Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible

Best movie ever!

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Not being familiar with the creators of Wallace and Gromit, and not knowing anything about Aardman Productions, the biggest surprise for me was that the story takes place in England with a hen house full of British chickens and an American interloper by way of the circus named Rocky Rhodes. I thought this was a fun picture with a quite noticeable plot familiar to movie fans who've seen "The Great Escape". I liked the RAF guy Fowler; if someone had thought of it, the connection to the RAF might have been translated as the Royal Air Fowl, but who's to second guess? I even noticed something of a tribute to the world of Star Trek when Mrs. Tweedy grabbed the string of lights dangling from the escape plane, and one of the chickens sounded the alarm by saying 'it's a cling-on Cap'n'. Non-Trekkies wouldn't catch the reference. All in all a colorful and action packed, family friendly animated feature that's sure to please. I always come by these flicks so much later after their original run, but was glad to catch it before it flew the coop altogether.

Chicken Run I have always enjoyed Claymation films and this movie is no exception. I appreciate the time and effort it took to make every scene of this movie. You must give the creators and artists credit for the love they must have had for this movie to be able to create this. One thing that I loved about this movie was how well sound was used. The sounds gave a very realistic feel to the film when in actuality it was a cartoon with a pretty unrealistic premise. I also thought the voice acting was very good and fit in well with the Claymation characters. This provided a good flow to the film. One thing that was very prominent in the film was cutting for continuity. One example of this is when Mr. Tweedy was building the pie machine. The film would cut to different parts of him building and repairing it to show the passage of time without taking time from the story that could be used elsewhere. I enjoyed the premise of the story too. It is very original and when it came out it had not been used very often. When I first watched this film when I was very young enjoyed its comedic elements and fast paced story. Watching it no, as an adult, I enjoy the humor of the jokes and many of the dramatic aspects that I did not quite pick up on as a child. I found that the fast paced story was very easy to follow but and kept the audience entertained, but it was not too fast as to feel rushed and incomplete. Chicken Run had a very Classical Paradigm in that its structure was very simple. This structure is very common in fiction movies and this is prime example. The story follows from the intro and introducing the film through the plot and finally to the climax and closing. One of my favorite scenes was when Rocky was in the pie making machine. In this scene a lot is going on. There is so much motion going on that you would think that you would become distracted and lose focus on the point but because of how it was filmed your eye is always drawn to Rocky and what he is doing. The story of this film may also be paralleled to the concentration camps of World War 2. The chickens representing the Jews and other captives and the Tweedys representing the Nazi's. As the chickens realize that the end is near they must find a way to escape from their oppressors. I believe that what the chickens felt during this film can be paralleled with the feelings of many of those who perished in the camps.

Chicken Run is, quite honestly, an egg-cellent work of comedy, and a movie that impressed me a lot more than I expected it to, and I highly recommend watching it if you haven't already. I don't like summary, but to talk about it I should probably at least outline the film: it takes place on a chicken farm that is portrayed as a prison from the view of the chickens, who make up the bulk of the characters in the film. The movie is about the chickens and their various attempts to escape. Ok, barebones summary out of the way, the movie does a bunch of things that blew me away and really impressed me. The first of these, and the most immediately apparent, is the visual style of the movie: it is entirely claymation. Now, the only times I had seen claymation used before, I...wasn't impressed with it. However, the way they do claymation in Chicken Run is amazing, in that it is simply so expressive and detailed. The love and hard work that the creators of the movie had poured into the clay figures was immediately apparent with how detailed they looked, in spite of their simple, cartoonish, looks--it honestly felt like I was watching a 3D version of one of the Saturday morning cartoons I watched as a kid. The amount of different poses, expressions, and even effects that the filmmakers were able to do astounded me, and honestly endeared me to this style of animation. Beyond that though, the thing that I loved most about this film--and the aspect of the film that makes it stand out as much as it does--is the STELLAR writing in the film. I went in expecting a simple movie that was clearly intended for kids, and as a result the movie took me for one hell of a ride. This movie had me scared, mad, and sobbing at various points throughout, and even more often had me tearing up in laughter--but even better, I was invested in what was happening, a lot more than I am with more recent films. And honestly, this was due to the writing. The characters in the film, some of them one-notes though they may be, honestly felt so articulate and alive at times, and this was emphasized by the stellar voice work (the accent work fit each and every character to a T). I found myself getting so engrossed in their plight, and rooting for their success the entire time, and it was absolutely fantastic. Hell, I even was invested in the romance between Ginger and Rocky, as out of place as a romance subplot was in this movie--and normally I loathe out-of-place romantic subplots. But the best part is that I felt each and every character was done right, even the one-notes. For example, the antagonists were written to work perfectly with each other, and despite being farmers as the villains, still struck me with fear. The bumbling, fumbling, dunderhead that was Mr. Tweedy was an excellently-written foil to the dastardly and diabolical Mrs. Tweedy, yet even in scenes where Mr. Tweedy was the only antagonist present, he still felt menacing--something I applaud, honestly. I was also endeared to the other characters; from the silliness of the hens to the military rigidity of Ginger's father, to the rats, who were simultaneously lovable and hateable, I found myself loving each and every one of them. The biggest praise that I can give to this movie, and the greatest testament I can provide that speaks to how good it is, is that even after watching it once I not only am able to applaud it so much, but also truly wish to applaud it. It is an excellent film, and I highly recommend it.

