Chicken Run 284525 223796260 2008-07-05T21:16:03Z Aumnamahashiva 4594714 text {{Infobox Film | show_name = Chicken Run | image = Chicken Run poster.jpg| caption = Film poster for ''Chicken Run'' | director = [[Peter Lord]] <br> [[Nick Park]] | writer = [[Peter Lord]] <br> [[Nick Park]] <br> [[Karey Kirkpatrick]] | starring = [[Mel Gibson]] <br> [[Julia Sawalha]]<br>[[Miranda Richardson]] <br> [[Benjamin Whitrow]] <br> [[Timothy Spall]] <br> [[Phil Daniels]] <br> [[Jane Horrocks]] <br> [[Tony Haygarth]] | producer = [[Nick Park]] <br> [[Peter Lord]] <br> [[David Sproxton]] | music = [[Harry Gregson-Williams]] and [[John Powell]] | distributor = [[Pathé]] (Europe)<br>[[DreamWorks]] (North America) | released = [[June 23]], [[2000]] | runtime = 84 min | country = [[Image:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg|25px]] [[United Kingdom]] | language = [[English language|English]] | budget = £22,850,000 GB<br />$44,350,000 US (est.) | amg_id = 1:186748| imdb_id = 0120630 | }} {{dablink|This article is about the movie. A '''chicken run''' is also an enclosed yard for keeping [[poultry]].}} '''''Chicken Run''''' is a [[2000]] [[stop-motion animation]] [[United Kingdom|British]] film made by the [[Aardman Animations]] studios (which produced the [[Academy Awards|Oscar]]-winning [[Wallace and Gromit]] films). ==Background== ''Chicken Run'' tells the humorous story of a band of [[chicken]]s who seek to escape from their coop before their owners, the dim-witted egg farmer, Mr Tweedy, and his greedy, overbearing wife Mrs Tweedy, turn them all into chicken pies, as she is not making enough money by selling eggs. The star roles in the film are those of Ginger (voiced by [[Julia Sawalha]]), a hen who has absolute faith that the chickens can fly out of the coop if only they train hard enough, and Rocky Rhodes (voiced by [[Mel Gibson]]), a rooster whom Ginger believes can fly, but actually got shot out of a cannon, which was how he "flew" to the farm. Mrs. Tweedy (voiced by [[Miranda Richardson]]) is the nefarious, grasping farm wife whose exasperation at low profits from egg sales leads her to reinvent her farm as a [[Pot pie|chicken pie]] factory, while her husband does all he can to prevent the chickens from (as he rightly believes they are) escaping. The film proved a success with both children and adults, and showed that [[Peter Lord]] and [[Nick Park]] had the ability to handle the technical and writing challenges posed by a feature film, and thereby serving as a test bed for the 2005 movie outing for Wallace and Gromit, ''[[Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit|The Curse of the Were-Rabbit]]''. ==Soundtrack== ''Chicken Run'' featured only 5 songs. The only important music in the film was its score by [[John Powell]] & [[Harry Gregson-Williams]], who would next work on [[Shrek]]. Its soundtrack article can be found on [[Chicken Run (soundtrack)|The Chicken Run Soundtrack]]. Strong themes present in [[John Powell]] & [[Harry Gregson-Williams]]'s score, cleverly injected just the right amount of whimsy and wit, according to several critics. The soundtrack clearly payed homage to the classic WWII movie themes; kazoos and whistling are added for comical and authentic effect. Generally, the soundtrack for this particular film has been regarded as a bombastically energetic approach to light-hearted film composing. Nevertheless, it is of the opinion of many people within the film industry that the brassy, punchy and varied score of ''Chicken Run'' was a success in the feature-length film. == Plot == The film opens in a battery farm for chickens somewhere in [[Lancashire]], [[England]]. The dull-witted farmer, Mr. Tweedy, is on his watch with his dogs checking the locks, while a small group of chickens stealthily attempt to escape from the enclosure (by means of digging under the fence with a stainless-steel spoon). Unfortunately, Tweedy finds out what the chickens are up to behind his back, and a lone chicken, Ginger, the ringleader, is captured and thrown in a coal bunker, while Tweedy snarls to Ginger's other friends that "No chicken escapes from Tweedy's farm!" The farm is run by Mr. Tweedy's wife Melisha. Whenever Mr. Tweedy tells her that the chickens are smarter and 'organized', Mrs. Tweedy doesn't believe him. Day and night pass by and the farmer takes the eggs while his nefarious, power-hungry, greedy wife checks progress. All the while, Ginger makes new plans to escape which all end in failure. The end of the titles show Ginger bouncing a sprout in the coal bunker (this is an obvious reference to [[Steve McQueen]] as