Aardman's second-best production, after The Wrong Trousers

Rating: 7/10 (30 December 2016)

CHICKEN RUN is a pretty decent feature-length animation from Aardman, directed by WALLACE & GROMIT creator Nick Park. I found it only second to THE WRONG TROUSERS in terms of quality, as for the most part this is a funny, action-packed tale with a decent storyline and effective larger than life characters.
The story is about a bunch of chickens hoping to escape from a chicken farm and the American rooster that comes by and helps them. It doesn't sound like much on paper - your typical kid's production in fact - but in terms of execution this is a piece of visual excellence. I particularly loved all of the references to WW2 prisoner of war films, most notably THE GREAT ESCAPE, which alone kept me watching.
The story isn't too kiddified and some of the jokes are pleasingly mature. There's a little too much random slapstick but the American influence is low and the film has a strong British feel and sense of humour. The cast members acquit themselves very well with the material, and even shoehorned-in Mel Gibson is a fine choice for the lead. In the end, Nick Park's tireless work pays off here, and the result is that rarity: a modern-day children's film I can enjoy time and again.