Charming, clever, but does it MEAN anything? It's cute but vapid.

Rating: 8/10 (25 June 2000)

No doubt at all that this is a masterpiece of animation. or at least a sub-species of animation. Clay and computers blend here for some smooth, convincing action. Some funny spots, even some mildly interesting ones-- but except for a few isolated highlights, the whole thing was a bit vapid. Kind of empty. I thought of it a bit like Jello (gelatin desert): It's colorful, it jiggles, it can have nice shapes, but after all of that, it's not much.
Contrast this movie with the recent family & kids' movie, "My Dog Skip." Even with its occasional contrivances, "My Dog Skip" was a real story about real people in real situations. Think of it as eating fresh strawberries. "Chicken Run," on the other hand, was like strawberry flavored Jello. Not a bad thing-- hey, I eat it!-- but not actually real, either. And therefore not actually satisfying.
For those who wonder if animation can be made into an engaging movie-- go and see "Titan A.E.," or either of the "Toy Story" movies or any number of other animated movies from Japan, Disney Studios, Warner Bros, and others-- there's lots of good stuff out there. In summary, "Chicken Run" was VERY well done technically, and it's moderately entertaining, but it left me craving more dramatic/comedic nourishment, too. For its technological skill, and semi-risky chances, I gave this a very generous 8 out of 10.