A Stroke of Genius

Rating: 9/10 (16 October 2002)

On the surface, this is a simple children's movie. It has a wonderful theme. Never give up hope on your dreams. You have your typical chicken jokes and some action. Now look under the surface. This movie is a very clever homage to the World War II escape movies. I strongly recommend watching Stalag 17 and The Great Escape before viewing this movie. The jokes and sight gags coming from those two movies are too numerous to count and will keep you laughing throughout. Near the end, it even tips its hat to the original Star Trek. Between Chicken Run and Shrek, Dreamworks has certainly come up with some children's movies that will appeal to adults on entirely new level.