Hello everyone! 🙂

Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!

I’ve seen the two ‘Chicken Run’ films over the Christmas period. These films are Aardman Animations productions. The ‘Wallace & Gromit’ films are also produced by Aardman. It was nice to check out these films, especially as I have very fond memories of the first ‘Chicken Run’ film as a kid.

The first ‘Chicken Run’ film was released in 2000. In fact, it was the first full-length Aardman Animations film following ‘A Close Shave’, the third ‘Wallace & Gromit’ film. I didn’t get to see this film at the cinema, but I enjoyed watching it on VHS at a friend’s house and on DVD at home in 2002.

‘Chicken Run’ is set in the English countryside of Yorkshire and it centres on a group of anthropomorphic chickens who seek to escape their farm when their owners want to turn them into chicken pies. Can their hope be found in an American rooster named Rocky who happens to be fly? 😀

There is a sense of the 1950s when watching this film as well as being an escape movie set in a World War II prisoner camp. 😀 There are plenty of laughs and fun to be found with this film and I enjoyed the cast of characters. They’re voiced by several well-established actors who have appeared in TV and film.

There’s Ginger, the de facto leader of the chickens, voiced by Julia Sawalha. There’s Rocky, the American circus rooster and Ginger’s love interest, voiced by Mel Gibson. There’s the villainous Mrs. Tweedy, who’s the owner of the chicken farm, and is voiced superbly by Miranda Richardson. 🙂

There’s Mr. Tweedy, Mrs. Tweedy’s husband, voiced by Tony Haygarth; Fowler, an elderly rooster, voiced by Benjamin Whitrow; Nick, a cynical rat, voiced by Timothy Spall; Fetcher, Nick’s partner, voiced by Phil Daniels; Babs, a knitting-loving chicken, voiced by Jane Horrocks; Bunty, the champion egg-layer, voiced by Imelda Staunton; and there’s Mac, a Scottish chicken, voiced by Lynn Ferguson.

The second ‘Chicken Run’ film was released recently on Netflix on the 15th of December 2023. The film is called ‘Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget’. I enjoyed the second ‘Chicken Run’ film, although I think this is a film that should have been made sooner rather than later concerning the voice cast. 😐

In the film, Ginger and Rocky have a daughter whom they name Molly. They and their chicken kind are now living on an idyllic sanctuary on an island in a lake. Ginger and Rocky lead a rescue mission once their daughter Molly is abducted to a highly-advanced chicken farm, run by evil Mrs. Tweedy. 😐

Despite my issues concerning the voice cast, ‘Dawn of the Nugget’ is an enjoyable film that does well in depicting Ginger and Rocky as parents and how they handle Molly’s curiosity about the outside world. The film also does well in featuring a funny and scary ‘Summer Holiday’ by Cliff Richard music sequence.

Instead of Julia Sawhala, Ginger is voiced by Thandiwe Newton. Instead of Mel Gibson, Rocky is voiced by Zachary Levi. Instead of Benjamin Whitrow, Fowler is voiced by David Bradley. Instead of Timothy Spall, Nick is voiced by Romesh Ranganathan. Instead of Phil Daniels, Fletcher is voiced by Daniel Mays. Fortuantely, not all of the original cast are replaced by new actors in this second film. 🙂

Imelda Staunton returns to voice Bunty, Lynn Ferguson returns to voice Mac, Jane Horrocks returns to voice Babs, and Miranda Richardson returns to voice Mrs. Tweedy. There’s Molly, voiced by Bella Ramsey; and Frizzle, Molly’s friend, voiced by Josie Sedgewick-Davies. There’s Reginald Smith, voiced by Peter Serafinowicz; and there’s Dr. Fry, Mrs. Tweedy’s new husband, voiced by Nick Mohammed.

It’s been nice to check out these ‘Chicken Run’ films lately, especially on Netflix. I’ll always regard the first ‘Chicken Run’ film highly and hope to do an in-depth review on it soon. The second ‘Chicken Run’ film is very good too, although I probably would have kept most of the original voice cast intact.

Thanks for reading!

Bye for now!

Tim 🙂