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Chicken Run

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This article is about the film. For the game based on the film, see Chicken Run (video game).
Chicken Run
British theatrical release poster
Directed byPeter Lord
Nick Park
Written byPeter Lord
Nick Park
Karey Kirkpatrick
Produced byNick Park
Peter Lord
David Sproxton
StarringMel Gibson
Julia Sawalha
Miranda Richardson
Benjamin Whitrow
Timothy Spall
Phil Daniels
Jane Horrocks
Tony Haygarth
Edited byMark Solomon
Music byHarry Gregson-Williams
John Powell
Production
companies
Distributed byPathé (Europe)
DreamWorks Pictures (USA)
Release dates
21 June 2000 (2000-06-21)
(United States)
30 June 2000
(United Kingdom)
Running time
84 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
BudgetUS$45 million
Box officeUS$224,834,564

Chicken Run is a 2000 British stop-motion animation film made by the Aardman Animations studios, the production studio of the Oscar-winning Wallace and Gromit films. Set in Yorkshire, England in 1959, the film centers around a clever hen named Ginger, who with the aid of a smooth-talking Rhode Island Red named Rocky, tries to save her British hen friends from certain death when the owners of their farm decide to move from selling eggs to selling chicken pies.

Story

Title

The title of the film is a play on words, since a chicken run defines a confined area where chickens are allowed to run outdoors and also describes the objective of the chickens to escape their predicament.

Plot

The Tweedys run a chicken farm in Yorkshire, England, in the manner of a World War II POW camp. One chicken, Ginger, continually tries to get the chickens to escape from the coop using various plans and contraband obtained through two rats, Nick and Fetcher. They sometimes involve going under the fence. However, Ginger is always caught by Mr. Tweedy and his dogs, and while she is kept in solitary confinement, she comes to realize their only hope of escape is to fly over the coop's fence.

Mrs. Tweedy, struggling to keep the farm financially viable on dwindling egg production, decides to convert the farm from egg production to chicken pies, and orders a giant pie-making machine. Mr. Tweedy believes the chickens are plotting a big escape, but Mrs. Tweedy dismisses the idea as paranoia and does so in a rude domineering manner. While the Tweedys await delivery, a Rhode Island Red rooster named Rocky Rhodes appears to "fly" into the coop, though harming his wing on landing. While the other chickens fawn over him, Ginger convinces Rocky to help teach them how to fly.

Unable to admit that he cannot actually fly, Rocky plays for time by putting the chickens through seemingly-futile training exercises while he tends to his injured wing. At the same time, the Tweedys provide the chickens with more food in order to make them plumper for their pies. The pie-making machine soon arrives, and as Mr. Tweedy begins construction, Ginger realizes what Mrs. Tweedy's plan is, and that they have very limited time to escape. With the machine completed, Mr. Tweedy attempts to put Ginger through the machine, but she is saved by Rocky, and they are able to disable the machine, giving themselves some more time while Mr. Tweedy tends to its repair.

The next day, Ginger finds Rocky has fled, leaving behind a part of a poster that explains that he was a circus act, only "flying" over the land after being launched out of a cannon. Ginger and the other chickens lose hope of escape, cumulating in a huge brawl in the mud, until Ginger finds out that Fowler, the farm's aged rooster, was once an honorary member of the Royal Air Force. With Fowler's knowledge, they begin working hastily to create an flying machine, pedal-powered by the chickens themselves, in secret from Mr. Tweedy, who has become suspect of the chickens' ingenuity. The craft is completed even as the repairs on the pie-making machine are completed. As Mr. Tweedy attempts to grab the chickens, he is restrained by the attacking chickens and 'hidden' under one of the coops.

The chickens quickly assemble their plane and attempt to take off, despite Mr. Tweedy's attempt to stop them. Mrs. Tweedy hears the commotion outside, and, armed with a hatchet, is able to grab onto a string of lights from the plane before it takes off. Rocky returns to help, and he and Ginger attempt to knock Mrs. Tweedy off, as her weight is too much for the chickens to keep the plane airborne. Ginger tricks Mrs. Tweedy into cutting the light string with her hatchet, causing her to fall right into a vent on the pie-making machine, causing the machine to burst and destroying their barn. Rocky, Ginger, and the other chickens celebrate as they fly off. At the end of the film, the chickens have found themselves a protected bird sanctuary to live in and raise their chicks, with Rocky and Ginger becoming a couple. As the credits roll, Nick and Fetcher discuss the chicken and the egg theory.