Hilts, the Cooler King bouncing his [[baseball]] in the [[solitary confinement|cooler]] for the movie [[The Great Escape]]). A new day begins and all the chickens stand for [[roll call]] while Fowler, an elderly rooster and the camp's (presumably self-appointed) senior officer, babbles on about "his old [[Royal Air Force|RAF]] days". Mrs. Tweedy checks all the chickens, marking down the eggs they have laid. One chicken, Edwina, hasn't laid any in a week and is taken inside a shed by Mr. Tweedy to be killed. Ginger prepares a new plan to go over the fence, calling in two rats, Nick and Fetcher, to sneak in new supplies. Inside the house, the humans have eaten Edwina, and Mrs. Tweedy angrily looks over the amount of eggs, wanting a new way to make money instead of making minuscule profits. An ad catches her eye about a giant pie machine, with a small cartoon character shouting "I'M RICH!". Mr. Tweedy is keeping watch outside and suspects the chickens' plot, however Mrs. Tweedy tells him that all of this notion of the escaping chickens is all in his head. The idea about going over the fence doesn't go well, but Ginger reminds them about Edwina and tells them that life is better outside the farm. Outside, a huge blast is heard, and a rooster flies over the fence and crash lands inside the camp. The rooster introduces himself as Rocky Rhodes (a pun on the [[ice-cream]] flavour, Rocky Road), a "lone free ranger" from America. (This is a double [[pun]] on [[The Lone Ranger]] and [[free range]], a method of farming husbandry.) Ginger asks him if he can teach ''them'' how to fly, but Rocky isn't so thrilled at the idea. Eventually, he agrees when he sees the circus has come back to take him. The next day, training begins very bizarrely as Rocky seems to have no idea what he's doing. Eventually the day ends without a single chicken making it off the ground. A huge "Poultry Products" truck appears and unloads vast amounts of equipment. Mrs. Tweedy explains the idea to her husband and the farm will now officially become a full automated factory. Meanwhile, Mac (a [[Scotland|Scottish]] chicken) looks over her notes and concludes that chickens simply weren't built for flying. Ginger confronts Rocky about their poor progress and Mac deduces that they require thrust. Ginger warns Rocky that if they do not see progress, the deal is off and they will reveal his presence to the farmers. The next morning, Rocky gets a cable wire and prepares to sling-shot the chickens over the fence, but that doesn't work out. Roll call begins and Babs (a dim, knitting-obsessed chicken) admits she hasn't laid any eggs. Instead of chopping Babs, Mrs. Tweedy measures her waistline and orders Mr. Tweedy to double their food rations. Ginger stops them from eating and tells them that the farmers are deliberately fattening them up for killing. Rocky intervenes and tells Ginger that the best way to motivate them is to lie, causing them to get into a heated argument and Ginger declaring that she cares about the others to much and will never care about Rocky. Rocky agrees with this. However, when he goes back outside he sees all the other chickens depressed. To help out for once, Rocky manages to bring them a radio to cheer them up, which leaves the entire coop dancing. Rocky's bandages fall off, revealing that his injured wing has healed, and Ginger eagerly announces that he can finally show them how to fly tomorrow. But before he can tell her he can't really fly, the power goes out. Outside, a pie machine has completed construction and Mr. Tweedy brings Ginger in as the first victim for a score to settle with Ginger. Rocky breaks into the barn and rescues her, surviving the innards of the machine and sabotaging it. Fowler gives him a [[RAF]] medal and apologizes for doubting him. Both Ginger and Rocky share a tender moment on the roof, overlooking the fields. Rocky explains that life isn't all it's cracked up to be, slightly implying the fact he can't fly. The following morning, all the chickens eagerly await the flying demonstration. Ginger goes to wake Rocky, but he's gone, leaving his RAF medal. She finds a torn piece of Rocky's promotional poster and slowly adds it, revealing her horror to everyone. Completed, the poster shows Rocky being shot out of a cannon, implying that Rocky is, in fact, part of the circus and could never fly at all. Their plans shot, their hopes shattered and dreams crushed, Ginger gives up and denies any chance of escaping. The whole farm starts fighting. Ginger finally asks Fowler what the RAF is. Fowler tells them it is the "Royal Air Force" and shows