A for effort, but 6 to 7 for rating

Rating: 7/10 (26 June 2000)

Chicken Run is a refreshing change of pace visually. And it doesn't take long to get past the clay-mation-like figures and see them as characters, not special effects. Where Chicken Run fell short was character development. While a few of the chickens had some personality, all of them (with the exception of Ginger) were so one-dimensional that really, if they didn't escape from the farm, it would have been OK with me.
Now, I realize how ridiculous it is to discuss character development for clay chickens. To be honest, I'm having trouble choosing the right words here. But when I left Chicken Run I felt right off that the movie had missed a chance to be an instant classic, and I have been pondering why.
It certainly isn't the special effects. They were interesting, almost endearing in their three-dimensional reality vs. the pathetic ( in my opinion) Pokeman-level animation that seems to be in vogue today.

It isn't the plot, which was cute and serious (deadly serious) at the same time. The chickens must escape or die. And the always dreaming Ginger keeps things moving with her constant attempts to escape and find someplace better for not just herself, but for the other chickens.
So what felt empty? To me, it was the character of the chickens themselves. Now, chickens don't have much depth, I know. But these were movie characters! They should pop out, make you identify with them even if they are clay chickens! But only Ginger (and the effectively profit-hungry and evil Mrs. Tweedle) created a presence. The other chickens has a one-dimensional personality that quickly grew predictable and tiresome.
For example, take the "stupid chicken" (I can't believe I am writing this). I forget her name ... Henrietta? She is always knitting and completely missing the point of anything. She never changed. Or take the old war veteran rooster. He is pompous and a bit lost and never changes, either. Even Rocky the rooster changed only in the most cliched of all ways ... coming back from his freedom to help Ginger and her pals escape. If any of these characters had shown some growth, it would have made for a better movie. It also could have used some funnier lines, though the general lack of pop culture jokes (oh sure, there were a few Star Trek lines) was a relief.
One other thing stuck out rather jarringly at the end. Without giving the plot away, Ginger seems surprised that the retired war veteran rooster can't fly a plane. Uh, he is a rooster. Ginger seems perfectly aware that human society is a bird of a different feather (a-hem) and has never seen a rooster or chicken fly anything. She's too smart to be blind as to believe that roosters flew human planes. That seemed weird to me.
Still, despite the predictable ending, Chicken Run was fun (well, the second half was much more lively than the first half; about 30 minutes into a 1:10 p.m. show my wife fell asleep) and so different than anything now out there. It also had a noble message about dreaming and improving ones life. Best of all, it wasn't Disney. For that reason alone, go see it.