Arnold
CibbuanoChicken Run
November 5th 2006 23:56
Chicken Run (2000)
'Chicken Run' is an oddity in the animation world... in a time filled with CGI-extravaganzas someone decided to bring out a stop-motion clay animation movie. Brought to us by the award winning Aardman team ('Wallace and Gromit'), 'Chicken Run' is a film for adults and kids alike.
Seriously though, this is a fun film. Basically, it's about some chickens who wish to fly the coup and avoid getting their heads chop off by a pair of mean and greedy farmers. There's a great homage/parallel with 'The Great Escape' and various other P.O.W. films, and the script is filled with brilliant characterisations, quick wit, film references (before ‘Shrek’ and ‘Shark Tale’ ruined the practice altogether) and puns galore.
Mel Gibson's shifty/charming voice is perfectly suited to the role of Rocky Rhodes, and Julia Sawahla's previous roles in UK television shows such as 'Press Gang' and 'Absolutely Fabulous' indicate how well suited she is to a character who is all responsibility and brains (and not much else). The supporting cast is filled out with a who's-who of British comic talent (Timothy Spall, Phil Daniels, Miranda Richardson, Jane Horrocks, etc, etc), making for a genuinely witty experience in the all-too whitewashed world of animation.
But 'Chicken Run' can't really be compared with the usual animated fanfare, it's distinctly Aardman in all respects - anyone familiar with the world-famous 'Wallace and Gromit' series should know what I'm talking about. The clay animation allows for a certain style that's far more amusing than simple pictures or overly realistic CGI. The absurdity of the script and it's general good humour also goes a long way to making this an altogether satisfying experience for anyone looking for a laugh.
TRIVIA: Each day of production yielded only 2 and a half seconds of footage, making the overall production more than 2 years long... brings new meaning to the term 'painstaking'.
| 64 |
| Vote |
subscribe to this blog
