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37 out of 42 people found the following comment useful :-
Son of a gun, "Chicken Run" is pure fun!, 22 August 2000

Author: Glacier571-3 from San Francisco

After watching "Chicken Run," you will become a believer of many things.

You will believe that a bunch of talking hens wearing beads and bandanas can speak with British and Scottish accents, practice martial arts, escape from inside a pie machine and secretly plot their getaway from an egg farm in 1955 England. You will believe that chickens can knit, dance, wear glasses and play the harmonica. You will believe that rats can wear bad suits and have an obsession for eggs. You will believe that roosters can fly airplanes, ride a tricycle and sing "The Wanderer."

Most importantly, you will believe that the otherwise Disney-choked world of animated films has life again, and that a tiny British studio can top the big boys from Japan and the U.S. and turn out the smartest, possibly best work of this genre ever. The one point of light in an otherwise lousy summer movie season, "Chicken Run" is something you'll want to watch over and over again. You could sit through it 31 times (like yours truly) and it never gets boring. The audienced applauded at the end during my first 13 viewings.

Aardman Studios has concocted a recipe consisting of a wonderful (albeit portly and feathered) cast, a funny, intelligent script, a gripping score, excellent cinematography and production design, plus great voice work, all mixed with years of labor and love, and the result is what is easily the best film of 2000. When was the last time you saw a movie with a cast – nearly all-female, no less – so determined and believable in their mission for freedom, and whom you cared so strongly about that you were actually cheering for them to be successful?

"Chicken Run" may be the first animated film that is an absolute joy for both children and adults. Children will be tickled by the jocularity of these hens, while adults will find pleasure in discovering homages to classic prison films – "The Great Escape," "Stalag 17" and even "The Shawshank Redemption," among others.

Screenwriter Karey Kirkpatrick has come up with a sharp script, which has all but become a lost art in the movie world these days. The dialogue is loaded with puns that work so well. The British slang is a delight, and makes the chickens' personalities more endearing and – dare I say it – human.

One of the best lines comes from Mrs. Tweedy talking lovingly about her soon-to-be chicken pie enterprise. When Mr. Tweedy asks why she only will be included in the brand name, her reply is: "Woman's touch. Makes the public feel more comfortable." The other is Fowler's immortal "Pushy Americans, always showing up late for every war." That's simply brilliant writing.

The flawless (yes, flawless) voice cast is the heart of this movie. This is one of those rare films in which both the heroes and the villains are fun to watch. You'll find yourself thinking during the end credits, "I liked this character the best…no, wait a minute, I think I like this one more…no, no, I like that one."

Leading the way is Julia Sawalha, playing another character with a spicy name (from "AbFab's" Saffy to CR's Ginger), and providing the ideal heroine we moviegoers have yearned for so long. She's so convincing in this role; you're deeply immensed in Ginger's quest for free range living that you forget she's a Plasticine chicken.

It's safe to say that 2000 has been the summer of one Melvin Gibson. He doesn't disappoint with "The Patriot" or with his role as Rocky, the vagabond flying rooster (listen to his hysterical rendition of Dion's "The Wanderer"), who easily bested his squirrel namesake at the box office. The film pokes fun at him in a good-natured way, from his opening "Braveheart" gag to his nationality.

Rounding out the supporting cast is Lynn Ferguson as the genius Mac, she of the wild hen's comb and odd spectacles. Jane Horrocks is a show-stopper as the innocent yet…well, bubbleheaded, knitter Babs. She doesn't have much dialogue, but definitely does the most with the least as she delivers the funniest lines in the movie with aplomb. Perhaps the film's most famous line is when she bawls "I don't want to be a pie!" Why? "I don't like gravy."

Ben Whitrow's Fowler, the old military rooster, had me in stitches with his constant rambling about his glory days in the Royal Air Force. Seriously, wouldn't we all want to be awakened by a rooster who hollers, "Cock-a-doodle-doo, what what"?

Timothy Spall and Phil Daniels are a hoot as Nick and Fetcher, the Laurel & Hardy-style farm rats. Tony Haygarth and Miranda Richardson (not straying very far from her "evil wife" role in "Sleepy Hollow") are perfect as Willard and Melisha Tweedy, the cruel owners of the prison camp…er, egg farm. The loving couple is an evil version of American Gothic rendered in clay. Mrs. Tweedy is the best animated villain since Maleficent from "Sleeping Beauty."

But my favorite (and this was a tough choice) was Imelda Staunton as the brusque, oversized and argumentative, yet lovable, Bunty. She was the character I related to most because my personality is sometimes like hers…I think I may have finally found my role model! My favorite part in the film was watching Bunty getting down to "Flip Flop and Fly."

