You forget they're chickens and think of them as living, passionate people

Rating: 10/10 (14 July 2000)

very minor spoilers - I talk about it passionately and in depth but trying to tease and delight, not spoil it for anyone. But if you don't want to know anything about it before seeing, SEE IT FIRST, then come back, read and add your comments.
CR has very intelligent dialogue, the BEST music in my 100+ film score collection, and the best special effects are the ones that contribute to the story instead of standing out by themselves. For all those who delight in the amazing 24 frames per second, sometimes 10 seconds per day filming (NOT to slight the filmmakers in any way!), I completely forgot about that a minute in to the film. The guy with a flashlight looked a little jerky in the first scene (intentional to remind the viewer?), but after that, Ginger especially showed powerful desperation, triumph, annoyance, anger and wistfulness. She became a real person, far more than this real world and I greatly wish I could join with her soul for a while. She's cute, she's determined, she never gave up even though numerous setbacks forced this team leader to cry, throw a fit at the fence, and hang her head.
She had a dream, imagined something that didn't exist yet, and overcoming impossible odds. Luck helped, and Rocky helped for her to see she and the other chickens could have FUN and we could laugh with them while not losing sight of...the dream. -But she has a good and strong heart, to not turn mean and angry in that place.- Babs survived by not knowing and not realizing, Bunty survived because she was pessimistic and accepting of her life most of the time, Fowler lived on past glories and keeping everyone in line even though no one really accepted him.
"Thank you Fowler."
Mac..Mac thought his way through. 'Scuse me, her way through. He survived by thinking about everything objectively, as a scientific problem rather than bucking against numerous variables and overbearing tyrants.
But Ginger is the leader, the dreamer. You can see her, rolling her eyes, laying down plans, using her hands a lot..staring death in the face with a indignant "Oh....great!"...looking adorable when she nods her head...and then shakes it back and forth, smiling slightly.
CR is a lot more for me than just a fun movie, and I didn't prove the point I set out to, that CR's also for kids. The few scoffers I see are convinced it's a Disney sing-along. "The effects are great, man, but Dinosaur's story sucked, so will Chicken Run." (I like Dinosaur for what it was, loving more the score and scenery than the dialogue, so you don't have to defend it.)
It seems to me that kids would get it, and all my adult friends save one who hasn't seen it, felt comfortable and awed.
CR is an excellent movie. Even if you hate its guts after seeing it, it's still worth the cinema ticket price and talking with a few friends. Go see it.
The chances of us getting out of here are a million to one. Then there's still a chance. Ginger
(I saw 0 negative reviews and 55 positive at RottenTomatoes)