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See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL | Last update 22.Jul.26

Chickenhare and the Secret of the Groundhog
Review by Rich Cline | 3/5

Hopper et le Secret de la Marmotte

Chickenhare and the Secret of the Groundhog

dir Benjamin Mousquet
scr David Collard, Chris Grine
prd Matthieu Gondinet, Matthieu Zeller
voices Jordan Tartakow, Joey Lotsko, Laila Berzins, Odessa Lurlean, Xanthe Huynh, Chris Bass, Wally Wingert, Brent Mukai, Dino Andrade, Todd Haberkorn, Byron Patrick, Michael Sorich
release Bel 22.Oct.25,
UK 24.Jul.26
25/Belgium Sony 1h28

Is it streaming?

This lively and very colourful animated adventure comedy follows on from 2022's Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness, which skipped UK cinemas. But not having seen it didn't matter too much, as most of the dialog carefully explains every detail of the plot, including back-stories and the movie's most salient themes. Thankfully, high-quality animation from nWave Studios holds our attention, even if everything feels rather absurdly random.

On Indiana Jones-style quests, Chickenhare (Tartakow) is accompanied by skunk Meg (Berzins) and tortoise Abe (Lotsko). After recovering the Holy Spork, they are joined by Chickenhare's long-lost sister Gina (Huynh) for their next quest to find a mythical groundhog (Bass) that has time-travel powers. Gina thinks he will be able to save their native island's population of harechickens from certain doom. But Meg's ex Crolloq (Lurlean) is trying to steal her thunder, tracking their every move with her chameleon henchmen (Andrade and Haberkorn), determined to rekindle her partnership with Meg. Chases and face-offs ensue.

At every stage along the way, there's a massive action sequence involving various critters in a range of eye-catching settings on land, in the sea, air and underground, plus a swirly realm in between time. There's a brief interlude with dancing snakes and crocodiles, plus a marauding hive-mind of cubic pigs that seem to have escaped from Minecraft. The plotting is wildly overcomplicated, as is much of the design work, but throwaway gags fill both the visuals and the dialog.

These animated details are finely rendered, so even if everything is a bit too wacky, it still looks great. And the hand-drawn flashbacks are gorgeous. It also helps that all of the characters have spiky personalities, getting into trouble for doing and saying things impulsively. But their hearts are in the right place, so we can't help but root for them to save the day, as if that is ever in question.

There are also various lessons woven throughout the bonkers silliness, such as the reminder that you will always get further by treating people with respect than just shouting at them. And in the end, the film also encourages us to celebrate what makes us who we are, rejecting bigotry, rumours and fear as we seek out our chosen family. So even if the plot never quite makes any sense, there are worthwhile messages in here for everyone.

themes, violence 20.Jul.26

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See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL