Mr. Reginald Smith is the overarching antagonist of the film Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget.
He is described by Aardman as a slightly bemused businessman (and possible restauranteur) who is visiting Mrs. Tweedy's chicken nugget factory, but was readily impressed by her flagship product. He is voiced by Peter Serafinowicz.
Appearance[]
Reginald is a tall and solidly built man, though still shorter than Tweedy, with light brown eyes and a moustache. He has an oval head, that's bald on the top which he usually covers with a bowler hat, wearing a dark suit and red tie.
Biography[]
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget[]
Reginald Smith is the proprietor of a chain of posh family restaurants known as Sir Eat-a-Lot. However the restaurant business has been slow, resulting him in accepting a meeting at Fun-Land Farms for a new possible business proposal. Upon arriving at the farm, Reginald met the eccentric Dr. Fry who he expressed that he found the facility to be odd given the security. However his host assured him the security was necessary, for the technologies, research and chicken domestication practices there could very well revolutionize the world of poultry farming, and was guided to the main lab.
There at the lab's lounge, Reginald was shown a cartoon presentation explaining the science that chicken meat tasted flavorless due to the animal's fear of death. However that could be remedied by using science to make chickens happy and welcome being processed into meat. After the presentation Reginald expressed his doubts that Dr. Fry could pull such a method off. However Melisha Tweedy-Fry arrives and informs him that they already succeeded.
The man is then shown the brainwashed chickens in the free range pen, and the operation of the remotes that control them. When Dr. Fry selects one chicken and manipulated her to willingly head to the grinder machine for processing, Reginald is presented with a disposable paper bucket filled with a new culinary invention: "the nugget." Reginald experimentally tried one, succumbing to its exquisite taste, telling Melisha "[He] love you Mummy," before quickly correcting himself and says it's delicious.
Taking the bucket, Reginald enjoys the nuggets, listening to Melisha speech of envisioning the food product as new food for the modern world for people wanting it fast. From her inspiration, Reginald comes up with the concept of fast food and realizes that the idea could be big, but Melisha corrects him stating it will be huge and that she will have her revenge.
This confuses Reginald only for Melisha to mean revenue instead. The businessman agrees to bring a truck to collect the first shipment of chicken nuggets and both he and Melisha look forward to a lasting partnership. However, he and his hired truck driver were later stampeded upon by a flock of escaping chickens making a break for it out of Fun-Land Farms. Revolted, Reginald would later demand an explanation from a person he thinks was dressed like a nugget, only to realize that individual was actually Melisha, furious at chickens having escaped her confinement of them once again.
It could be assumed that Reginald died at the end due to Fun-Land Farms exploding and collapsing.
Personality[]
Reginald appears to be an uptight but honest businessman, who voiced his skepticism of revolutionary ideas. Though upon encountering these ideas, such as the retro-futurism furniture and decorum at Fun-Land Farms, he showed intrigue at the style. And later when he experiences the taste of the nugget, he becomes an instant believer in its marketability. However, he doesn’t seem to be a bad person overall, as while his interest in the nuggets do make him an obstacle in the chickens’ rescue mission, he is simply a businessman trying to run his restaurant, and unlike Melisha, he isn’t at all malicious towards the chickens (that being said, he also doesn’t question the unethical practice in how FunLand Farm brainwashes their chickens, bordering on animal cruelty, nor does he seem to care very much about their impending deaths being brought about by said brainwashing).
Relationships[]
Dr. Fry[]
At Reginald's first meeting with the doctor, the businessman was less than impressed, as Fry tried to shake his hand while still wearing pieces of a chicken costume. He was annoyed when Dr. Fry referred him as Sir Eat-a-Lot, and tried correcting him multiple times to no avail.
Melisha Tweedy-Fry[]
Reginald seems to be taken aback by Melisha’s forcible attitude. Not only by her proposal for a business partnership but her ambition. Between her and her husband, it is Melisha he respects the most as a business partner, and he becomes hooked on her deal to establish the chicken nuggets. It is implied he is somewhat attracted to her, as she does flirt with him quite a bit, and he does try impressing her with sweet and sour sauce for the nuggets, but fortunately, no such relationship comes about between them (as had Melisha become his fiancé, he would’ve just been stuck in the same, abusive relationship with her as her other husbands), and the deal between them is all but stated to have ended due to FunLand Farm’s destruction.
Trivia[]
- Reginal Smith may be inspired by Colonel Sanders, who created the KFC restaurant franchise and was characterized by selling chicken nuggets in buckets.