Aardman Animations had an international box office smash at the beginning of this century with much-loved stop-motion comedy Chicken Run, in which flightless feathered heroes spoofed Animal Farm and The Great Escape by making a thrilling break for freedom. Now comes the sequel, mixing stop motion with computer animation in the sleek new style towards which Aardman moved a few years after that, based on the original look of the action figures.
This follow-up is cowritten by Karey Kirkpatrick, John O’Farrell and Rachel Tunnard and directed by Sam Fell, with some cheeky nods to The Lion King, The Truman Show and Toy Story 3; it’s sweet and likable, with one or two showstopper gags. The one about asking someone at the wheel of a vehicle what gear he’s in deserves to be printed on gold leaf. But some of the time I found the proceedings a little bit generic, like something you might put on an iPad to keep kids quiet, even if that is a noble enough aim.
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