them pictures of the airplane he flew in. Filled with hope again, the chickens still plan to fly, but now by building the huge plane. Even the rats help out as they pull apart their own huts to build the plane, racing against Mr. Tweedy who is rapidly fixing the machine. Rocky is once again on the open road, but stops when he sees a promotional advertisement for "Mrs. Tweedy's Homemade Chicken Pies". He thinks about the chickens, and realizes the error of his ways. The chickens finish the plane just as Mr. Tweedy finishes fixing the machine. They attack and tie him under one of the houses and finish construction. Ginger then asks Fowler to go up to the cockpit to fly the plane, but Fowler reveals that of course he was never a pilot, only a [[RAF]] mascot as he was only a chicken. Ginger convices him that he can fly the plane, and Fowler decides that he must, in the process revealing that he held the (presumably honorary) rank of [[Wing Commander]] in the RAF. Fowler, as pilot, starts up the plane as all the chickens pedal to start the string engines. Mr. Tweedy escapes from the house, closes the ramp and falls down, and Ginger gets out of the plane to put the ramp back on so that the plane will lift off and fly. Mrs. Tweedy attacks Ginger, but gets knocked out by Rocky, who arrives at the last moment to help Ginger put the ramp back on. The plane takes off and all the chickens cheer, including Ginger and Rocky, who climb up to the plane by a rope of Christmas lights. Unfortunately, Mrs. Tweedy manages to grab on, and climbs up the rope of Christmas lights, an axe in her mouth. Ginger tries to cut the rope with Babs' blunt safety scissors, while Nick and Fetcher use the eggs to fire at Mrs. Tweedy. Ginger loses the scissors, and Mrs. Tweedy, covered in egg, strikes at Ginger with her axe, seemingly decapitating her, much to Rocky's horror. Luckily, Ginger slowly raises her head to reveal the truth: the blow just missed, and has instead severed the Christmas lights. Then, waving an ironic goodbye, Ginger lets go of the other half and Mrs. Tweedy falls right back to the barn into the pie machine, which explodes, covering Mrs. Tweedy in gooey gravy and destroying the barn. As Mr. Tweedy looks upon the wreckage, he reminds her, "I told you they was organized!". As Mrs. Tweedy growls at Mr. Tweedy, the barnhouse door falls down on her. The chickens celebrate and Ginger kisses Rocky. At long last, the chickens have reached peace in their own small haven. Mac gives some baby chickens some lessons while Fowler tells them some stories about his RAF days. There are several chicks and the rats are still trying to make an egg business - but are left arguing about whether they will need a chicken (to lay eggs) or an egg (to hatch a chicken) (see [[Chicken or the egg|the chicken or the egg causality dilemma]]). == Critical Reaction == This film was received excellently from critics, earning a 97% certified fresh at [[Rotten Tomatoes]]. ==Production notes== *''Chicken Run'' was the first feature film in Europe to use the [[Digital Intermediate]] process, digitally storing and manipulating every frame of the film before recording back to film. *In early versions of the movie, Ginger had a little brother named Nobby, but the idea was dropped in order to make the film less cute. *An early storyboard idea was that the plane would breakup in the middle of its flight and that the chickens would suddenly find the ability to fly; the idea being to show that you can do things if you "believe in yourself". *It was also suggested that Fowler would be a drunk who felt useless and neglected until Ginger convinced him that he was needed. In the final film it is a sober Fowler who is made to believe in himself and fly the plane. *The reason all the chickens wear scarves is to hide the joint between the head and the body. The scarves hide the 'seam' which is present because the bodies of the chickens are articulated steel frames coated in silicon rubber while the heads are [[plasticine]]. ==Historical and cultural references== * One of the escape attempts shown in the opening credits is of the chickens tunnelling, and travelling on trolleys down the tunnel. This is a reference to ''[[The Great Escape (film)|The Great Escape]]'', in which the escapes also travel on trolleys through the tunnel. * Ginger is seen to bounce a [[Brussels sprout]] off the wall of the bin in which she is held in solitary confinement. This is a parody of Hilts ([[Steve McQueen]]), in ''[[The Great Escape (film)|The Great Escape]]'', who does the same with his baseball while in the cooler. * The