Film Review #109: Chicken Run

I didn't see much of Wallace and Gromit growing up to really know just what to make of the animation done for this film.  I thought it was weird but it worked well in the environment they were creating.  That's pretty much all I can say about the film, as well.  Chicken Run was a very odd film, but for some reason the oddness and humor paid off really well and has made it, for me, one of DreamWorks finer films.  While I will admit, once again, the star power is kind of distracting, but not for the same reason.  Nevertheless, I most certainly enjoyed this film at a different rate than I did The Road to El Dorado (mostly because I didn't want to slam my head into a wall with all of the missed opportunity), but I still did enjoy this one.

Plot: There is a farm in England where a middle aged couple struggles to keep the farm afloat.  When the owners see fit to slaughter the chickens in order to make a profit, the chickens begin to plan multiple failed escape attempts.  About to give up all hope, the chickens are greeted by a rooster who "flew" over the fence and broke his wing.  A chicken named Ginger agrees to keep the rooster named Rocky (Mel Gibson), on the condition that he teaches the chickens how to fly so they could escape with him.  The only downside is that he's nothing more than a circus act, only getting shot out of cannons.  Nevertheless, Rocky and Ginger continue to help the chickens "learn" how to fly, all while hoping to avoid an inevitable end.

What's Bad?: While I'm certain a lot of these voice actors were big in Britain (the only person I recognized was Miranda Richardson), the one voice that really grates on me is Mel Gibson as Rocky.  I know this was before Mel Gibson was labeled as Hollywood's Biggest Jew Hating Psychopath, but he was a special brand of annoying to me.  It's like listening to a more cocky version of Peter Griffin from Family Guy.  And it annoys me more because I thought he was tolerable as John Smith in Pocahontas, but I guess Katzenberg thought this would be amusing.  Guess what?  It wasn't.

What's Good?: The rest of the film is pretty enjoyable.  I love the humor in this film, which is the reason I started watching Wallace and Gromit in the first place.  Even Mel Gibson gets a few decent jokes.

Miranda Richardson is freaking awesome as this sort of dominatrix who has this sick lust for killing chickens and making the money off of it.  Unlike other cartoon villains at the time, she wasn't into magic or just obsessed with the monetary aspect of this.  She actually reminds me a lot of Cruella De Vil from 101 Dalmatians.

I also appreciate how dark this film was willing to get when it was needed.  To even talk about a character who gets beheaded is pretty damn dark for a kids film, but this was needed since Disney was currently sliding down into the "kids only" mantra they love to roll out every 30 years or so...

The animation is what draws me to watch this film again and again.  One thing you have to give Peter Lord and Nick Park credit for is making their stop motion animation look almost nothing like Henry Sellicks and actually makes it look more like an animated film than most of what Sellick has done.  These characters do get wide-eyed moments and actually look like a film like Toy Story or one of the older Disney films.  It's not too restrictive.  And that's what makes it awesome.

Overall: Aside from Mel Gibson being, for lack of a better term, Mel Gibson, this film is actually pretty damn good.  It's got great animation, good characters, a great villain, and pleasant charm.  Good for DreamWorks trying something out of the box, because this wouldn't happen again for another 10 years...

Final Grade: 89 or B+