A Blast to Watch

Rating: 10/10 (15 February 2018)

Outside of being the first full Claymation feature film, Chicken Run doesn't necessarily make of their characters or plot points particularly unique or innovative compared to other fiction movies. From a vague viewpoint, it keeps things pretty standard. However, everything the movie does it does well.
The movie starts with making the main conflict clear: the chickens want to escape; the farmers don't want them to escape. From the beginning, the protagonist and antagonist are established. As the film progresses, so does the tension and the complexity of the situation. A deuteragonist is established, the goals of the farmers change, etcetera. It all ends up building to the climax of the film, where they have to make their great escape.
Ginger is the protagonist; she is easily the most competent chicken and she's the one with the most determination to escape. She is selfless and wants freedom as much for the rest of the chickens as she does for herself.
Rocky is a deuteragonist with both protagonist and antagonist qualities - for the majority of the film he is trying to help the chickens on a face level, but in actuality he's lying about all of his accomplishments. Even though he could have escaped anytime he wanted, he didn't until the night before he would have been shown to the rest of the chickens as a phony. This shows that he liked the praise and feeling like he was helping, even if it was all a lie. By the end, he shows that his heart is in the right place by coming back and saving the day.
Mr. and Ms. Tweedy are the antagonists, with Ms. Tweedy playing as the main antagonist and Mr. Tweedy playing as a dumb sidekick. They try and build a machine to make chicken pies, which backfires on them greatly.
The editing in Chicken Run is very well done. The edits are seamless and there are many different perspectives and angles that all serve good purposes. Like most good editing goes, it's great because it keeps your attention focused by using various subtle techniques.
The script is well written. It blends humor with drama and adventure, and makes a prison break movie starring clay chickens something that's fun to invest your attention into. There is hilarity all throughout the film, whether it be the relationship between Ginger and Rocky, the relationship between Mr. and Ms. Tweedy, the entire existence of Babs, the visual references (Babs knitting a noose comes to mind), or the climax of the film, Chicken Run will keep you laughing throughout. Additionally, as the movie progresses you become legitimately attached to the characters. I found myself rooting for the main characters in this Claymation chicken film more than I have in many 'standard' movies.
With visual gags, solid humor, great editing and a wonderful Claymation art style, Chicken Run is overall a wonderful film. It does a great job at making the story clear and making the movie easy to follow, and it does an even better job of pulling the viewer in and making them interested in the story and the outcome. The Claymation is very well done, and they did a great job of making scenes that are very difficult to pull off look seamless and natural. Furthermore, they also did a great job of making the main characters noticeable from the rest of the chickens. Ginger wears a beanie, Rocky is a rooster, Babs has a unique hairstyle and is always knitting, etcetera. One could argue that it is a simple film, but I would say that it's not so easy to make a simple movie something truly enjoyable to watch. Chicken Run accomplished this and more, making a movie that is 90 minutes of pure fun.