coop that Ginger lives in is numbered 17, apparently an homage to ''[[Stalag 17]]''{{Fact|date=March 2008}}. * Edwina, the chicken who is killed by the Tweedies at the beginning of the film, is a reference to politician [[Edwina Currie]]. Currie was a Junior Health Minister under [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] [[Margaret Thatcher]] when, in 1988, she issued a warning about [[salmonella]] in eggs. This caused a collapse in the British egg market and Currie was forced to resign (or "get the chop" as commentators sometimes refer to ministers who have resigned or been sacked from office). * Rocky is introduced shouting "Freedooooommm!" in a slightly comedic manner. This alludes to a line of Mel Gibson's portrayal of [[William Wallace]] in the movie ''[[Braveheart]]''. * The scene where Ginger tells Rocky that she wants to get all the chickens out at the same time, and he thinks she is mad, is a reference to a similar scene in ''The Great Escape'' between Roger Bartlett and Hilts. * Fetcher's line "It's raining hen" during the scene where Rocky is teaching the chickens how to fly is a reference to the song "[[It's Raining Men]]" * When Rocky enters the barn to find the chicken pie-making machine, he is awed by the size of it and says "Look at the size of that thing". This is a reference to ''[[Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope]]'' {{Fact|date=March 2008}}. [[Wedge Antilles]] says this when he sees the [[Death Star]] for the first time. * The sequence in which Rocky and Ginger are trapped inside Mrs. Tweedy's pie-making machine and encounter various mechanical dangers is a parody of the three ''[[Indiana Jones]]'' films' various cliffhanger dangers and subsequent escapes, as well as Ginger rescuing her hat. * The propeller of the escape plane is made of road signs sharing names with famous RAF bombers of [[World War II]] &mdash; [[Short Stirling|Stirling]] Lane, [[Avro Lancaster|Lancaster]] Avenue and [[Bristol Blenheim|Blenheim]] Place. Furthermore, the model aeroplane is of a moderately successful RAF bomber of the early war period, the [[Armstrong Whitworth Whitley|Whitley]]. * Fowler repeatedly refers to his years as a member of the No. 644 Squadron [[RAF]]. This was a real squadron; it was formed on [[February 23]], [[1944]], several months before [[D-Day]]. 644 squadron was based at [[RAF Tarrant Rushton]] airfield in [[Dorset]],<ref>[http://www.tarrant-rushton.ndirect.co.uk/ Tarrant Rushton Airfield retrospective]</ref> and exclusively flew [[Handley Page Halifax]] heavy bombers. The 644's primary missions were "special operations" over occupied Europe, such as making supply drops to various resistance movements, and towing troop transport [[gliders]].<ref>[http://www.raf.mod.uk/7644sqn/history644.html History of 644 Squadron]</ref> * After the plane has been assembled, the order is given: "Chocks Away!!". This refers to the triangular wedges used to hold an aeroplane back once its engines are running, which are then removed. In ''Chicken Run'' these are represented by bars of the triangular chocolate ([[Toblerone]]), hence "Chocs Away". * During the plane sequence, the Scottish chicken Mac shouts a few quotes from [[Montgomery Scott|Scotty]] of ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'', such as "I cannot work miracles cap'n", "I'm giving her all she's got!", "A 'cling-on' ([[Klingon]]) cap'n," and "The engines can't take it!" * ''The Great Escape'' also includes a Scotsman called "Mac", played by [[Gordon Jackson (actor)|Gordon Jackson]], who acts as Bartlett the escape leader's second-in-command, much like this Mac is to Ginger. * The promo title featured on posters for the film, "C:R-1", was a spoof of the promo title "M:I-2" for the film ''[[Mission: Impossible II]]''. A teaser trailer included on the DVD spoofed ''Mission: Impossible II'' with scenes from ''Chicken Run''. * During [[World War Two]] a [[glider]] was secretly built at [[Attempts to escape Oflag IV-C|Colditz Castle]] which was then a POW camp. Although it was never used in real life, the concept was fictionalized into the 1971 TV movie ''[[The Birdmen]]'' starring [[Doug McClure]], [[Chuck Connors]] and [[Richard Basehart]]. ==Voice cast== *'''[[Mel Gibson]]''' as '''Rocky''' *'''[[Julia Sawalha]]''' as '''Ginger''' *'''[[Miranda Richardson]]''' as '''Mrs Tweedy''' *'''[[Jane Horrocks]]''' as '''Babs''' *'''[[Benjamin Whitrow]]''' as '''Fowler''' *'''[[Timothy Spall]]''' as '''Nick''' *'''[[Phil Daniels]]''' as '''Fetcher''' *'''[[Imelda Staunton]]''' as '''Bunty''' *'''[[Lynn Ferguson]]''' as '''Mac''' *'''[[Tony