing gags, though, Chicken Run: Dawn Of The Nugget is, fundamentally, a familiar, well-executed coming-of-age narrative, in which a youngster is compelled to spread their wings, and parents must learn to let them fly. Read full review
67
IndieWireSophie Monks KaufmanOct 15, 2023
While director Sam Fell continues the stop-motion brilliance of Peter Lord and Nick Park’s original, set pieces and winking homages are given primacy over character stakes leading to a somewhat grating emotional ride. Read full review
64
Paste MagazineJacob OllerDec 14, 2023
Where Chicken Run once played off of the specific aesthetics of WWII POW films with dark humor, Dawn of the Nugget loses its identity in favor of a harmless playfulness interchangeable with a Madagascar or Ice Age sequel. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoDec 8, 2023
A lack of ambition, just-off comic timing, and inferior world-building keep this bird from flying, despite there being just enough bits that work to make it worth a look, especially if you forget who made it. Read full review
60
Screen RantNadir SamaraDec 15, 2023
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget is a blast overall. The performances hark back to the original, and while the sense of humor is not as edgy as it once was, it's still very effective. Read full review
60
The Irish TimesDonald ClarkeDec 14, 2023
Though Dawn of the Nugget is not on the same plane as a masterpiece like Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, it delivers zippy good-hearted jokes at a cracking pace without outstaying its welcome. Read full review
60
The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeDec 11, 2023
Disappointingly but perhaps not surprisingly, this sequel fails to match the original on any level whatsoever. It’s not bad exactly, although there’s a synthetic look to the colour palette that feels very try-hard and gaudy next to the lovely, atmospheric earth tones of the first film. Read full review
60
The IndependentClarisse LoughreyDec 8, 2023
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget may not quite rise to its predecessor’s level, but if this is the closest Aardman ever comes to selling out then, well, there’s still hope for animation’s future. Read full review
60
VarietyPeter DebrugeOct 17, 2023
Scripted by “Chicken Run” alums Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell, along with newcomer Rachel Tunnard, the sequel doesn’t offer many surprises plotwise, but is consistently amusing in its dad-jokey kind of way. Read full review
60
The GuardianPeter BradshawOct 15, 2023
Some of the time, this new Chicken Run has the same flaw as the newer Pixar movies: a sense that the film could almost have been algorithmically fabricated through AI, especially here in the opening act. Well, the gags puncture that and a lively voice cast including Romesh Ranganathan, Daniel Mays, David Bradley, Jane Horrocks and Imelda Staunton provide energy and fun. Read full review
55
CNNBrian LowryDec 15, 2023
The story plays like a rather tired excuse to redo the first story with a few cosmetic tweaks, hoping to tap into adult nostalgia while potentially attracting a new generation of kids. Read full review
50
ColliderEmma KielyDec 12, 2023
The style, tone, heart, and comedy of Aardman deserve better than Dawn of the Nugget’s formulaic story which doesn’t hold a candle to the original. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeOdie HendersonDec 12, 2023
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget isn’t a bad movie; it’s just an unnecessary one. Whoever thought audiences would be clamoring for the sequel to a 23-year-old film with such a satisfying ending to its story must have been out of their clucking mind. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineDavid RobbDec 5, 2023
With none of the satisfying aesthetic appeal or narrative potency of the original, Dawn of the Nugget is happy to plod along as a functional joke vehicle fueled mostly by fond memories of its acclaimed predecessor. Read full review
50
Movie NationRoger MooreDec 5, 2023
Every element is measurably inferior to the original film — plot, jokes, sight gags (a clever optical eye-scanner joke lands), voices and design. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinOct 17, 2023
The lack of cackle-worthy one-liners here and the entertaining but highly predictable last act make this a little bit snoozy for savvier viewers. Read full review
40
Rolling StoneJack FrancisOct 16, 2023
What should’ve been a major coup for Netflix, and audiences at large, comes off as a rank revival that will only sully the memory of a British classic. Read full review
39
TheWrapTomris LafflyDec 14, 2023
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget is something sadder than the worst movie of 2023. It is the year’s most disappointing. Read full review
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