The ending contains the most thrilling action sequence I've seen all year. I won't dare describe it here…go and experience the magic for yourself. What I will say is that I haven't had this much side-splitting fun with an ending since "Mrs. Doubtfire."

I haven't enjoyed a film like this since "Sleepy Hollow" was released 7 months earlier…needless to say, this has been a period of movie ecstasy that is as rare as hens' teeth, so to speak. I'm sure nobody will care, but what I found interesting about "Chicken Run" was that it bore a striking resemblance to SH in terms of the plot: a small citizenry, kept prisoner by a villain who has a fetish for decapitation, pins their hopes of freedom on an outsider who is brash and sure of himself on the outside, yet soft and bewildered on the inside. Both movies are in my personal top 10 of all time.

After watching this, I dare anyone to find another movie that is as heartwarming, witty, suspenseful and funny as "Chicken Run." To those who feel the need to criticize this film for any reason…I deeply sympathize with your lack of soul. 10/10

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32 out of 36 people found the following comment useful :-
Something for everyone, 20 June 2000

Author: AdRager

Chicken Run is a wonderfully entertaining movie for EVERYONE! Kids will love the eye-candy of chickens doing absurd things and tossing off silly one-liners. Adults will enjoy the brilliantly funny dialogue and the sweet, engaging story. Parents will enjoy taking their kids to a movie that does not have the Disneyesque product tie-ins and must-buy soundtrack. Movie buffs can try to count the references to The Great Escape, Stalg 17, Star Trek and Braveheart and may be pleasantly surprised at the quality of the camera work.

Nick Park, Peter Lord & Co. succeeded (where so many other have failed recently) in making an animated movie whose story, plot and dialogue are equal to the brilliant animation. In the wordless opening minutes we are engaged and in invited to care about these silly chickens. By the time the snappy dialogue gets rolling we've already identified with the chickens' plight. It may be a bit slow through the middle for the younger moviegoers. But the sound of laughter, cheers and applause from the whole audience as the chickens make their final bid for freedom is well worth the wait. The only sad part is we may have to wait another five years for another Aardman Animations to produce another picture of the quality.

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29 out of 32 people found the following comment useful :-
Eggselant, 12 December 2000

Author: Gordon McVey

Hailing from the animation house that brought us such jems as Morph, the Wallace and Gromit series and Rex the Runt, Chicken Run is the first ever feature length claymation ever attempted.

Set on a chicken farm in Yorkshire some time in the middle of the century, our plucky (sorry) heroines face a lifetime of hard labor laying for the farmers, and if their performance is not up to par they quite literally face the chop. Ginger, making her way to the top of the pecking order (sorry again) attempts jailbreak after farcical jailbreak, but success is less than forthcoming.

Enter Rocky The Rhode Island Red, (Rocky Rhodes for short, and you can't blame me for that one, the writers came up with it) apparently able to fly, the chickens look to him to help them bust this chicken coup, but Rocky is not what he may appear to be.

That's the plot in a nut (egg?) shell, and as you can imagine the subject matter made for perfect "salutes" to the classic world war 2 escape movies, references to which abound throughout. From Ginger tossing a baseball (actually a sprout) in the "cooler" (coal bunker), to Fowler's incessant ramblings about his old RAF days.

The lead characters are deep and endearing enough for you to care about what happens to them, if a little stereotypical at times. The interaction between them is fluid and believable, all the more amazing considering that Mel Gibson never even set foot in the same recording studio as the other actors, reading his lines in a studio in America instead. The supporting cast provide plenty of humour and Mrs. Tweedy substitutes quite nicely for the Nazi camp commandant.

The animation is lively and colourful the characters wonderfully expressive in that unmistakable style developed in the Wallace and Gromit shorts, and thanks to the fact the sets are real models there is plenty of scope for dramatic lighting effects.

The only real fault I could find in the film was that it just seemed a little too... American at times. Hollywood's involvement showed through the English setting to some degree, especially as you get to the movie's climax which seems to go a bit overboard, especially compared to the utterly hysterical ending to The Wrong Trousers. But all in all I have to say I really enjoyed this movie. Now all we need is a Wallace and Gromit movie.

