Clever But Creepy

Rating: 6/10 (7 March 2001)

The claymation technique is creepy enough to begin with- to add on top of it a storyline centering on decapitation and the threat of it makes for one depressing little barnyard tale. The odd way that Mel Gibson has of jerking his head around on THE TONIGHT SHOW may have made him seem the ideal choice to play a rooster, but his voice is too deep and suave to suggest a bird. The basic chickenworld reality just doesn't come off as convincing or charming. But I still gave it a 6 because of the cleverness of the physical production, the endearing character of Babs, and a scene at the end which actually made me laugh harder than I've laughed at a movie since SPINAL TAP: one which pokes fun at the absurdity of the whole conceit of anthropomorphic chickens.