A marvelous and entertaining "clay-mation" film for young and old alike.

Rating: Null/10 (26 November 2000)

For the theme of "Chicken Run" think "Nazi prison camp" and films like "Great Escape" and "Stalag 17." The chickens are prisoners in the chicken farm, and all but one of them gives no thought to the fact that as soon as a hen quits laying eggs, she will become dinner for the owners.
But "Ginger" is different. She sees what is going on, and is constantly trying to devise escape plans. Each time she gets caught, she gets thrown into the coal bin, solitary confinement, then back to the other chickens.
Some mild SPOILERS follow. The film takes a dramatic new direction when a young rooster, voiced by Mel Gibson, "flies" into the chicken yard. believing he really can teach all of them how to fly, they all go into a training program. Meanwhile, the owners get tired of their meager profits from eggs, and buy a humongous machine to make "chicken pies."
Aside from Mel Gibson, all the voices are by accomplished British actors, and are all just perfect. The British accents, and the fine British humor in the script, make this a totally enjoyable film. The "chase" scene inside the pie-making machine, and the high level of action in the "airplane" scene are just great.
I have the DVD. Aside from the expected great picture and surround sound, the "extras" are quite entertaining. Especially the "making of" which shows exactly how the clay-mation is done. Example - during character dialog, a different head is substituted for each successive frame to accomplish the correct mouth shapes. Also, an animator normally turns out 60 frames, or 2 1/2 seconds, of animation daily.
I rate this "8" of 10, which is about the highest I give for an animated film which is also how I rate "A Bug's Life" and "Toy Story 2".