In association with

Chicken Run [2000]
from Pathe Distribution
starring Mel Gibson, Julia Sawalha, Phil Daniels, Lynn Ferguson, Tony Haygarth
directed by Nick Park, Peter Lord

Features:

• Anamorphic
• PAL
• Widescreen

Editorial Review:

As warming as a nice cup of tea on a cloudy day, Chicken Run is that charming singularity, a commercially successful British family movie that has near-universal appeal without compromising its inherent British pluckiness (that will be the first and last poultry-pun in this review). It invites us into the Plasticine-world of Tweedy's farm, a far-from-free-range egg factory ruled with an axe of iron by greedy Mrs.Tweedy. One intrepid chicken, Ginger (voiced by Julia Sawalha) sets her sights on breaking out the whole flock, a cast of beautifully individuated chicken characters including ditsy Babs (voiced by Jane Horrocks), matronly Bunty (Imelda Staunton) and practical-minded Mac (Lynn Ferguson). Each effort is thwarted, and Ginger repeatedly reaps a spell in the coal bunker for her troubles, prompting the first of many allusions to The Great Escape, one of several World War II films name-checked throughout. (Grown-ups will have a ball playing Spot-the-Allusion Game here.) When an American rooster named Rocky (Mel Gibson) literally drops in from the air, the hens are set all a-flutter with excitement thinking he'll help teach them to fly away at last. But Rocky is not all he seems.

Although the action sags just a fraction around the 40-minute mark, it's the set pieces that really lift this into the realm of cartoon genius: the montage of inept flying attempts, Rocky and Ginger's narrow escape from Mrs Tweedy's new pie machine (an horrific contraption of chomping steel and industrial menace) and the magnificent, soaring climax. Despite the fact British animators (such as the directors, Nick Park and Peter Lord, themselves) regularly scoop Oscars for their short films, our record in full-feature length cartoons has been scrappy at best. There have been a few highlights--Animal Farm (1955), The Yellow Submarine (1968), Watership Down (1978)--and, er, that's about it really, unless you count The Magic Roundabout: Dougal and the Blue Cat. ChickenRun, made by the Aardman production house who produced the delightful Wallace and Gromit shorts among many other treats, has proved that Britain can compete with the most calculated, merchandised and screen-tested Disney production and win. --Leslie Felperin

Customer Reviews:

• Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0

• Chickens' Great Escape
  The chickens are tired of life on the farm, and fed up with being eaten when they get too old to produce eggs. They hatch various plans to escape , but none succeed. Then Rocky the Rooster (voiced by Mel Gibson) lands among them, and they think that he can fly and will help them to escape. But can he really fly?
  This film is very amusing and the children love it. I enjoy it too. I do however always find myself rather cynically wondering (at the end of the film, when they have escaped to their life of... more info

• A classic!
  I got this DVD for Christmas even though i have seen this film umpteen number of times. With most films i would hate it if i got it after watching it loads but no, it is very difficult to get bored of this film. There are funny little bits that sometimes you miss and then next time you will spot them and think 'Genious!' This film is now widely regarded as a classic and so it should be! It is great fun for all ages! The animation is fantastic, when you see films using animation this well you think what is... more info

• Video
  I watch this flim a few times. If you like Wallace and Gromit. You will like this flim. It is funny. My friends like this flim.

• Clucking Family Entertainment!
  From the "cracking" Wallace & Gromit animation artists, they have produced a new breed of film. CHICKEN RUN followes the classic tale of a young female chicken: Ginger, who dreams of escaping Mr. and Mrs. Tweedy's cruel farm.
  The chicken lay eggs, day in and day out, but when they cannot lay anymore they kill them, and Ginger needs a miracle to get to the land of hope and glory she has always dreamed of.
  Then, when an fired-out Circus rooster: Rocky, lands in on them in the farm, Ginger... more info

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