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21 out of 24 people found the following comment useful :-
Engaging and delightful!, 17 June 2000

Author: cal-33 from Toledo

This movie is all you could hope for in summer film fare. It had action, suspense, romance and a large helping of comedy. I was predisposed to love the movie, being a great fan of Wallace and Gromit, and the movie lived up to those other award-winning works. The movie works on every level, and was fun for all ages viewing it. Even my husband, who disdains children's movies, was truly enjoying himself. Needless to say, the children loved it, despite one rather gruesome off-screen moment, but that seemed not to matter too much. All in all, I can't recommend this movie too highly, it was incredibly entertaining and well-done.

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13 out of 17 people found the following comment useful :-
Animation at its best, with outstanding characters and a clever story. ***1/2 (out of four), 3 August 2000

Author: Blake French (film321@altavista.com) from USA

CHICKEN RUN / (2000) ***1/2 (out of four)

"Chicken Run," DreamWorks Picture's newest animation festival, is an old-fashioned fairy tale with more heart and truth than most movies can even imagine about containing. The film's animated style contains state-of-the-art clay-animation techniques, which make it worth the trip to the multiplex just for feasting your eyes on such brilliant special effects. Directors Peter Lord and Nick Park, with co-writer Karey Kirkpatrick, give the characters depth, reason, and dimension-even if the main star is a feathered farm animal that converges with his companions about political matters.

"Chicken Run" details the miserable lives of a clan of chickens being withheld within a sinister dairy farm in 1950's England. Ginger (voiced by Miranda Richardson) is the central character, who, along with her acquaintances, deeply lust for the sweet smell of freedom that lies beyond the constricting boundaries of their pens. The unhappy farm owners, the smart and devious Mrs. Tweedy and the dumb and precarious Mr. Tweedy, brutally dispose of chickens who fail to produce the amount of eggs they require.

When a overzealous circus Rooster named Rocky (voiced by Mel Gibson) stumbles onto the farm one evening, the other chickens blackmail him into teaching them how to escape. This is also when the Tweetys lurch up a devilish new plan to strike it rich by purchasing a machine that will turn innocent chickens into merchandising pot pies.

The film's plot is steady, solid, and knowing; it portrays a series of events that gradually build tension eventually inducing an exciting climax that is both conclusive and satisfying. "Chicken Run" is a precise piece of filmmaking, an inoffensive family adventure that will entertain audiences of all ages.

Regardless of how well crafted it is or how artful the material, the movie is about chickens escaping out of their pen in order to find genuine independence. No, the stakes are not nearly high enough, and with a plot like this, it is only natural for some audiences to expect a shallow, cheap cartoon publicity stunt. However, the filmmakers make this movie feel original, fresh, suspenseful, and involving, regardless if the main characters are chickens with patriotic instincts.

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6 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
Chicken Fun, 28 February 2008
Author: Senyales from Fraggle Rock

'Chicken Run' is a delighted little film about...well, chickens. I've always loved the claymation of Aardman. 'Creature Comforts' and 'Wallace and Gromit' are among many of my favorites. Aardman Studios have come up with a brilliant cast, a funny and smart script, fine cinematography and production design. The inspiration of films like 'The Great Escape' shows. The female characters are so strong and yet they have their own sense of humour and Brit-wit. Aardman's claymation is splendid. The large eyes, body size and shape and movements create this a unique class of comedy. The writing is very sharp and crisp but I disliked the obvious symbolism (of British and America joining hands to save the world and fight evil) which looked a little forced. I don't see the need to make the Rocky character an American rooster (as if it's an ingredient to have an American on board). Yet, that does not take away the sheer pleasure and entertainment one derives from the film. The voice cast is suitably chosen. Gibson plays the typical hero with charisma but it's the Brit cast, which includes names like Imelda Staunton, Lynn Ferguson, Jane Horrocks and Julia Sawalha that did it for me. Their sharp witty humour and strong will just put them on a league of their own. 'Chicken Run' is a cute, heartwarming, uplifting and hilarious little film. To quote another user, it is eggcellent!

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6 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
Escape or Die Frying., 17 March 2006

Author: Jessica Kolk from Brazil

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I wasn't very excited about watching ''Chicken Run'' in the beginning. A friend of mine, Aluísio, told me the story was good and worthwhile, so, since I have the movie in my house I decided to watch it to see if it was really nice.It is not my favorite animation, but the movie is quite good actually!Until I saw the credits running, I would never say that Mel Gibson was Rocky's voice. And I found the characters very, very expressive,specially in their facial expressions.