Haygarth]]''' as '''Mr Tweedy''' *'''[[John Sharian]]''' as '''circus man''' ==Crew== {| class="wikitable" width="60%" |- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" ! Crew Position !! |- | Directed by || [[Nick Park]]<br>[[Peter Lord]] |- | Produced by || [[Peter Lord]]<br>[[David Sproxton]]<br>[[Nick Park]] |- | Original Story by || [[Peter Lord]]<br>[[Nick Park]] |- | Screenplay by || [[Karey Kirkpatrick]] |- | Executive Producer || [[Jake Eberts]]<br>[[Jeffrey Katzenberg]]<br>[[Michael Rose]] |- | Associate Producer || [[Lenny young|Lenny Young]]<br> |- | Music by || [[Harry Gregson-Williams]]<br>[[John Powell]] |- | Line Producer || [[Carla Shelley]] |- | Director of Photography || [[Dave Alex Riddett]] |- | Production Designer || [[Phil Lewis]] |- | Film Editor || [[Mark Solomon]] |- | Human Model || [[Sam White]] |- | Supervising Animator || [[Lloyd Price]] |- | Storyboard Supervisor || [[David Bowers (animator)| David Bowers]] |- | Production Manager || [[Harry Linden]] |- |} ==Awards and nominations== *'''[[Annie Awards]]''': **Best Animated Feature **Best Individual Achievement in Directing ([[Nick Park]] and [[Peter Lord]]) **Best Individual Achievement in Writing ([[Karey Kirkpatrick]]) *'''[[BAFTA Awards]]''': **Best British Film **Best Visual Effects *[[Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards 2000|Broadcast Film Critics]]: **'''Best Animated Feature''' *[[Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards 2000|Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics]]: **'''Best Animated Feature''' *[[Empire Awards]]: **Best British Director (Nick Park and Peter Lord) **Best British Film **Best Debut (Nick Park and Peter Lord) *[[European Film Awards]]: **Best Film *[[Florida Film Critics Circle Awards 2000|Florida Film Critics]]: **'''Best Animated Feature''' *'''[[Golden Globe Awards]]''': **Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy *[[Kansas City Film Critics Circle|Kansas City Film Critics]]: **'''Best Animated Feature''' *[[Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards 2000|Las Vegas Film Critics]]: **'''Best Family Film''' *[[Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards 2000|Los Angeles Film Critics]]: **'''Best Animated Feature''' *[[National Board of Review Awards 2000|National Board of Review]]: **'''Best Animated Feature''' *[[New York Film Critics Circle Awards 2000|New York Film Critics]]: **'''Best Animated Feature''' *[[Phoenix Film Critics Society|Phoenix Film Critics]]: **'''Best Animated Feature''' **'''Best Family Film''' **Best Original Score ([[Harry Gregson-Williams]] and [[John Powell]]) *[[Satellite Awards 2000|Satellite Awards]]: **'''Best Motion Picture - Animated or Mixed Media''' **Best Sound *[[Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards 2000|Southeastern Film Critics]]: **Best Film (3rd place) ==Sequel== {{Unconfirmed}} Many have reported rumours that Aardman plans to make a 2nd Chicken Run movie. Although nothing has been confirmed, some fans still believe that one is in the making. This is highly unlikely, as the sets were burned down in late 2007. ==Video Game== {{main|Chicken Run (video game)}} Chicken Run is a stealth-based ( nicknamed "Chicken Gear Solid") 3-D platformer based on the movie. The game is a loose parody of the famous The Great Escape movie, which is based in WWII. ==See also== *[[Nick Park]] *[[Aardman Animations]] *[[Wallace and Gromit]] *[[List of animated feature-length films]] *[[List of stop-motion films]] ==References== <div class="references-small"> <references/> </div> ==External links== * [http://www.aardman.com/chickenrun/ Official UK web site] * {{bcdb title|id=25043|title=Chicken Run}} *{{imdb title|id=0120630|title=Chicken Run}} {{DreamWorks animated films}} [[Category:2000 films]] [[Category:Aardman Animations]] [[Category:Animated comedy films]] [[Category:Films featuring anthropomorphic characters]] [[Category:British animated films]] [[Category:DreamWorks Animation films]] [[Category:Fictional chickens]] [[Category:Adventure comedy films]] [[Category:Films set in the 1950s]] [[Category:Stop-motion animated films]] [[Category:English-language films]] [[Category:Clay animation film and television series]] [[ar:هروب الدجاج]] [[cy:Chicken Run]] [[de:Chicken Run – Hennen Rennen]] [[fa:فرار مرغی]] [[fr:Chicken Run]] [[io:Fugo-hani]] [[id:Chicken Run]] [[it:Galline in fuga]] [[nl:Chicken Run]] [[ja:チキン・ラン]] [[pl:Uciekające kurczaki]] [[pt:Chicken Run]] [[ru:Побег из курятника]] [[fi:Kananlento]] [[sv:Flykten från hönsgården]] [[vi:Phi đội gà bay]] [[tr:Tavuklar Firarda]]