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The most fun I ever had without Wallace & Gromit

When the owner of an egg farm grows impatient with the small profits her eggs are bringing, she and her husband decide to turn to the much more valuable chickens themselves, and begin converting their unassuming little farm into a much more lucrative chicken pie operation. The chickens, sensing that this can't possibly be good for their well being, heighten their attempts to escape.

One of the most eagerly anticipated films in the last few years, the debut feature from Nick Park (the creator of the beloved English claymation duo Wallace & Gromit) delivers on all counts. No, Wallace & Gromit themselves are not here, and this may be the film's only fault (along with a very slight feeling of claustrophobia), but there are plenty of new characters to meet and savor, mostly chickens (all good) and two humans (100% bad). From beginning to end, this little gem is filled with wisecracks, sight gags, and breathtaking action sequences including one nail-biting ride through the chicken pie machine very reminiscent of the final train chase of The Wrong Trousers.

Those familiar with Park's work know to expect an incredible attention to detail, which is astoundingly impressive since Park and crew still do it the old-fashioned way, 24 photographs per second, the same method Wladislaw Starewicz employed at the turn of the century. This results in an animation that isn't as smooth as, say, that found in Toy Story 2 (your eyes will notice the slight jerkiness right from the start), though in the end it's more rewarding, like the appreciation of the difference in quality between an Oriental rug made by a human as opposed to one made by a machine.

Better than I thought

Okay, when I saw the trailer in the theater for this movie I thought it would be beyond stupid. I ended up buying the DVD anyway because it was on sale and I collect DVD's. (Yes, I have a few DVD's that I don't like because of this). However, Chicken Run is not one of them. I was pleasantly surprised with this film and will most likely watch it
again sometime soon. Don't let the name steer you away from seeing this film. I thought it was a dumb title and thought it'd be a dumb movie. It's great, lots of good laughs. Mel Gibson made a surprisingly funny chicken. Trust me, take a chance with this one.

A little bit of everything

If you have ever seen a WWII prison movie, then you have the basic premise for this movie. Rather than soldiers, however, chickens are trying to escape the chicken farm. There are more than a few references to the war prison genre, like the film Stalag 17, but also references to Indiana Jones, Star Trek., and Saturday Night Fever.

The story centers on Tweedy's Chicken Farm, where a young, English chicken named Ginger, voiced by Julia Sawalha of Ab Fab fame, is trying to rally her compatriots to escaping. While on the farm, they come into contact with the American rooster, Rocky, voiced by Mel Gibson. Thinking that he can fly, Ginger implores him to teach the other chickens to fly so that they can literally flee the coop.

Along the way are the characters of Mr. Tweedy and the rats, which are always good for a laugh.

I would recommend watching this movie. It is good for a laugh. Watch carefully though, or you will miss the numerous references.

great!

I found this movie to be refreshingly funny. A rooster (voiced by Mel Gibson) "flies" into a barn, and the chickens there want him to teach them how to fly so they can escape the farm. It seems that the farmers want to turn them into chicken pot pies! The rooster agrees, and mayhem results.This was a terrific film, using its type of animation well and developing good dialogue.*** out of ****

If you've got dancing chickens, you've got entertainment.

This is a great movie on all levels, but especially for its amazing clamation. Even people unfamiliar with Wallace and Gromit (Nick Park's other plasticine stars and Oscar winners) will enjoy this. It starts a little slow, but just sit back, relax and wait for it to kick in to high gear. By the last half-hour you will be slumping over in your chair busting a gut. It's just so sweet, so well-written and so simply amazing to watch these animated creatures do their work. The humor slides from light to slapstick and, as with all good actors, these creations hit their marks. Their timing is perfect. What a delightful adventure to watch unfold on the screen.

I was so happy to see this film I wore my chicken costume to the movie!

Bawk! I, a chicken, loved this film! Everyone in the theatre cheered madly during the final escape sequence. The man sitting in front of me told his wife that they ought to at least eat turkey instead of chicken for dinner that evening. All the little kids loved my costume.I rented The Great Escape two days ago, just to get ready for this movie, and re-watched all the Wallace and Gromits. Chicken Run. Nick Park and Peter Lord claimed in their recent NPR/Fresh Air interview that there was no Steve McQueen character in Chicken Run, but Ginger certainly has a lot of his characteristics -- she's just as spunky, plucky (excuse the pun), and unstoppable as his character was in the Great Escape.This movie was so good I am going to make my parents go see it, my parents who never go to the movies. I took four co-workers, and they really loved it.Bawk! The Big Chicken has spoken. Chickens Rule!-carolep.s. As a resident of Rhode Island, I was quite happy to learn that Rocky is a Rhode Island Red!

Great movie

Mel Gibson can make any part good, but this movie is definitely a keeper. The DVD has got a great special features section, with a behind-the-scenes look at how they made the movie, and the chickens.

