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Chicken Run

Chicken Run

List Price: $19.99
Your Price: $16.39
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: An Entertaining Film; Truly For All Ages!
Review: Peter Lord and Nick Park's CHICKEN RUN (2000) is truly a film for all ages. Produced by Mel Gibson, it is about how a stray American rooster, Rocky (voiced by Gibson himself) comes to the aid of a group of chickens at the sinister Tweedy Chicken Farm, who are trying to escape before they can be made into pies. On its surface, this story would appear to be rather simplistic; however, it is witty, funny, entertaining, intelligent and interesting. In short, it is everything that most G-rated animated films aren't today. Peter Lord and Nick Park, co-creators of the popular British Claymation "Wallace and Gromit" series, have outdone themselves in crafting a feature film that is both visually stunning and extremely well-written.

CHICKEN RUN makes use of numerous film references, especially from THE GREAT ESCAPE (1963), STALAG 17 (1953) and RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981). All are cleverly interwoven with the story. The vocal performances are excellent, especially from Julia Sawalha as Ginger (the hen leader), Jane Horrocks as Babs (Ginger's bubbleheaded best friend) and Miranda Richardson as the evil Mrs. Tweedy. If the names of the first two (and their voices) sound familiar to you, no doubt you'll recognize that they are Saffy and Bubble, respectively, from "Absolutely Fabulous"; arguably the greatest British comedy series of all time. As for the male voices in CHICKEN RUN: Tony Haygarth is hilarious as the dimwitted Mr. Tweedy, the always-great (and Mike Leigh favorite) Timothy Spall is the hapless Nick and, of course, Mel Gibson is funny and charming as Rocky 'The Flying Rooster'.

CHICKEN RUN has modern Claymation that is absolutely amazing compared to the old shows such as "Davey and Goliath" or "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" or "A Year without Santa Claus," etc. To cop a phrase, this isn't your dad's Claymation! Instead, it is a wonderful feast for eyes both young & old, with humor that adults can appreciate. This project started as a labor of love for all those involved, and turned into one of the best films of 2000.

MOST RECOMMENDED

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Oh, Mrs. Tweedy, you're soooooo evil!.......don't stop!
Review: Unlike my good friend Tom Zohar, (review below a bit) I'm mad about Chicken Run. Besides its endearing characters, cute, humorous and clever plotline, and exsquisite animation, Chicken Run has the first most lusciously evil female villain since....well, since a very long time! Mrs. Tweedy is of the mould which inspires idoltry - the sharp as nail eyes, the devious grin and disdainful sneer, the snap of her rubber gloves and the swish of her axe!

It's Mrs. Tweedy who makes the movie complete for me, but that doesn't mean it lacks in other aspects. Julia Swahla is delish as Ginger, the fearless hen leader determined to save herself and her feathered companions from ending up served in a pie, Mel Gibson is suitably cocky, and as we don't have to look at him, rather cute, as Rocky the 'Flying' Rooster and Jane Horrocks as Babs, the daft and eternally sweet chicken, comes close to stealing the show from Miranda Richardson's Mrs. Tweedy.

Apart from that, the story is light-hearted and fun, with plenty of jokes directed to the adult audience, a few cheeky nods at old escape movies, and beautiful stop-animation from the award winners who brought us Wallace and Grommit.

And I promise all Tweedy-Lovers - I WILL convince Tom of the error of his ways! ;)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: RUN FOR THE DVD!
Review: This is one of the best movies ever! Not only a good cast for the voices but CHICKEN RUN delivers a great 2 hours. PIXAR has delivered yet another great movie. This has a very good and matures storyline and youll cant help yourself laughing at times. From the makers of the excellent WALLACE AND GROMIT, CHICKEN RUN is a must see for everyone!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Chicken FUN!
Review: Last night, I was lucky enough to attend a sneak preview of this new adventure from Aardman Studios (makers of the "Wallace and Gromit" films), so let me be the first (but definitely not the last) to say that "Chicken Run" is simply the most delightful, visually amazing, and FUN animated movie since Disney's "The Lion King." Other studios (notably Warner Brothers) have tried to take a bite out of Disney's pie-share of the kid-movie market, but Aardman and Dreamworks have done it best in this charming, hilarious, and edge-of-your-seat thrilling animated fantasy about a group of hens trying to break out of a chicken farm. Running the farm with an evil eye and an iron ax are the villainous Mrs. Tweedie and her henpecked (literally) husband, who's sure those chickens are plotting escape. The voices are perfect, from Julia Sawalha and Jane Horrocks from "Absolutely Fabulous" as chickens to Mel Gibson as the "flying" rooster Rocky. I want to recommend that every parent take their kids to see this one: unlike many other recent cartoons, this one is completely suitable for all but the very youngest children (there's some tense moments in a chase at the end, and a little threatening to the chickens with an ax), but even better, this will delight and amuse the adults with its clever animation, perfect voice-casting, witty visual allusions to famous movies like "The Great Escape," "The Bridge over the River Kwai," and "Raiders of the Lost Ark," and Indiana Jones-type thrills that range from a chase inside a automatic chicken pie-making machine to a dramatic and climatic escape that is reminiscent of, but even improves on, the high-energy chase sequences of Aardman's "Wallace and Gromit" films. The moral lessons (you can succeed better with teamwork; stand by your friends) are pointed but gentle, without hitting kids over the head. I can't recommend this one highly enough, folks, whatever age you are. And if you head out of the theater and go eat a chicken pot pie, you have a much, much, harder heart than mine!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: THIS CHICKEN LAYS A GOLDEN EGG
Review: CHICKEN RUN is a delightful film, fun for both children and adults! The stop motion animation is brilliant and the characterizations and the voices that supplied them are superb! What is basically an animated poultrified GREAT ESCAPE comes across with laughter, touching sentimentality, and lots of wonderful vignettes. Julia Swahala and Jane Sherrocks (both from Absolutely Fabulous) are indeed absolutely fabulous in their roles. Sawahla's Ginger is the epitome of today's female action hero---brave, loyal, independent and a touch feisty! All of the hens are wonderful, and producers should be ashamed in not featuring them in the credits. Their names don't appear until the end and they go by so fast you can barely read it. These actors are wonderful and deserve more credit for the quality of this film. Its only "star", Mel Gibson, is dashingly heroic and fits Rocky to a tee. Tony Haygarth (so good in Frank Langella's Dracula) does great with Mr. Tweedy's role and Miranda Richardson as the evil Mrs. Tweedy is perfect. This film is lovingly made and has wonderful music, as well. Also, catch some references to other films, such as "Raiders of the Lost Ark" where the tumbling boulder is replaced by tumbling wingnuts, and catch Mrs. Tweedy's Cruella deville impression after she is bombed with gravy!
I loved this movie, it makes you feel good, and is excellent to boot! Don't miss out on this one!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: An animated masterpiece!
Review: Chicken Run