When I was a kid, I practically ate this movie up as a kid, and watching now as a teenager, it still holds up very well. I've always admired stop-motion, and Aardman has always been quite gifted in crafting delightful characters, worlds and stories through the media. In the case with this film (which is their first feature-length film funny enough), it centers around a pack of chickens in a farm trying to escape said farm and live a peaceful life away from the cruel farmers who want to cook them to earn bigger profits. Along the way, a rooster accidentally lands in the farm, and he teaches them how to fly to escape said farmers. The result is a funny, charming, beautiful and at times emotional POW story that does great service to the likes of The Great Escape.What's well contrasted about the chicken coup is that it also feels like a prison, creating a sense of terror and suspense for the chickens. Adding on to a well layered story, the jokes are very witty and add some spunk and charm to the characters. However, the film is also not afraid of getting dark, as whenever the farmers are near the chickens, you can only pray that those hens will get out of there alive. The attempts at sentimentality hit very well as we feel for the main hen Ginger and her goal to leave her horrid life and to get out and find a new home, something that many people stuck in horrible lives wish to fulfill.Most if not all the characters are just delightful. Ginger is the smartest of all the chickens, is always thinking up each plan, and while she does have her disagreements with Rocky the rooster, they do grow more fond of each other and it's very sweet whenever they bond. Speaking of Rocky, while his arch is the typical liar revealed story line you'd find in other films, he does grow a soft side for the hens and his snarky attitude only fits in to how charming he is. As for the other hens, they range from amusing and smart witted like Gabs and Mac to more stubborn like Bunty and Fowler, but that fits in to the contrasting views of what they can do to escape. Oh yeah, and the rats Nick and Fletcher are madly amusing and do help the chickens out, so they're good in my book.And then there's Mrs. Tweedy, the co-owner of the chicken farm and wife of the absent-minded albeit occasionally demanding Mr. Tweedy. She is so threatening from her appearance that whenever she's on screen, she gives me goosebumps. Add on her ferocious dogs and you've got a villain who will stop at nothing to get what she wants, and in this case, to turn all her chickens into pies to gain higher salaries...seriously, don't mess with Tweedy.Technical wise, this movie is marvelous. The sets look well detailed, the characters are in the usual simple yet amusing Aardman style, the effects are superb, and the flying scenes are just...stellar. Even though this was Aardman's first feature film, they went all out in crafting a great setting for where the film's core is, and they never hold back in giving the characters such unique and layered body expressions. Oh, and the gravy machine....pure masterpiece.And last but certainly not least, the music score. Harry-Gregson Williams and John Powell tangle with an upbeat lively score and a more suspenseful heist score that really add to the tension of each scene. There are many solid works in England when it comes to animation, and Chicken Run is no exception. While the liar revealed story and the occasional dodgy character play afloat, the film's solid animation, lovable cast of characters, well layered story, and charming score really make it a solid flick worth watching. If you have a kid of your own, pass this film on to them, and maybe then they'll have a favorite of theirs from their childhood that they'll stay forever attached to.