Cast

  • Julia Sawalha as Ginger, a responsible chicken and one of the two protagonists of the film. She is the dirivng force behind the chickens' many attempts to escape. She is orange with a cream-colored bandana around her neck and a green knitted hat on her head.
  • Mel Gibson as Rocky Rhodes, the Rhode Island Red and the other protagonist. He wears a light blue bandana with polka dots on it around his neck like a cowboy does.
  • Miranda Richardson as Melisha Tweedy, the owner of the farm and the main antagonist of the film. She has a bun on her hair and wears a maroon-colored dress.
  • Tony Haygarth as Willard Tweedy, Melisha's husband. Somewhat dull-witted, he nevertheless suspects that the chickens are "up to something".
  • Benjamin Whitrow as Fowler, an elderly rooster. He is grayish blue with a white scarf around his neck and carries a baton.
  • Timothy Spall as Nick, a fat rat
  • Phil Daniels as Fetcher, a thin rat
  • Jane Horrocks as Babs, a chicken who loves knitting. She is the fattest of all the chickens. She is tan with a pink-beaded double necklace around her neck.
  • Imelda Staunton as Bunty, one of Ginger's friends. She is maroon with a blue ruffled necklace around her neck.
  • Lynn Ferguson as Mac, a Scottish hen and Ginger's assistant. She is white with glasses and a plaid scarf and is quite intelligent.

Production

Chicken Run was to be Aardman Animations' first feature length production, which would be executive produced by Jake Eberts. Nick Park and Peter Lord, who run Aardman, are to co-direct the film,[1] while Karey Kirkpatrick and Jack Rosenthal scripted the film. In December 1997, it was noted that David Sproxton was to also produce. DreamWorks secured their first animated feature with the film, and they handled distbution in all territories except Europe, which Pathé handled. The two studios both co-financed the film. DreamWorks also retains rights to international merchandising. Pathé and Aardman had both been developing the film since 1995, whilst DreamWorks officially came aboard in 1997. DreamWorks beat out studios like 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. and largely won due to the perserverance of DreamWorks co-chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg, who as a company were eager to make their presence felt in the animation market in an attempt to compete with Disney's dominance of the field.[2]

Harry Gregson-Williams and John Powell, composeers in the artist pool of Media Ventures Entertainment Group, were in talks to compose the film since January 1999.[3] In January 2000, the release was revealed to be for June 23, 2000.[4]

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". This was dropped because the directors thought it was a little far-fetched.
  • 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.
  • During the early stages of production, the film had the working title "A Few Good Hen", a reference to the 1992 drama film A Few Good Men.
  • 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 (this is similar to the reason why Ewoks in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi wore hoods: to hide the seam between the head and the body parts of the suit).

Reception

The film has received outstanding reviews from critics since its release and currently garners a 98% "Certified Fresh" rating on the Rotten Tomatoes website.

Awards and nominations

Marketing

Reel.com received exclusive right to hosting the official site for the film and designing, for which Canned Entertainment were chosen.[5]

Video game

Main article: Chicken Run (video game)

Chicken Run is a stealth-based 3-D platformer based on the movie. The game is a loose parody of the film The Great Escape, which is set during WWII.

See also

References

  1. ^ Rex Weiner (10 April, 1997). "Aardman on 'Run'". Variety. Retrieved 2010-02-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ Dan Cox (4 December, 1997). "D'Works' feat of clay". Variety. Retrieved 2010-02-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ Robert Koehler (21 January, 1999). "Zimmer's Ventures in music is a factory in the (tune) making". Variety. Retrieved 2010-02-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ Christian Moerk (21 January, 2000). "Showbiz was schiz in 1999". Variety. Retrieved 2010-02-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ Marc Graser (3 April, 2000). "D'Works hands Reel 'Chicken'". Variety. Retrieved 2010-02-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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