Introduction
Hey, hey, fellow adventurers! Blaziker has arrived for his first animated movie adventure of 2026, and today, we are about to embark on an actual adventure with the sequel to one of my personal favourites, Chickenhare and the Secret of the Groundhog!
Kicking off where we left off with the conclusion of Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness, Chickenhare, Meg and Abe venture to a new land in search of a mysterious groundhog with the power to reverse time in order to save Chickenhare’s own species, but things took a dark turn when a mysterious villain was also onto the same treasure at the same time.
If you had read my 12 into 2026 article, this is an animated movie I had been putting on high notice, as not only its reception so far has been positive, but some had considered the sequel to be better than the original, which is a tall order if you ask me. However, given 2025 has sequels that turn out to be as good or even better than the first movies, will this be yet another great example, especially given its positive reception at last year’s Annecy Film Festival?
Only one way to find out, let our first standalone animated movie adventure of 2026 begin!
Key Information
- Director: Benjamin Mousquet
- Animation Studio: nWave Pictures
- Country of Origin: Belgium, France
- Rating: PG
- Release date: 22 October 2025 (in Belgium)
Trailer
The Review
Story and Characters
Before we get to the review proper, I had a small announcement to make.
For those that are brand new to my adventures, I specialise a lot in covering family-friendly foreign CG animated movies in the past, and after years of covering them, I realised something: most of them are just not worth covering because they are pretty much the same old, same old in terms of concept, execution and most importantly, the lower average quality they provide. You can check my essay highlighting the issues I have with these movies here, but long story short, starting from this year I plan to be even more selective over the family-friendly foreign CG animated movies I plan to see, focusing on those from reputable studios and figures, movies that actually got positive critical reception and recommendations, and ones that are actually more interesting to over due to their concepts. That way, I can focus my attention on the potentially good family-friendly foreign CG animated movies that are worth my time and effort, and this Chickenhare sequel is one of them.
If you are not familiar with me, the first Chickenhare movie, Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness, is one of my biggest comfort animated movies, one of that resonates with me given the similarities between me and Chickenhare, personality wise, which I had highlighted in one of the rewatch reviews of this movie to prepare for the sequel. It would not be surprising if I enjoyed the Chickenhare sequel more than the first… and yes, that was exactly what happened.
Normally, writing would not be a strong point given that the writing in most typical family-friendly foreign CG animated movies is low quality on average, even for today’s family-friendly foreign CG animated movies. I had been quite harsh with nWave over the writing in some of their earlier movies, but thankfully, with each movie, their overall writing quality steadily improved. With Chickenhare and the Secret of the Groundhog, however, I think they had produced the best writing for any family-friendly foreign CG animated movie, let alone ones produced by them. Honestly, where do I begin with the writing?
I think in terms of the issues I have, there is only one big issue on the writing, and that for a runtime of 90 minutes, there is not much the writers could do in condensing the movie’s story into such a short and typical runtime. Once we get to the strengths of this movie’s writing, you will understand why, and speaking of strengths , let’s talk about them now.
The first great thing about the writing is how the writing in the sequel builds on from the events in the first movie, which I feel is very important in making this movie work. If the first Chickenhare movie focuses more on embracing one’s unique quirks in spite of one’s difference, then the second focuses on the past and origins and sure, this is nothing new, but the movie truly leans on it once we get to the characters in a moment. Additionally, while we get a few small arcs to break up in the second act, with Chickenhare, Meg and Abe each going through their own adventure in the second act (which is also needed), everything comes together with the third act. Nothing is wasted in the movie’s writing; everything is utilised and developed well, which you cannot say for most similar family-friendly foreign CG animated movies.
The second great thing is about the little things. The pacing in this movie is well done, providing something interesting and thought-provoking as the movie progresses, and there is not much a boring moment in sight during the movie. This movie is also entertaining and hilarious without trying too hard (especially with Abe’s arc) and is just a well-rounded animated movie that even adults can enjoy.
The third great thing is, of course, the characters, because I seriously cannot talk about this movie without the characters. This movie brings back pretty much most of the big characters from the first movie, with Jordon Tartakow reprising his role as Chickenhare. Chickenhare’s arc in the sequel continues where he left off, becoming braver and more confident, but still flawed and relatable. This time, however, he is joined by his long-lost sister Gina (voiced by Xanthe Hyunh) who is also a Chickenhare like him. Their arc and chemistry plays true in the second act when they separate from the main gang, and it feels lovely to see Chickenhare treating Gina like her own, but once we get to why Gina joins the gang, that was where things can really interesting, but that is all I can say about Gina without spoiling the whole game.
Meg and Abe (voiced by returnees Laila Berzins and Joe Ochman respectively) had their own arcs, and each is quite different but well-realised. Meg’s relationship with the movie’s villain in Crolloq (Odessa Lurlean) was explored quite deeply, and the fight within them keeps this movie fresh and interesting. A lot of reviewers are already shipping them, and I can understand why. Crolloq also has Miggle and Rolf (Dino Andrade and Todd Haberkorn respectively), her two chameleon henchmen that are funny too. Speaking of funny, Abe’s arc is more on a hilarious but meaningful side, teaming up with a Piggie (who are the unsung heroes of the first movie) named Pigsqueak on their silly quest, and this helps to break up the tension when needed. All three arcs are well-developed and cumulates in the fourth and final great thing about this movie: the final act.
