Chicken Run

Rating:
Summary: Chicken Pies
Review: The chickens of Coop 17 have tried so many plans to get out of the Tweedy's farm. But when they think their hopes have faded, they just found the opportunity to get out. Why not fly? Rocky is going to teach them, when he really doesn't know how to fly, he has just been shot out of a cannon. With hilarious lines and great laughs, this is a erfect family film. So buy it at your earliest convinience.

Rating:
Summary: Quirky, smart, FUNNY!
Review: This highly original movie kept me laughing practically nonstop. When I wasn't laughing, I was in jaw-dropped suspense as the plot deepened. There is a lot more here than some might expect from animated film. But if you are the kind of person who finds The Muppet Show even better now that you are older and wiser and can catch the sly puns, references and innuendo, you'll love Chicken Run!

Rating:
Summary: My Two-Year-Old Loves It
Review: There are not many movies out there that can equally entertain thirty-somethings and toddlers, but this one does! Grab your popcorn and get ready for pure, wholesome family fun.

Rating:
Summary: One of the most original movies I've ever seen
Review: I love this movie. Not only is it exciting, hysterically funny and totally original, it helped me get in touch with my inner chicken. Ginger is my new heroine. Julia Sawalha's voice captured Ginger's personality, warmth, intelligence and "humanity" perfectly. Her initial escape attempts are perfect satirizations of "The Great Escape", right down to throwing the baseball against the wall while in the "cooler". I also appreciated the serious undertone of death that hung over the movie. We saw that the threat is real and that added to the urgency. I also loved the big dance number, the fact that the other chickens had distinct personalities, and that the Tweety's were terrific villians. This movie also proved that chickens do indeed have lips... and teeth! And how expressive those teeth are. And listen closely at the end to rats' variation on what came first: the chicken or the egg. VERY funny. I want to see another movie with these characters. I want to know what happens next.

Rating:
Summary: The wonders of clay
Review: I'll admit I almost became a vegetarian after witnessing those poor yet engaging chickens starring in the excellent (yes, I decided against the bad pun, EGG-cellent) movie "Chicken Run." I think I was expecting something brainless yet less offensive than the other fare when I chose this movie, but I'm glad I did. It's only fair that I say one of the major appeals of this movie was it's spoofing of "The Great Escape," one of my favorite WWII movies. However, even if I had never seen that classic, "Chicken Run" would have been highly appealing. Clay animation, quality clay animation is under-represented. Visually, this movie was astounding. The humor was appropriate for all levels of comprehension, without boring an adult audience. In fact, an adult might find this movie far more amusing than a child, but let's not deprive anyone of the priveldge of seeing this film. The voices were very well chosen (I love the accents), including a surprising Mel Gibson. One reason I enjoyed this movie was because I did not immediately recognize a voice and associate it with the person, as happens when celebrities provide the voices for other animated films. In this, the voice was that of the character, which kept my distractions down. The plot was really very original, despite the spoof quality. Overall, GREAT movie... and I can't wait to see what they come up with next.

Rating:
Summary: Yet Another Clay Classic By Nick Park & Co.
Review: If you are not familiar with Nick Park's "Wallace & Gromit" short films, shame on you! BUY THEM NOW! Okay. With that out of the way, on to "Chicken Run," Aardman Animations' first full-length feature film starring Mel Gibson and a cast of hundreds of clay chickens with toothy grins that would make any used-car salesman uneasy. This is "The Great Escape" and "Stalag 17" done in clay form, and Nick Park is certainly up to the challenge. His way with clay seems so ingrained that you'd halfway expect him to have clay for blood. (Someone check on that, please.) "Chicken Run" is delightfully technical, but easy to follow, a marvel to watch, and ultimately worthy of your money.

Rating:
Summary: BEST ANIMATION FILM FOR **GROWNUPS** (!) IN YEARS
Review: Oddly, CHICKEN RUN has been mainly marketed for children. This sophisticated barnyard action-adventure film can no doubt delight a child. But adults will get even more out of it. The story, dialogue, animation and prominent off screen actors are terrific.

