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.
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