Chickenhare and the Secret of the Groundhog was already looking set to be a great and well-executed family-friendly foreign CG animated movie before the third act, but it is the third act that took things up a notch. Seriously, apart from my most favourite family-friendly foreign CG animated movie of all time with Jumbo from last year, I had not experienced a third act that blindsided me this hard. That is all I could say about the third act because you need to see this movie (and also the first one).
Seriously, writing is rarely nWave’s strong suit, but I have to say, I am amazed at how improved nWave’s writing is compared to their past works.
Animation
If the writing in Chickenhare and the Secret of the Groundhog is astounding, the animation is just as fantastic. I had never doubted nWave when it comes to animation quality, as this is one of the standouts from some of their recent movies. For family-friendly foreign CG animated movie standards, Chickenhare and the Secret of the Groundhog is a massive standout. It’s not uncommon for the animation in these types of animated movies to be substandard, but not in this movie; the animation is anything but substandard.
First off, this movie utilised an animation style never before seen in any nWave animated movie, and that is 2D hand-drawn animation. Yes, 2D animation sequences in a family-friendly foreign CG animated movie, while not out of the ordinary, are rare, so I am happy to see 2D animation. On top of that, the sequences are actually pretty damn good for a Belgian animation studio specializing more in 3D CG animation.
Secondly, the animation sequences are more detailed and intense compared to the first animated movie, which is already impressive given how great the animation in the first Chickenhare movie was. In terms of photorealistic CG animated movies that are still in existence today, Zootopia 2 still triumphs with that style, but the Chickenhare sequel came close to it. The detailing in the background and character designs are better compared to the first, the action sequence maintain the fun from the first movie (including the return of the beloved Piggies in the first act of the movie during a chase sequence), and the solid VFX work makes certain sequences come alive.
Honestly, I really do not have much to talk about the animation since the animation is an upgraded form of the animation style from the first movie, with some new and innovative touches in between that you don’t often seen from other family-friendly foreign CG animated movies.
Soundtrack, Other Elements and Level of Enjoyment
Belgian band Puggy, who has been involved in a good number of soundtracks for nWave’s past movies including the first Chickenhare movie, returned to compose the score for the second, and I liked the score in the sequel as much as the first movie, so I have nothing much to say about it. Take what I said about the score in the first movie and apply it to the second, and that’s my overall thoughts on it.
I do, however, want to once again complain about the distribution schedule for the Chickenhare sequel. Seriously, I know this movie was already available in parts of Europe and South Africa, but apart from Vietnam, why is this movie not that readily accessible in the rest of Asia? The first movie did super well in Asia (especially in my home country of Singapore, where its theatrical run was extended due to how popular the first movie was), so why is it still not that available in Asia in spite of its success? This has already happened for The Inseaprables, so this is not normal. nWave (and its primary sales agent Octopolis) needs to sort out the Asia release of future nWave movies, and fast.
Rambling aside, as for my level of enjoyment, as a huge Chickenhare fan, this would definitely be up my alley, but I still have some doubts over whether the hype behind this movie was justified. I am happy to report that it is indeed the case; however, I was still emotionally swept away by how much the third act broke me. I had talked about how the first Chickenhare movie resonates with my upbringing, but the second movie highlights another aspect of my life that would be considered a spoiler for the third act, so I will leave it at that. I had a feeling certain groups of the audience would feel the same way that I do about this movie.
Conclusion
When nWave’s co-founder and long-time animator Ben Stassen, who had been building up this studio from the ground up since its existence back in the 1990s along with co-founder Matthieu Zeller (who co-produced this movie), decided to pass the studio to the next generation of animators and writers to continue where he left off in the early 2020s, I would imagine his amazement to see nWave not continuing on his legacy, but also produce even better work and innovation than back when he was working on nWave’s first animated movies, and that was exactly what I felt with Chickenhare and the Secret of the Groundhog.
Chickenhare and the Secret of the Groundhog is not just an upgrade from the first Chickenhare movie, but also a proper and emotional adventure that goes way deeper than what most family-friendly foreign CG animated movies offer. The writing is easily the best that nWave has produced with fun new characters that enhance the experience, an entertaining and sometimes hilarious adventure despite how conventional the story was, and a third act that left me blindsided in the best of ways. The animation also took massive leaps forward, building up the already stellar animation in the first one but embracing new animation techniques and styles that elevated the overall animation quality. The minor elements are equally well-executed in spite of the usual distribution issues I have with nWave, and I overall loved this movie more than the first Chickenhare movie, which is honestly impressive.
I know people do not care about most family-friendly foreign CG animated movies in general due to how low quality they are on average, and while I agree this is still an issue in 2026, there are a handful of them that prove the opposite in that they can still be worth checking out if you give these movies a chance. I am happy to report Chickenhare and the Secret of the Groundhog is one of those great family-friendly foreign CG animated movies worth seeing in theatres.
Thank you so much for joining me on this adventure. Before we venture any deeper into more talking animal animated movies, there are five animated movies we need to tackle before getting into our game of Roarball and a journey to the forest for some Pond Rules. Trust me, while those two animated movies are amazing, we need to take a breather first.
Until next time, see you on the next adventure!
Blaziker’s Hot Sauce Rating
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