Ginger (Julia Sawalha's voice) is a fiesty English hen who has been plotting to escape from the Tweedy Chicken Farm. She can't stand the oppressively "de-chickenizing" working conditions. The wickedly, bottom-line obsessed Mrs. Tweedy (Miranda Richardson) literally makes fried chicken our of "anyone" who is not effcicient and productive. The product is eggs. But soon the egg market takes a hit and profits fall. Wicked Mrs. Tweedy decides to turn the farm into a factory that produces chicken-pie!

Now Ginger must get out or else get put into a pie. Then the devil-may-care circus American Flying Rooster (Mel Gibson's voice) urges the chickens to escape by flying out to safety. Rooster will teach them to fly. And so it is a matter of the two ringleaders succeeding against all odds to save their fellow foul.

The animation is an amazing dazzling feast for the eye. Directors Peter Lord and Nick Park skillfully take the audience through this feathery adventure, managing with excellent and witty dialogue to keep our interest up from beginning to end. There is no doubt that children will love it. But I expect adults to love it even more. This is one of those rare, gripping action-adventure [without SEX and VIOLENCE!] that children and grownups can enjoy together. Wow ... what a novel idea.

This extraordinarily well made animated film is highly recommended for all viewers ... but they must be accompanied by a child!

Rating:
Summary: Great movie for parents and kids!
Review: Great FAMILY movie. Mom and Dad will love it as much as the kids! My children( 5/8) saw it twice in the theater and can't wait to see it again. I feel the same- it is a wonderful movie to share with your family. Buy it- you won't be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: It ain't no Chick Flick
Review: This is a wonderful movie. The only problem I have with it is it's marketting. It is not intended as a Kid's Movie, Yes kids will enjoy it, but it's so much more. I think it' actually would have down better with a more serious campaign etc. but that's just my opinion, it is a great movie.

Rating:
Summary: Aardman Animations' got the world at their feathertips!
Review: Back in 1995, disney release "Toy Story" from PIXAR, an independently operated digital film house, and the success of the after features brought joy and fame to the once small company. Almost taking a cue from this, Jeffrey Kahtzenberg of Dreamworks SKG struck a deal with Aardman animations (the guys who are best known for Nick Park's "Wallace and Gromit" shorts). The first of their deals was the film you are reading a review for: Chicken Run! Chicken Run is undoubtedly the coolest stop-motion film that runs completely without live-action cuts since "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas." The story involves a hen named Ginger, who is not content with her current predicament of laying eggs, and then when her supposed use will end, she'll be headed for the "chopping block." Wanting to escape, but finding her plans foiled everytime by the farmer Mr. Tweedy, Ginger finds hope in Rocky, an American rooster who oe day comes flying over the chicken wire, and through some "wing-twisting," says he'll help the girls to escape (but even HE doesn't know how he'll do it). Things are getting even more tedious as the hard-nosed Malicia Tweedy (Mr. Tweedy's wife and supposed lord and master of the farm), decides that she can make more money off the chickens by getting into the "Chicken Pie" business. now, it's a race against time as the plan has to be put into effect. Aardman gives us some very determined characters, in the form of Ginger(the only oe who really cares whether the others live or die really), and also the background ensemble is good too. From the bespectacled Mac(a hen who calculates like mad and speaks faster can be deciphered) to Babs (a wide-hen who is usually the source of many of chicken run's jokes, usually wondering about "going on holiday"). The directors Nick Park and Peter Lord were constantly at work on this film, and their detail and care proves how incredibly real they made it look: fro the scale of the chickens compared to the Tweedys, and all the way up to the grand design of the dastardly pie machine. Probably the most profitable animated feature this year (2000), I'd recommend it for everyone: it's got gags that will fit all age groups. As of now, Aardman has begun preproduction for "The Tortoise and the Hare, and after that, they'll bring Wallace and Gromit to the big screen.