directed by peter lord and nick park . screenplay by karey kirkpatrick , from a story by lord and park . starring julia sawalha , mel gibson , miranda richardson . running time : 84 minutes . rated g by the mfcb . reviewed on june 27th , 2000 . " chicken run " is the first full-length feature from nick park , creator of the popular " wallace and gromit " series of short films . like those movies , " chicken run " is done entirely in the claymation style of animation ( albeit far more advanced than those old rankin-bass christmas specials from the sixties that crop up on tv every december ) , and features a primarily british cast and setting . the result is a lovely family film , one which is sure to have tremendous appeal for the children while keeping the grown-ups quietly amused , as well . the tweedy chicken farm is home to hundreds of imprisoned chickens . some , like bunty ( imelda staunton ) , raf veteran fowler ( benjamin whitrow ) and dimwitted babs ( jane horrocks ) seem to accept their situation . others , like the feisty ginger ( julia sawalha from " absolutely fabulous " ) and scientific mac ( lynn ferguson ) are determined to escape . to this end , they devise numerous schemes of sometimes mindboggling complexity -- but every time , they meet with failure and are nabbed by the oafish mr tweedy ( tony haygarth ) . observes ginger , it's not enough that just one or two chickens escape -- she wants everyone to be free of the tweedys . then one day , rocky rhodes ( mel gibson ) , a smooth-talking flying rooster from america , lands in the chicken coop with an injured wing . he claims he can teach the chickens to fly , igniting ginger's hopes and dreams one more time . but the chickens' mission is given new urgency when profit-minded mrs tweedy ( miranda richardson ) , tired of making chickenfeed ( excuse the pun ) selling eggs , purchases a fearsome new pie-making machine . " chickens go in , pies come out , " she declares . " oooh , " says mr tweedy , " what kind of pies ? " visually , " chicken run " is a treat . it doesn't possess the same kind of awe-inspiring cinematography as the summer's previous kid-oriented picture , " dinosaur " , but rather allows the viewer to feast upon the details of its every frame . there's a lot going on in each scene of " chicken run " , and i was particularly impressed by how so many of the claymation puppets were given distinct mannerisms , like babs' constant knitting . claymation is a very different , more tactile style of animation than hand-drawn or computerised cartoons , giving the events an extra layer of reality , no matter how outlandish the goings-on . this is particularly effective in scenes like one where rocky and ginger are trapped in the bowels of the pie machine . the dangers are still comical but they feel more real , and the entire voyage through the contraption is all the more fascinating because of it . nowhere is this more true than in the movie's outstanding climax , a more thrilling and inventive ending than most films so far this year . you'll believe a chicken can fly . . . as it were . the voicework is generally accomplished , particularly amongst the british cast : mel gibson does a fine job as rocky , but he's clearly just playing a skewed version of his own public image here . the other artistes give their characters more personality , and as a result chickens like ginger and fowler come across as better-rounded individuals . indeed , the animals of " chicken run " are by and large more interesting than the humans in most other movies this summer ! richardson , meanwhile , finds just the right note as the fiendish but not too-exaggerated mrs tweedy . and horrocks is perhaps best of all as the simple-minded , put-upon mr tweedy , who is the only one aware that the chickens are plotting an escape ( " the chickens -- they've organised ! " he protests to his disbelieving wife ) . as a comedy , " chicken run " is funny , but i suspect children will get more laughs out of it than adults . certainly , i found the movie made me just smile more often than outright guffaw . that said , there are definitely elements intended for both age groups , and the screenplay by karey kirkpatrick slips in several references which only the grown-ups will get -- the chickens meet in hut 17 , for example , a sly reference to the world war ii internment movie " stalag 17 " , starring william holden . viewers should particularly keep an eye out for the cleverly-named nick and fetcher ( timothy spall from " topsy-turvy " and phil daniels ) , two rats who supply the chickens with merchandise -- for a price . this pair forms a hilarious double act , and steal virtually every scene they're in . be sure to stick around for their post-credits conversation . " chicken run " avoids the pitfall of many kids' movies by not being particularly preachy or heavy-handed in getting its message across . there's a lot of good stuff here , about teamwork and never giving up , but kirkpatrick doesn't belabor the point . he trusts that his audience is intelligent enough to figure these things out for themselves ; i wish other movies had this kind of faith . parents will also be glad to learn that , content-wise , " chicken run " should be suitable for just about any age . there are scenes of suspense ( like the aforementioned journey through the pie machine ) , but these are tempered with a lot of humor and shouldn't prove notably frightening . even scenes depicting the stark reality of the chicken farm -- a chicken who can no longer lay eggs is beheaded and cooked for dinner by the tweedys , for instance -- are handled in a careful manner that gets the idea across without being unnecessarily traumatising . " chicken run " is just what the box office needed amongst the tidal wave of big-budget summer actions flicks : a good-natured , funny movie that pretty much anyone can enjoy . well-written , well-acted and certainly well-made , " chicken run " may by the best family movie this year . copyright © 2000 shannon patrick sullivan . archived at the popcorn gallery , <a href= " http : //www . physics . mun . ca/~sps/movies/chickenrun . html " >http : //www . physics . mun . ca/~sps/movies/chickenrun . html</a> _______________________________________________________________________ / shannon patrick sullivan | " we are all in the gutter , but some of us \ | <a href= " mailto : shannon@mun . ca " >shannon@mun . ca</a> | are looking at the stars . " - oscar wilde | \___________________________|__________________________________________/ | popcorn gallery movie reviews www . physics . mun . ca/~sps/movies . html | | doctor who : a brief history of time ( travel ) /drwho . html | 
