Filmtracks: Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (Harry Gregson-Williams)

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Written 1/10/24

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Buy it... if you can embrace a competent and likable extension of the general sound from Chicken Run but without the same kazoos and thematic highlights.

Avoid it... if your primary wish is to hear more of the memorable construction theme in this sequel, its presence sadly relegated to only the opening moments of this work.

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Williams

Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget: (Harry Gregson-Williams) Despite immediate talk of a sequel for 2000's surprisingly successful stop-motion animated romp, Chicken Run, the production crew was too exhausted to contemplate such an endeavor. By the late 2010's, however, the project finally moved forward, dropping much of its original voice cast for a myriad of reasons but continuing the story of intrepid chickens who escaped a farm (and certain slaughter) and thwarted its evil owner. Those affable poultry now reside on an idyllic island but eventually come to realize that industrial chicken processing villainy is encroaching onto neighboring lands. The same antagonist from the prior story, Mrs. Tweedy, is associated with what looks like an amusement park for chickens called Fun-Land Farms, but the inhabitants there are actually technologically brainwashed in ways that make them tastier to customers once processed. Both new and old characters ultimately battle to free themselves and others from this threat and foil Mrs. Tweedy once again. Purchased and distributed by Netflix, 2023's Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget was largely confined to streaming audiences but generally well received. For film music fans, the sequel was long awaited, for Harry Gregson-Williams and John Powell's music for Chicken Run remains a flavorful community favorite in the animation genre. As with the Shrek franchise, only Gregson-Williams returned for the Chicken Run sequel, Powell immersed in his own animated project with Migration at the time. Debates have long ensued about the merits of Gregson-Williams' contributions to Chicken Run versus those by Powell, for the latter composer wrote some of the most memorable single passages in that score. The return of Gregson-Williams alone for the 2023 film is still a crowd-pleaser, not only because of the continuity factor but because the veteran composer had spent a disproportionate amount of his recent career creating underwhelming music for generic thriller movies. (These assignments dominated his 2023 output.) With Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget came the opportunity for Gregson-Williams to spread his wings again in a genre that represented some of his best work in the early 2000's.

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Gregson-Williams' return to the realm of Chicken Run strikes many comforting nostalgic notes, the general sound of Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget clearly derivative of the earlier work. For casual viewers, the musical connections are easy, and the general tone and orchestral style remain consistent. The playful demeanor and vibrant recording are both huge positives in the sequel score, but there are a few course changes that may alarm some listeners. Most vitally, Chicken Run is known for its humorous application of kazoos, which are perfect for the birdbrain humor of the story. Gregson-Williams revisits those kazoos here, but only in brief cameo roles. They exist for the Mrs. Tweedy theme shortly in "Opening Recap" and then early in "Follow Me," continuing at 4:38 onward in "Pushing Them Back" for quick accents. But that's about it, and their general lack of use is disappointing. Their representation of the wackiness of the villain situation in Chicken Run is replaced by a theremin in Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget to accompany the brainwashing element in "Funland Farms," "Something Strange," "Malicia Tweedy Revealed," and "An Unexpected Guest." Also added are prominent base flutes for the espionage factor throughout the score. Aside from those specialty contributors, listeners will encounter an accordion in "Rats Visited," harpsichord in "Malicia Tweedy Revealed," and cartoonish deflating brass techniques in "Follow Me." Of more interest to enthusiasts of the prior score will be the use of themes from Chicken Run, and that aspect is a very mixed bag. There were four major themes in that score, and Gregson-Williams only develops three of them here while adding a few more to the equation. It has been widely reported that Gregson-Williams wrote the main theme for Chicken Run that spawned its spritely marches and soaring conclusion. Powell, on the other hand, penned the construction (or revolution) theme that emerged late in the score and ultimately stole the hearts of most listeners. Perhaps not surprisingly, Gregson-Williams only references the construction theme at the very outset of the score, at 0:04 into "Opening Recap," identically to the opening moments of "Building the Crate." If you're expecting anything more from that Powell, especially extended material along the lines of "The Chickens Are Revolting" in this score, you'll be deeply disgruntled.

