Not as funny as you'd want for adults but very enjoyable

Rating: Null/10 (5 October 2002)

In England a chicken farm appears normal on the outside but inside is a different story. Inside the chickens plan for escape, led by the fearless Ginger. However despite her best efforts she is continuously caught by the farmer. This changes when an American rooster flies into the compound and Ginger realises that he can teach them to fly out of the farm.
From the makers of Wallace and Gromit came this first feature which I was greatly looking forward to. W&G manage to be imaginative and hilarious without resorting to smutty humour to please the adults, they really did transcend ages. Chicken run takes the same approach but expands to 80 minutes or so. The plot is very clever  imagine The Great Escape set on a poultry farm and you've got it. The film isn't afraid to show the dark side of this life and it is quite obvious considering it's a kids film. It's moves nicely along with the energy covering the plot sagging a bit in the middle, however in terms of humour it is a little of a let down.
The jokes are mostly very good, whether it be funny movie references or the chickens falling around or being silly. However at 80 minutes the stretch marks do so and it isn't as consistent as I'd hoped it would be. That's not to say it's not funny (it is!) but minute for minute it doesn't match other Ardman films. The movie references are all good  from the Colditz Story, The Great Escape, Indiana Jones and a wonderful Braveheart joke that heralds Rocky's arrival.
The cast are good and really bring life to the animals. Sawalha is well cast as Ginger and Horrocks brings a lot of laughs as Babs. Gibson is pretty good as Rocky and sends himself up well despite wandering off in the middle for a bit. Daniels and Spall are good rats but I felt their jokes were weak and more could have been done with their characters. Richardson and Haygarth both hold well as the Tweedy's.
Overall this isn't as hilarious as I'd hoped but it was still very funny indeed. It is stronger for not being afraid to show it's dark side a little and the movie references only help to hold adult interest when the humour does slightly drop.