Score: 97/100

Chicken Run is not only the film that assures that the claymation way of filmmaking will never go out of style, but it puts Nick Park and Peter Lord as one of the top directors of our times, and they've only made 4 films, all which have managed easily to fit into my top 50! That is a pretty remarkable achievement for animated filmmaking.

Having been hopelessly repressed and facing eventual certain death at the chicken farm where they are held, Rocky the rooster (Mel Gibson) and Ginger the chicken (Julia Sawahla) decide to rebel against the evil Mr. and Mrs. Tweedy (Tony Haygarth and Miranda Richardson), the farm's owners. Rocky and Ginger lead their fellow chickens in a great escape from the murderous farmers and their farm of doom.

Acting wise, the film is excellent, a bunch of voice talents alone make the film worth seeing, Julia Sawalha and Mel Gibson bring their claymation chickens alive, and Lynn Ferguson uses her voicing expression awesomely as geeky chicken Mac. But here it is actually Absolutely Fabulous' Jane Horrock's that steals the show as the hilarious knitty witty chicken Babs, not to mention Miranda Richardson's delightful voice-over performance as an evil character. But it comes as no surprise that the brilliant clay chickens and stunning set-decoration over-take everything else that is excellent about the film, and everything about it is excellent.

An animated masterpiece, Chicken Run is witty, eye-catching and hugely enjoyable. A must-see!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Not funny?
Review: All those 1 star reviews claim that the movie was bad and not funny. Well, the first time was about to see it I thought it would be funny. It had quite a few funny moments but overall I got impression that it was rather sad (but optimistic). Then I realized that I liked it that way.
Technically, it is perfect, even in the era of 3D animated movies.
Chickens are not your prime target of any movies, but this is THE chicken movie to own. Funny and sad at the same time, if you think about it.

P.S: my usual comment for amazon reviewers. Before you claim that this or that movie is THE worst you ever saw, think twice. It might imply that you indeed have seen VERY few movies in your life, or that you are just talking bull. Can you seriously claim that a particular movie is the WORST movie you have ever seen? I don't know about you, but it would take me some serious thinking to come up with a SINGLE WORST movie I ever watched. Unless you are a Tibetian Monk, you probably did not think it through. It might be bad, but is it the worst?

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Good for everyone!!
Review: Kids love this movie for the talking chickens and their attempts to fly along with the creative rats...adults love this movie for the subtle humor and gentle jabs at other movie classics. If you are looking for a movie for all ages, this is one to fit the bill. And, it doesn't forget to examine the question, "Which came first?"

A real pleasure, with little (if anything) to offend.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The Chicken Or The Egg
Review: This film marked the smashing feature-debut of Aardman Animations, the Oscar-winning model-animation studio from Britain that specializes in "Claymation." Co-directors Nick Park and Peter Lord have eliminated the jerky motion traditionally associated with the process through the use of high-tech models and computer-aided filming methods; the painstaking methodology results in a triumph of a family film, seamlessly blending a sly script, intelligent pacing, memorable visuals, and joyful vocal performances by stars Mel Gibson, Miranda Richardson, and Julia Sawalha. The barometer of a successful "kids picture" is whether there are enough laughs to keep adults entertained, and Chicken Run is Grade A on all counts.

A box-office success, the film was also a triumph for the animation division of Dreamworks Pictures, the U.S. studio financing the project, which quickly re-upped with Aardman for another feature project.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Decent Entertainment
Review: Another one of those witty, clever and all-ages animation pictures (like "Toy Story" or "AntZ"), "Chicken Run" falls a bit short on expectations and doesn`t shine as it could and should. So the plot has multiple viewpoints and its interpretations can compare this to some situations in concentration camps, but for the most part this movie is lackluster. Yes, this animation style is creative and funny, but the story is entirely predictable and the characters aren`t really that memmorable or engaging.
There are some interesting and innovative scenes and a couple of hilarious lines enjoyable to both kids and adults, yet this picture could have been more ambitious and surprising. Overall this is worth a few genuine smiles and laughs, but it ends up being not too remarkable. A passable family entertainment, worth watching once.


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