Not the best from Aardman Animations, but still a likable cartoon, not just for kids

Rating: 7/10 (10 October 2008)

Released in 2000, this feature-length Aardman Animations effort came about half way in between the last Wallace & Gromit short and the stop-motion animated pair's first feature-length outing. I didn't see "Chicken Run" until 2005, not long before "Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" came into theatres. At that point, I had never seen anything else from Aardman Animations. Three years and a few months later, I've finally watched this film again, after seeing Wallace & Gromit's full-length movie three times, as well as some Wallace & Gromit shorts, and much of the "Angry Kid" series. Comparing the two full-length movies, I would say the 2005 Wallace & Gromit one is the superior of the two, but "Chicken Run" is still a fine accomplishment.
Ginger is a chicken who lives on a chicken farm in England. The farm is owned by Mr. and Mrs. Tweedy, a dysfunctional couple, and the chickens know that if they don't produce any eggs in a week, they will literally lose their heads! Ginger knows that the only way to save herself and the others on the farm from this fate is to escape, so she leads the rest of them in many attempts to do so, but never succeeds. It eventually looks hopeless, until an American rooster named Rocky comes flying over and crashing down on the farm! The chickens are convinced he can actually fly, and can help them escape by teaching them how to do so. It turns out that he is from the circus, so Ginger makes a deal with him. If he gives the chickens flight lessons, she will hide him whenever the circus people come looking for him. Unfortunately, Rocky may not be very reliable, and he and Ginger have trouble getting along. Another problem is that an elder rooster on the farm named Fowler isn't too fond of Rocky. Meanwhile, Mrs. Tweedy now has a chicken pie-making machine and intends to make pies out of every chicken on the farm, so they are now in even more danger!
The humour in this film may not be as consistent as it could have been, but without a doubt, it's still there. For example, the relationship between Mr. and Mrs. Tweedy is good for some laughs. Basically, Mr. Tweedy is a dimwitted farmer, married to a selfish, greedy, nasty woman, who sometimes insults him or gets a bit violent. Certain chickens can also be amusing at times, such as the airheaded Babs, with some of her lines (such as "I don't want to be a pie. I don't like gravy."), and so can Rocky. For the laughs, the film features a combination funny dialogue and slapstick. Not usually hilarious, but often amusing. To add to the entertainment value, not only is there humour, there's also some suspense, especially later on in the film, such as the pie machine sequence. There may be some dull moments in the film, but for the most part, it remains intriguing, sometimes with humour, sometimes with suspense, and sometimes both.
I haven't seen everything from Aardman Animations, but unlike the first time I saw this particular effort of theirs, I'm now familiar with some of their other work, and can't think of a time they've failed to impress me with their fine stop-motion animation, humour, adventure, etc. I think my second viewing of "Chicken Run" was pretty much like the first - not absolutely stunning, but pretty good nonetheless. Now that I'm familiar with Wallace & Gromit, two excellent, unforgettable, and very funny characters, I can say that maybe none of the characters in "Chicken Run" can quite match them, but some of them may come close. So, overall, this is an entertaining piece of animation which can appeal to many viewers, both kids and adults. It pretty much has everything that makes "Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" so entertaining; the animation, the humour, the adventure, and likable characters, except to a smaller degree.