Chickenhare and the Secret of the Groundhog Review – Fun-Filled Adventure, Sharp Animation, Entertaining

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Category: UK A&E, Lifestyle, Culture

Published on Wednesday, 22 July 2026 12:39

Written by Janet Walker

Chickenhare and the Secret of the Groundhog, from Iheartcinema, brings to the screen a fantastical animated journey of discovery as three adventurers become entangled in a century old mystery that leads them into an epic battle.

The story begins with Chickenhare, voiced by Jordan Tartalow, and his two companions, Abe the Tortoise, voiced by Joey Lotsko, and Meg, the Skunk, voiced by Laila Berzins, at the end of another successful quest. As Chickenhare is the son of the King Peter, voiced by Wally Wingert, they are greeted by crowds celebrating their victory.

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As they explain to the king, they were able to secure the Golden Spork, and what they find out when King Peter asks what they know about the Groundhog with the Backward Facing Face, voiced by Chris Bass. What they discover is that the map to a mysterious island, where the groundhog can be found, has three holes in it, and once they add the Golden Spork the blank parchment paper comes alive with a secret map.

Unbeknownst to everyone, in the alcoves, Gina, voiced by Xanthe Huynh, the king's archivist, is also watching as the map comes alive. What King Peter explains is that to find the Groundhog, who has the power to change the past, they must travel to this remote island.

As Chickenhare is preparing for the next quest, he is training when the archivist approaches him, and explains, as he is attempting the obstacle course, that she is his sister. Once he realizes that he has a sister, he becomes loyal to her. So, when she asks him to lie to his father, he does, and then when she asks him to steal the map and set sail for the quest in the middle of the night, he does.

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Unwilling to leave his trusty companions behind, Gina, Abe and Meg begin the adventure of a lifetime. Soon, however, Meg's nemesis, Crolloq, voiced by Odessa Lurlean, a lithe lynx, who seems to be one up on the trio of adventures. She is accompanied by two, troublesome, chameleon minions, whose antics leads to chaos at every turn.

As the four begin to make their may to the mysterious island, they find that Crolloq is not far behind. And once King Peter awakens, he realizes what Chickenhare has done, he understands the quest is too dangerous for his son to complete alone and sets sail to catch him.

As the young adventures believe no quest is too dangerous, they soon realize as they meet up with a series of obstacles, including a pink wall, hiding hundreds of piglets, who begin to chase them, followed by Colloq who causes the four to split into two as she chases Meg to secure the map.

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Suddenly Meg and Abe are alone, and Gina and Chickenhare are trying to find the mysterious island where the Groundhog with the backward facing Face is resting, awaiting a time when he is awakened. Gina, who has continued her deception, finally explains she needs to find the Groundhog to stop her tribe from being wiped out.

This sets up the third act, as everyone converges on the mysterious island, and with Gina's father, King Bartholomew, voiced by Michael Sorich, is ready to go to war to save what is left of his people, as the food supply is dwindling, as darkness has fallen on the land. With King Peter and Chickenhare, the Gina's tribe realizes that what they believed was their destiny was really one man's fear as he was unable to keep the people safe.

Chickenhare and the Search for the Groundhog, a fun-filled family adventure exploring friendship, courage, family, and the journey of discovery. An epic adventure, bursting with fun, will be released in UK & Irish cinemas beginning July 24, 2026.  See it.

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Distributor: Iheartcinema.

Theatrical Release Date: July 24, 2026.

Country: UK.

Language: English.

Runtime: 88 minutes.

Director: Benjamin Mousquet.

Producers: Matthieu Zeller, Matthieu Gondinet.

Voice cast: Joe Ochman, Jordan Tartakow, Odessa Lurlean, Laila Berzins, Xanthe Huynh, Michael Sorich, Wally Wingert.

Janet Walker is the publisher, founder, and sole owner of Haute-Lifestyle.com. A graduate of New York University, she has been covering international news through the Beltway Insider, a weekly review of the nation's top stories, for more than a decade.  A general beat writer/reporter and entertainment/film critic, she is also an accomplished news/investigative news/crime reporter and submitted for Pulitzer Prize consideration "Cops Conspire to Deep Six Sex Assaults" in the Breaking News Category and was persuaded to withdraw the submission. Ms. Walker has completed five screenplays "The Six Sides of Truth," "The Assassins of Fifth Avenue," "The Wednesday Killer," "The Manhattan Project," and the sci-fi thriller "Project 13: The Last Day." She has also published "Unholy Alliances: A True Crime Story," and "Days, Times, Seasons, and Events: A Collection of Poetry & Prose," which can be purchased here. She is a member of the Los Angeles Press Club, the National Writers Union, and a member of the International Federation of Journalists.