It was funny to see a reference to Braveheart in this movie, since I watched Mel Gibson's performance as William Wallace yesterday. (When Rocky says he's from "The land of the free, the home of the brave", Mac immediately says, "Scotland!" This is a reference to the Mel Gibson-directed film Braveheart)

The plot of the story is simple: The chicken from Tweedy's farm are horrified with the idea of becoming the next meal of the day. Ginger, the leader of all chickens,with the help of Mac, is always trying to scape from the farm with her ideas and plans. One day, she met Rocky, a rooster that apparently can fly and is escaping from his circus ' owner. They make a deal and she agrees to hide him if he helps all of the chickens to escape. Their relationship starts to progress, but the art of flying doesn't. And Mrs Twwedy starts to have more and more strange ideas of what to do with the chickens and make her profits higher...

aka "A Fuga das Galinhas" - Brazil

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9 out of 13 people found the following comment useful :-
Simply delightful viewing, 22 July 2000
Author: Bigspend from Houston, Tx

As an older gentleman with a rather refined taste in flim viewing, I was surprised by how absorbed I got in this elaborate cartoon-like feature. It's no mean trick to create rubber characters that you can really care about. My favorites were Mr & Mrs Tweedy -- especially the latter. Mrs Tweedy was the personification of evil (within the confines of a cartoon of course) and just a thoroughly interesting character. The sets were well done, especially the Stalag 17 camp image (notice the 17 on the meeting hut). Lots of British stereotype stuff which worked pretty well and kept my attention. Fast paced without becoming just another Roger Rabbit.

Recommended!

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11 out of 17 people found the following comment useful :-
One of the best animations I've seen, 29 December 2003

Author: TuomoH from Finland

Chicken Run comes from the creators of Wallace and Gromit, that should say it all already. The animation is set at a chicken farm (yeah, or a "concentration camp", I got it). Most of the chickens seem pleased with their lives - although you get your head chopped if you don't give enough eggs - but Ginger is determined to get away. When Rocky, a flying yankie rooster falls from the sky and gets his wing hurt, flight plans seem to get more realistic. In exchange of getting a hideaway from the circus Rocky comes from, he promises to teach the chicken to fly.

Visually, the movie is top notch. The fact that you know you're watching a wax animation in the days of CGI graphics makes things more interesting. The characters look familiar from the first moment if you've seen any Wallace and Gromit before (and if you haven't, you should). There are lots of little details everywhere and you can say that lots of hard work was put into this flick. And those little details (like the use of "human" objects such as spoons) make you chuckle. There's probably a lot more to see than catches the eye on the first viewing.

I laughed many times during the movie and on overall, the jokes suit the movie. Of course there are some cliched jokes and characters but that can (mostly) be forgiven because these are stupid chickens (or rats) after all! You get to laugh at the expense of yanks and britons alike, since Rocky is a big-mouthed boy from the States and the rooster of the farm is an old British officer. However, at the end you'll see that to accomplish something great you need the help of everyone involved.

The movie connections are probably multiple. I'm just not good at catching these things but that Indiana Jones action scene was hilarious. The humans are not seen much and they just seem a big threat to chickens but their actions don't make enough sense. When you think of the concentration camp theme, the analogy makes their actions more sensible. Or maybe I just shouldn't think of things like this when watching an animation about talking chickens. And, when you try to look at human actions from the view point of an animal, barely anything makes any sense anyway.

Anyway, Chicken Run is an entertaining movie to watch and since it's an animation, you don't have to care about the plot holes or other shortcomings. I gave this one an 8. One of the best animations I've seen. Recommended!

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6 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
A fowl love story., 15 June 2004

Author: Michael O'Keefe from Muskogee OK

This is a funny and touching comedic drama set on Mrs. Tweedy's(Miranda Richardson)chicken farm in 1950s England. Ginger(Julia Sawalha)the chicken and the other residents of the Yorkshire farm are tired of laying egg after egg with no reward or real future in sight. Mrs. Tweedy fed up with smaller and smaller profits decides to get rich with a mail order machine to put her and Mr. Tweedy(Tony Haygarth)in the chicken pot pie business.

Ginger has plan after plan of escape to fail. Then dropping in to the rescue is an American Rhode Island Red, Rocky the Rooster(Mel Gibson), to help build up confidence of getting off the farm. Rocky has everyone thinking he can fly, while actually he is an escapee of the circus where he is shot out of a cannon. You will find homage to two great escape movies "Stalag 17" and "The Great Escape" in this creation of directing writers Peter Lord and Nick Park.

Other featured voices are provided by: Benjamin Withrow, Lynn Ferguson, Phil Daniels and Jane Horrocks. If you have not yet seen CHICKEN RUN, shake a tail feather. Take the whole family for there is nothing foul about this fowl flick.

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