Most helpful customer reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
THIS CHICKEN LAYS A GOLDEN EGG, May 11 2004
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!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not funny?, May 27 2004
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?
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Entertaining Film; Truly For All Ages!, Mar 23 2004
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
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|