The loss of the highly memorable and infectious construction theme in Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget is this score's biggest point of failure. The idea could have been repurposed to serve the illustriousness and bravery of the chickens generally, but Gregson-Williams chose otherwise. Instead, his main theme dominates this score more so than the prior one, as does the Mrs. Tweedy theme. The material for the rats and the Rocky character also return. The main theme emerges again at 0:45 and 0:56 into "Opening Recap" with hints of its march-like origins and supplies good cheer briefly at 0:38 into "Molly." Its extensive interpolation into the score's action and suspense material includes the start of "Trucks Are Spotted" in some momentary, wholesome iterations and a few stuttering attempts to generate heroic action at 2:46 into "Funland Farms." A highlight for the theme is its militaristically propulsive rendition at 1:26 into "Something Strange" with uniquely Irish whistle personality. The idea extensively mingles with the new heist theme in "Go Time," offers short bursts of continued snare-ripping action late in "Roast Chicken" and "Big and Brave," battles the Tweedy theme late in "An Unexpected Guest," and stumbles in somewhat uncomfortable action mode at 2:09 into "Follow Me." The main theme is pretty on woodwinds at 0:35 into "Going Back for Frizzle" and thereafter, intertwined with the heist theme in "Move Faster," and shifts to a defiant action stance at 1:30 into "Pushing Them Back," gaining coherence later. It finally defeats the Tweedy material in "Returning Home," reprising "Escape to Paradise" from the prior score, returning to spritely march form, and providing a cliffhanger finale to the cue. Meanwhile, the Tweedy theme is extensively adapted, from the madness at 0:25 into "Opening Recap" to its fluffy and positive form in the major key during "Presentation Music." It's fragmented in the first half of "Malicia Tweedy Revealed" but revisited extensively in "An Unexpected Guest" with Michael Giacchino-like James Bond emulation; this old-school Bond villain stomping melodrama after three minutes into that cue is a bit over the top. Tweedy's theme then toils in the suspense of "Follow Me" and "Ready to Fry, Fry" before adopting menacing, march-like qualities late in "It's Sweet and Sour." It taunts early and with more stomping force in "Pushing Them Back" and persists at the outset of "Returning Home."

Of the remaining themes returning from Chicken Run, the most obvious will be the somewhat sleazy representation for the rats of the tale. In this work, their theme is provided similar treatment at the opening of "Rats Visited," throughout "Roast Chicken," and at 2:24 into "Go Time," among other places. The new themes coined by Gregson-Williams for Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget are nowhere near as memorable as those reprised from the prior score, but that doesn't mean they don't have some merit. The theme for new Molly character is an identity that shines when utilized but never really takes flight. Its likeable two opening phrases of distinction and meandering secondary phrases aren't overly obvious in the musical narrative. The idea is heard at the start of "Molly" on flutes and touched upon throughout that cue. A quick reference early in "Frizzle" previews its application for that friendship, the theme becoming heartfelt at the start of "Going Back for Frizzle" and gaining strength later in the cue. Molly's theme isn't always an obvious insertion, but it does thrive for a moment in surprising action form on brass at 1:50 into "Ready to Fry, Fry." Even more elusive is the composer's new heist theme for the stylish espionage antics in the tale. This material is faintly and smartly foreshadowed early in "Frizzle" but is revealed fully at 1:23 into "Go Time" and throughout that cue amongst main theme interjections in a nicely handled balance between the two identities. The heist theme then returns with gusto in the latter half of "Follow Me," bumbles along in "Move Faster," and closes out "Returning Home" in hints with a dose of suspense. Blending with the Tweedy theme is a new motif for Fun-Land Farms, too. Ominously previewed in "Trucks Are Spotted" and "Frizzle," this idea is best developed in the brass of "Funland Farms," consolidating eventually into fanfare form. These new themes are generally fine, but nothing in this franchise of music can compete with the enduring prowess of Powell's construction theme. Its absence after the quick reference to open the picture is one reason why the score for Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget lacks the "it" factor that made the prior entry so alluring. There is little magic in this score, either, no equivalent for the soaring majesty at the end of "Lift Off" from the 2000 work. The sequel's music is a competent and amicable extension of the same general sound but without those highlights, and listeners will find it tough to resist the urge to revisit the Chicken Run score to scratch the itches caused by this music. *** @Amazon.com: CD or Download

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For Harry Gregson-Williams reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3 (in 40 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 2.98 (in 55,240 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.

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