My Movie Review on Chicken Run
Happy Thanksgiving, my friends.
This is your friendly film, TV show, and episode reporter here, once again giving you all another review.
And today, for my second "Thanksgiving Treat" to you all, I'm gonna review "Chicken Run".
Here's the rundown of it:
Having been frequently abused by their owners, the Tweedys, a flock of chickens, lead by Ginger, decide to somehow escape from the farm in exchange for a life of peace and freedom. Every attempt, though, has ended without success.
However, right when things seem bleak for them, a rooster by the name of Rocky suddenly ends up in their presence. And apparently, he can fly!
With their hope renewed, Rocky is desperately asked to teach them how to fly, to which he reluctantly agrees. They will have to hurry, though, as the Tweedys have come up with a new way to make money off of the chickens.
Will the chickens achieve their freedom? Or will death be the only door for them to go through?
I wanted to review this film specifically because of the chickens. Every time I think of them, I can't help but think about Thanksgiving. I've been interested in reviewing a stop-motion film by Aardman for quite some time, so I figured this would be the perfect opportunity.
Even today, I find this movie to be absolutely splendid.
The direction and story by Phil Lord and Nick Park, and the screenplay by Karey Kirkpatrick, were all marvelously accomplished.
So many times, I couldn't help but find that the team was not only able to come up with a film that was fun, witty, and humorous, but they also took the time to make sure everything was full of heart, emotion, and drama. Even though prison break movies are obviously not uncommon, how Aardman was able to approach the concept while still making it accessible for all ages was something that I found to be immediately creative and original.
The overall humor was extremely funny and well-worked, if I may add. With Aardman being a company housed in England, I was astounded by its balance of American and European sense of humor, especially with how it was done in a way everyone can enjoy.
The animation was also something that I found to be instantly groundbreaking.
As a movie released in 2000, which was around the time computer animation and hand-drawn animation were still the most commonly used styles, "Chicken Run" as a stop-motion animated film was clearly a welcoming change of pace. It helped provide filmgoers with something different to see, and its success at the box office is a definite indicator that any kind of animation style can be used rather than just one or two specific styles. Every step of the way, I could also tell that the animators put a lot of hard work and passion in bringing this movie to life, and not just with the character animation either. To top it off, everything was well-worked and executed perfectly.
The music by John Powell and Harry Gregson-Williams was additionally astounding.
Not only were Powell and Williams able to create a score that was award-worthy, but their music perfectly reflected the emotions of the characters and matched every moment of the film! The music created for the climactic showdown between the chickens and Mrs. Tweedy as the plane was in the air is a definite example, because it captured the tension and high stakes that happened during that time.
Finally, the performances of the cast, the casting, characters, and character development were outstanding!
Each and every performer fit their characters like a glove, and they portrayed them so well you can say they were meant for their parts. The rats and chickens were memorable, funny, and loving; and the villains, especially Mrs. Tweedy, were quite intimidating and fun to watch. If I had to choose which cast members that I thought gave the most outstanding of performances, it would be Julie Sawalha as Ginger, Mel Gibson as Rocky, Benjamin Whitrow as Fowler, and Lynn Ferguson as Mac. Ginger and Rocky in particular had the most powerful character developments, and not just because of the romance forming between them either.
In conclusion, "Chicken Run" is one of the best animated films I've ever seen. It has an excellent story and sense of humor, the voice performances and characters were wonderful, everything! Aardman definitely knew how to make their feature film debut right, that's for sure.
So, I rate "Chicken Run" a complete five out of five stars.
I hope Aardman plays their cards right with their upcoming sequel, because I'm definitely pumped for it now.