Chicken Run
A movie to crow about
By Christopher Welch

: : : Our Rating : : :

How do you pitch a movie about a bunch of talking chickens? What are the right words you have to use to keep you from getting laughed out of the producer's office? I would can only assume that two of the words they used were Mel, and Gibson. The fact that these words were also probably spoken by Academy Award winner, Nick Park creator of the British claymation films Wallace and Gromit, and Peter Lord, Park's partner in crime, probably helped a little as well.

For those of you who are not aware of Park, and Lord's other work, namely Wallace and Gromit, you are missing out on a wonderfully imaginative, highly inventive, hysterically funny, and wonderfully brilliant series of short films. Fortunately most people will get a chance to view these magic makers at work in Chicken Run, a film that takes all the wonderful traits of a the Wallace and Gromit movies, and puts them into an hour and half long feature film.

This film is virtually flawless. It has gorgeous character design, astounding stop animation work, splendid production design, witty writing, lots of homages to classic films, and some interesting subtext. This movie is one that will appeal to people of all ages, and sexes. Kids will like it, and adults will like it. Women will like it and men will too.

The only people who might not like it are people who have a thing against anything British, because like Wallace and Gromit this movie is very much so. That's one of the things I liked about it most was its uncompromising stance on the fact that this film is all about British people (or chickens in this case) and situations, and that the only American is a cocky guy who kind of helps out. It does all this though without being to heavy handed, so that anyone can enjoy it.

The only reason I didn't give this movie the highest rating is because it doesn't go quite as deep into emotional and psychological places that some movies will. I reserve the highest rating for films that I think are truly Academy Award worthy. Movies that really move me or touch me. Mind you I know that the makers of the film were never going for anything that deep, and that's fine. They wanted to dazzle people with their claymation, and make them laugh, and also give them characters and story you really care about. They succeeded in all these areas grandly. You will watch this movie, and be utterly delighted, and the cares of the world will evaporate for ninety minutes. What more can you ask? Who knows if the year keeps up like it has with the same mindless tripe. Several months from now as we move into Oscar time I could change my mind, and decide this film is just as worthy as some of the others. Either way this film is definitely a treasure amid the mindless tripe of most summer films, and one to be cherished at that.