Pretty Good

As a big Wallace and Grommit fan, I eagerly awaited this chick flick. And the technique is exquisite. It starts off very well and ends in a burst of excitement. The only problem is that it may sag a little too much in the middle for young children (or old people like me). While the running time may be a little long (it would be worth paying full ticket price if it had been only an hour in length), causing it to drag at times, it nevertheless is a remarkable achievement whose pluses will invariably outweigh its piddling minuses.A word about some of the namby-pamby reviewers. We coddle our children too much. We're afraid they'll have nightmares. We shelter them from the idea that there's pain in the world. How many people remember the horror of Disney's "Snow White"? I was scared to death, seeing it as a kid, yet I'm perfectly normal. Sure, there's a chicken beheading, but it's necessary to make the threat of the Tweedys clear. Otherwise the obsession with escape doesn't make a lot of sense to the modern liberal mind, where sitting around, being fed by the owners (or government), even without freedom, is the goal. After all, the hens, for the most part, didn't know they weren't free; only one dreamer (Ginger) suspected there was more to life than what she'd always known. The same people who object to even the hint that one of the hens died a violent death probably don't object to exposing their kids to bad language and sexual stuff, blatant or innuendo. The execution is what makes the movie works, and children of all ages should see it.
Besides, it happens early on and they'll get over it. So get over it.

not for the kids (altho they'll love it too)

I've just seen it at a screening and all I can say is that Chicken Run really is just a beautiful peice of cinema. BUT it will suffer.....why? because its not a kids film. Not like Pokemon is. Kids won't want to see it - it has nothing to grab them immediately. Once they do see it, they will love it of course, as it has all that is good in kids cinema. But kids want marketing and consumer products - not actually great films. This is a great film - so treat yourself to a baby sitter and go and see it!

Really funny!!! Better than Wallace and gromit

I was looking forward to watching this and this is really funny. There were 2 things i didn't like in the film but its still a good film. 1. It had Mel Gibson init and everybody knows that he is a racist person who hates Jews. What did the Jews do to Mel Gibson! 2. I love animals and that is brutal how they kill the poor chicken.Story: great Characters: great Baddies: cool Ending: best Funny: really Dumb: no Escapes: average Music: 9/10Lots of parts are sad like the part where they knew that Rockey was not flying because he was in the circus. The funny parts is when there trying to escape but they get kicked back in but the girl chicken gets back to the bin. Those mice. I didn't know why they were there but they were funny too, i think they just wanted eggs or something. The baddies were gay but cool.

harmless fun

Enjoyable and cute comedy about a group of chickens who live on a farm, then must band together and escape before they become chicken pies. Delivers exactly what you would expect and more. Predictability is made up for by a terrific voice ensemble. 3/4

Great for Kids! Only cute for adults.

Overall, this movie is a cute little look into the hopes and dreams of a few animated chikens. A few good one-liners thoughout make it worth seeing.

real art, great satire, and many levels of interpretation

Hopefully they will not be binge eaters, but my kids just love this film and have watched it 30 times (at least). As I watch them watch it, I am fascinated at the many levels this can be seen on: as a concentration camp drama, as an ironic and hilarious drama on American bravado, and as just a great and funny story with deliciously delineated characters. This animated film maker is unique in that he is really serious about his art - wanting to do more than just make money - and uses a technique that many think is outmoded (claymation).

Warmly recommended. I never groan when my kids decide to put this on, as I even do with many disney films. This is superior filmmaking. Truly. Get it.

Pure imagination

Chicken Run is an excellent transfer of the brilliance of the Wallace and Gromit shorts to a feature length film. The technique is incredible; the faces of the "clay" chickens are more expressive than 90% of all actors. The vocal work is also expressive, and the chickens develop distinct personalities (it's a little distracting that they have lips and teeth, but who cares?). The writing should appeal to adults, with references to Indiana Jones, Stalag 17 and The Great Escape, among others; kids should love the intricate visuals and pure imagination of the screenplay. This is truly a film for all ages.

Get set for the newest nugget of absolute film-making brilliance from the guys who brought you the claymated man and dog buddy duo of Wallace & Gromit

