Chicken Run

In my last review I mentioned I would review this movie and now it is time. From the makers of Wallace and Gromit behold one of the movies I regret leaving off my Top Ten Family Movies list, Chicken Run. Now that the overblown intro is out of the way let's start.

I thought hens didn't have teeth?

We open on a farm called Mrs. Tweedy's Bird Farm. A hen named Ginger (Julia Sawalha) is trying to escape but keeps getting stopped by Mrs. Tweedy (Miranda Richardson) and her husband Mr. Tweedy (Tony Haygarth). Ginger and her friends try everything. After Mrs. Tweedy finishes counting them Ginger and her friend Mac (Lynn Ferguson) come up with a plan to go over the fence. That idea doesn't go over so well with the other hens. Meanwhile Mrs. Tweedy realizes that egg farming is only turning on small profits so she  buys a odd machine she sees in an ad that claims it can turn chickens into pie. Ginger is sitting on the roof of the hen house when a rooster named Rocky (Mel Gibson) fly's in.

While landing he breaks his wing. The hens take him to the hen house and hide him from Mrs. Tweedy. Ginger asks Rocky to teach the hens to fly. Rocky says yes. He starts training them but it seems to go nowhere. Meanwhile Mrs. Tweedy finally gets the machine she ordered. The next day Mrs. Tweedy counts the hens and finds out that a hen named Babs (Jane Horrocks) hasn't laid any eggs. But rather than turning her into a thanksgiving dinner she just measures her and tells Mr. Tweedy to feed the hens more.That night it appears that Rocky's broken wing has healed. Eventually Ginger decides to go check out the machine for herself. But she gets caught and tossed into the pie machine. So Rocky makes it into the barn and climbs into the pie machine. Rocky saves Ginger and Ginger sabotages the machine. The next day is the day Rocky is supposed to give a flying demonstration.

          ***SPOILER ALERT STOP HERE IF YOU DON'T WANT THE END RUINED***

 But when the next day comes Ginger goes to check on him, but he is gone and Ginger finds a piece of paper saying that when he flew in he was just fired out of a cannon at a circus. So with Rocky gone everyone starts turning agents each other. But Ginger convinces them to try and escape by building a plane. They hire two rats named Fetcher (Phil Daniels) and Nick (Timothy Spall) to get all the stuff they need. They build the airplane and Rocky comes back. They are about to escape but Mrs. Tweedy grabs onto the plane they made. Ginger and Mrs Tweedy have a final fight and Ginger wins. They sail away in the plane and go to live in a bird sanctuary. The End


                                       ***SPOILERS OVER KEEP READING***

Chicken run is a stop motion spectacular. The animation is very nice and the characters are memorable. The two rats and the character Babs are very funny. But it never becomes too cutsie and it takes it self seriously despite its silly premise. This is some of the best work of Aardman Animation and I am glad to have seen it. See you next time.

I CAN'T TELL IF THIS IS BLOOD OR KETCHUP. EITHER WAY WERE EATING GOOD.