Poultry In Motion

Rating: 10/10 (22 December 2001)

This movie was a sheer joy to watch the first time, so much so that I have watched it many times since. The magic it has, left a great impression on me. The creators of the famous Wallace and Gromit' series have made a real winner, a movie suitable for all ages, I guarantee it!
While the chickens on evil Mrs Tweedy's farm dream of a better life, a clever hen named Ginger is hatching plans to fly the coop  for good! The only problem is that chickens can't fly or can't they? Every escape attempt goes fowl until Rocky, a smooth talking All-American rooster, crash lands into the coop. It's hardly poultry in motion when Rocky attempts to teach Ginger and her fine feathered friends to fly but, with teamwork, determination and a little bit o' cluck, the fearless flock plots one last daring attempt in a spectacular bid for freedom!
Where do you start with this wonderful movie. Undoubtedly the story is fantastic. The people who thought up the wonderful script for Chicken Run deserve a round of applause, because it was great. A story about a coop of chickens trying to escape from an evil chicken farm was superb. In addition some of the quotes that were said throughout the film were hilarious, and make me laugh every time I watch it .
This leads me to the great performances by the voiceovers in Chicken Run. My favourite character would have to be Rocky the Rhode Island Red' Rooster, and his voice was supplied by Hollywood superstar Mel Gibson. He did such a great job as Rocky, and made me laugh many times. I recently saw Gibson in What women want, and no wonder they used his voice in this film, because Rocky and Gibson have the similar personality and traits. Rocky's entrance cry of Freedommm' is unforgettable. Yet other character such as chickens Ginger (Julia Sawalia), Fowler (Benjamin Whitrow), Babs (Jane Horrocks), Mac (Lynn Ferguson), The rats Nick (Timothy Spall) and Fetcher (Phil Daniels) and the Tweedy's (Miranda Richardson and Tony Haygarth) were all done to perfection. In fact, if Rocky was not in the film, then the Rats would be my favourites, with some of the silly things they say and do. Watch the credits right through, because there is an hilarious piece of dialogue between the two of them, which had me in stitches.
Yet this movies also deals with some very complex ideologies. Liberals would absolutely love this film for the references to freedom, the individual and being able to do whatever a person wants, or in this case what a chicken wants. The strongest characters with these traits would have to be Rocky and Ginger. Yet Conservatism also appears heavily in Chicken Run. The character of Fowler is very much stuck in his conservative ways, always referring to how it was done in his RAF days, his medals and traditional stories. Moreover, Mr Tweedy states to Mrs Tweedy that they can not give up egg farming, because of his previous generations doing the same tradition. However, socialism also appears in this movie. Socialists believe that people should live in a classless society, with everyone working together. Chicken Run also put this into practices, when the coop attempts the big escape, by working as a team.
The directors of Chicken Run, Nick Park and Peter Lord did a great job on Chicken Run, as did all the people behind the scenes. The people who made all the characters for this film did a wonderful job. Making this plasticine, into a real life character amazed me. In addition, learning that that 40 people worked individually on 2.5 seconds of frame work per day for two years, makes this film all the more of an achievement. Hopefully Lord and Park can make more movies like this one, because they did this one to perfection.
The soundtrack in this film was also very impressive. The musical tunes made the right impression at the right time, along with some great songs as well. Songs such as Flip Flop and Fly (Ellis Hall) and The Wanderer (Dion) fitted in nicely. The use of the song Flip Flop and Fly' was excellent.
So overall, Chicken Run can only be given praise. All the hard work done to bring to the movie to the big screen is enough in my book. Yet the story, the humour and the great voiceovers are all superb. I have read some comments about Chicken Run, saying that it is just for kids, I disagree whole heartedly.This is the sort of animation film that anyone can enjoy. Try not to be too critical of Chicken Run, instead enjoy the experience, because if you can not enjoy this film then you have no sense of humour in my view. People with DVD access, take a look at one impressive package.
Rating: 10/10 or 5 Eggs (it was eggcelent!)