The creators of Chicken Run! Also brought us, more recognizable to Americans, the Chevron talking cars. Directed by Nick Park and Peter Lord, it stars the voices of Julia Sawalha as Ginger the oxymoronically fearless chicken leader, Mel Gibson as Rocky the Flying Rooster, Jane Horrocks as Ginger's bungling friend, Babs, and Miranda Richardson as the diabolical Mrs. Tweedy, owner of the chicken farm. When Mrs. Tweedy hatches a plan to turn her under-achieving egg-layers into pot pies (complete with gravy and... MIXED VEGETABLES!), Ginger must muster the hens into escape mode. Unfortunately, it turns out to be a plumper task than she had anticipated, and it's up to Rocky -- straight out of the traveling circus -- to further inspire the break-out from the seemingly in-egg-scapable Tweedy's Farm!To fly right out of the coop, you're in for sheer entertainment! Combining elements of painfully meticulous clay animation (some 24 moved poses in one SECOND of film!), dynamite voicing by the ensemble cast, and one of the most hysterically well-written screenplays you'll experience this summer, Chicken Run will surely go down as a 2000 movie to remember. What's more, it's Rated G -- making this a joyride for the entire family. Not a whole lot of films that year could make that claim. So you're worried that it's rated G huh? You don't have to worry! In fact, adults could conceivably find it even more entertaining than kids. Think Aladdin; think The Lion King; think Beauty and the Beast; then think of all the fun YOU had while watching each of these. And though all of these films I mentioned are Disney, Dreamworks could very well be an integral part in the next evolutionary step in family entertainment. Though the Steven Spielberg/Jeffrey Katzenberg/David Geffen producing conglomerate has sponsored animated features before (The Prince of Egypt and Antz both in 1998, and last year's The Road to El Dorado), Chicken Run is so much more accessible, palatable, and just unadulterated fun than its predecessors.Is there anything not to like about Chicken Run? There is so little, I have trouble even mentioning it. But then again, it is my job to be thorough. With that said, the story did tend to lull around the middle, but only somewhat. If you start feeling bored in places, do me a favor: Take a look at it from a different angle and admire the technical work that went into those characters. If you're not amazed by that, then very little will thrill you.And for you movie buffs out there, let me add to your entertainment dollar if I may -- play the "How Many Movie References Can I Spot?" game. First off, since the film is essentially about breaking out of captivity, expect to see homages/references to just about every great prison escape movie out there. Scenes are staged and shot with an uncanny sense of detail to make you sit up and say, "OH! That's from, that's from...." But the allusions don't stop with prison movies. If you somehow manage to hear most of the dialogue through the laughter, you may catch a few things that even the most seasoned film buff will miss, and you'll pat yourself on the back for it without feeling the least bit of conceit!It's the multi-tiered grade A quality that makes the movie one of the most well-rounded films out there right now -- a rarity coming from a major studio these days. Run out and enjoy the chickens!

Good Starting...

This is my first purchase from Amazon.com. I find it its a great experience for me and the time is pretty fast. The quality of the DVD purcahsed is good.

A great film

"Chicken Run" is a great film, but it has i's weaknesses. The "clay animation, for example, is a bit faulty. The story is great, and the voice actors/actresses put a great performance on, especially Mel Gibson, who is really the only actor of the lot that I'm familiar with. **Minor spoiler ahead** Gibson plays Rocky, a cocky American rooster who wants freedom from the circus, and crash-lands into a chicken farm,complete with 50 or so chickens. Plus, a British cock who talks likehe's still in the Army. The chickens are basically tortured into laying eggs by the Tweety's, who's farm is going downhill. Mrs. Tweety gets equipment to turn "those stupid creatures" into pies. Mr. Tweety is incredibly stupid, bu ends up being the smarter one of the two. Ginger is the leader of the chickens, and she helps the chickens fly for freedom. "Chicken Run" is a classic example of a fun movie. I would recommend it for people who love good comedy. My Score: 8/10.

This fan of animation didn't like it at all!

I loved Monsters, Inc. Toy Story 1 and 2, Beauty and the Beast, Lilo & Stitch; but hated this movie. I actually gave up after about an hour. The animation is great; it's neat that the characters are British. I thought it was overdone to make the chicken farm into a prison camp. I did expect this to be a good film. I just didn't enjoy it. The appearance of Mel Gibson's rooster character made Chicken Run more interesting. There were some funny parts. But overall I just didn't care if all the chickens got slaughtered. I seem to be in the minority here though.

Good, but...

Yes, it was good but I came away a little disappointed. I thought the voice of Mel Gibson was a little miscast; more of a Tom Hanks would have been better. Yes, there were some clever visual gags - but think how many years this took to put together - I expected more (The Wrong Trousers for example was bursting with originality). Maybe this was the fault of the full-length format. Maybe a bit more 'veggie' irony also (for example in Babe). I also found I didn't care whether the chickens went into the mincer or not!! All in all, I'll give it 7/10.

Excellent movie for both adults and children

Wow! As a fan of the Wallace and Gromit animations, I had high expectations for this film. I was not disappointed. Nick Park and Peter Lord have created an ideal film for both adults and children. This film has both dramatic and comedic elements clearly intended to be appreciated by adults, along with plenty of references to classic POW films such as The Great Escape and Stalag 17 (and even some Star Trek references toward the end.) For the children, there are the talking chickens and rats, and plenty of slapstick comedy and action sequences to keep them glued to their seats (this I know for certain, as I took my 4-year-old nephew Evan and eight-year-old niece Lauren, and even my normally-squirming nephew sat mesmerized during the final escape sequence.) Even the one bit likely to scare small children (one of the chickens is taken to the chopping block) takes place mostly off-camera, and neither my niece nor my nephew seemed bothered by it.If you're not familiar with Nick Park's other work, see this movie and then go find his Wallace and Gromit animations. If you're at all squeamish about seeing a 'G' rated film, borrow some kids and take them to see it. But by all means see this film -- we need to encourage the development of more quality films for children (as well as adults) such as this one!Rating: 9 out of 10