Feminists rejoice!

Rating: 10/10 (6 January 2004)

Chicken Run (2000) is a good film for kids. A female figure, a hen named Ginger, is the heroine. She organizes the hens in order to escape their prison. The two male chickens are fibbers and not as helpful as they at first appear to be. Ginger, however, manages to encourage them enough to make them useful. The roosters do their part to help save the day, along with all the hens, but they don't take over the operation. There are no princesses in this story, no helpless females awaiting a man's rescuing arms. There is some romance, but it is egalitarian and modern. No Victorian values here (George Lucas must hate this movie; in his version, the rooster would come in and single-handedly save the day). This film boasts great stop-motion animation by Wallace and Gromit creator Nick Parks. It is extremely funny and might just teach kids not only compassion for animals, but also that women can save the day. Loosely based on The Great Escape (1963), this film is not a mish-mash of clichés and poorly written dialogue. It is clever enough to entertain kids and their parents or babysitters.