Chicken Run

This article is about the film. For the game based on the film, see Chicken Run (video game).
Chicken Run

UK theatrical release poster
Directed by
Produced by
Screenplay by Karey Kirkpatrick
Story by
  • Peter Lord
  • Nick Park
Starring
Music by
Cinematography
Edited by Mark Solomon
Production
company
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 23 June 2000 (2000-06-23) (US)
  • 30 June 2000 (2000-06-30) (UK)
Running time
 84 minutes
Country
  • United Kingdom[1]
  • United States[1]
Language English
Budget $45 million[2]
Box office $225 million[2]

Chicken Run is a 2000 stop-motion comedy-drama film produced by the British studio Aardman Animations. As the studio's first feature-length film, it was directed by Peter Lord and Nick Park.[3] It was co-financed by DreamWorks Pictures and Pathé, with the former distributing the film worldwide except for Europe, where it was handled by Pathé.[4] The plot centres on a band of chickens who see a smooth-talking Rhode Island Red named Rocky as their only hope to escape from certain death when the owners of their farm decide to move from selling eggs to selling chicken pot pies. The film features the voices of Julia Sawalha, Mel Gibson, Timothy Spall, Phil Daniels, Tony Haygarth, and Miranda Richardson. Chicken Run received positive reviews from critics, and grossed over $224 million, becoming the highest-grossing stop motion animated film ever.[5]

Plot

Mr. and Mrs. Tweedy run a failing chicken farm in Yorkshire; the chickens are caged in the style of a prison camp with a high fence and barbed wire, and two dogs patrol the grounds. Chickens that fail to produce enough eggs are slaughtered for food. Frustrated at the "minuscule profits" generated by the farm, Mrs. Tweedy comes up with the idea of converting their farm into the automated production of chicken pot pies.

One chicken, Ginger, has long had visions of escaping with the help of her hen friends Babs, Bunty, and Mac, and two black-marketer rats, Nick and Fetcher, who help to acquire "contraband" from the Tweedys to aid Ginger's plans. However, she is always caught and put into solitary confinement. While thinking of a new plan, Ginger witnesses a Rhode Island Red cockerel fly over the fence and crash into one of the coops, spraining his wing. Ginger and the other chickens help to hide him from the Tweedys and care for his wing, learning that his name is Rocky. Ginger is particularly interested in Rocky's ability to fly and begs him to help train her and the other chickens to do the same. Rocky is coy, but proceeds to try to help train the chickens, unable to fully demonstrate due to his broken wing. Meanwhile, Mr. Tweedy begins assembling their pie-making production line, and the chicken's food ration is doubled to fatten them.

Amid the training, Rocky holds a large party to help relieve the stress, where it is revealed his wing is healed, and Ginger insists he show them how to fly the next day. However, Mr. Tweedy completes the production line and immediately grabs Ginger for a test run. Rocky is able to save Ginger and helps to damage the machine, giving the chickens only a short time to plan to escape while Mr. Tweedy repairs it. When morning arrives, Ginger finds Rocky has fled, leaving behind a part of a poster that shows him to be a stunt cockerel, shot out of a cannon from a nearby circus and unable to fly by himself. Ginger and the other chickens are depressed. Fowler the cockerel tries to cheer the hens up by telling tales from his days as a Royal Air Force mascot, leading Ginger to the idea of creating a flying machine, called the Old Crate, to flee the Tweedys. All the chickens, with help from the rats, secretly assemble the required parts for the plane from their coops while racing against Mr. Tweedy's repairs. While travelling the countryside, Rocky sees a billboard for Mrs. Tweedy's Chicken Pies and is inspired to go back to help.

With the machine now fixed, Mrs. Tweedy insists that Mr. Tweedy gather all the chickens, but the chickens are ready to escape. They knock Mr. Tweedy out and tie him up long enough to complete assembly of their plane. Just before they take off, Rocky returns and joins them. As they are taking off, Mrs. Tweedy chases them down and catches onto a Christmas light strand snagged in the wheels. Mrs. Tweedy climbs the strand, intent on chopping Ginger's head off, while Ginger races to sever the strand. Ginger manages to trick Mrs. Tweedy into cutting the strand with her axe and sends her straight into the safety valve of the pie machine and plugging it. This causes the machine to build pressure in its gravy line and explodes, destroying the machine and the barn. The chickens continue their flight to freedom.

Later, the chickens have found a quiet island where they can enjoy their freedom and raise their chicks, while Ginger and Rocky have developed a romantic relationship. Nick and Fetcher decide to start their own chicken farm for eggs but disagree on whether to have the chicken or the egg first.

Cast

Production

Chicken Run was Aardman Animations's first feature-length production, which would be executive produced by Jake Eberts. Nick Park and Peter Lord, who runs Aardman, directed the film,[6] while Karey Kirkpatrick scripted the film with additional input from Mark Burton and John O'Farrell. Chicken Run was first conceived in 1995 by Aardman co-founder Peter Lord and Wallace and Gromit creator Nick Park. Pathe agreed to finance Chicken Run in 1996 putting their finances into Script Development and Model Design. DreamWorks officially came on board in 1997.[4][7] DreamWorks beat out studios like Disney, 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. and largely won due to the perseverance of DreamWorks co-chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg; as a company they were eager to make their presence felt in the animation market in an attempt to compete with Disney's dominance of the field.[4] Katzenberg explained that he had "been chasing these guys for five or six years, ever since I first saw Creature Comforts."[4] DreamWorks secured their first animated feature with the film, and they handled distribution in all territories except Europe, which Pathé handled.[4] The two studios co-financed the film.[4] DreamWorks also retains rights to worldwide merchandising.[4] During the production of the film, 30 sets were used with 80 animators working along with 180 people working overall. Despite this, one minute of film was completed with each week of filming.[7]

Reception

Critical reception

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 97% approval rating with an average rating of 8.1/10 based on 170 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "Chicken Run has all the charm of Nick Park's Wallace & Gromit, and something for everybody. The voice acting is fabulous, the slapstick is brilliant, and the action sequences are spectacular."[8] The film also holds a score of 88 based on 34 reviews on Metacritic, indicating "universal acclaim."[9]

Box office

On opening weekend, the film grossed $17,506,162 for a $7,027 average from 2,491 theatres. Overall, the film placed second behind Me, Myself and Irene.[10] In its second weekend, the film held well as it slipped only 25% to $13,192,897 for a $4,627 average from expanding to 2,851 theatres and finishing in fourth place.[11] The film's widest release was 2,953 theatres, after grossing $106,834,564 domestically with an additional $118,000,000 overseas for a worldwide total of $224,834,564. Produced on a $45 million budget, the film was a huge box office hit. To date, it is the highest grossing stop motion animated movie.

Home media

Chicken Run was released on VHS and DVD on November 21, 2000.[12]

Accolades

Group Category (Recipient) Result
Annie Awards[13] Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Theatrical Feature Nominated
Outstanding Individual Achievement for Directing in an Animated Feature Production (Nick Park and Peter Lord) Nominated
Outstanding Individual Achievement for Writing in an Animated Feature Production (Karey Kirkpatrick) Nominated
BAFTA Awards[14] Best British Film Nominated
Best Visual Effects Nominated
Broadcast Film Critics[15] Best Animated Feature Won
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics[16] Won
Empire Awards Best British Director (Nick Park and Peter Lord) Nominated
Best British Film Nominated
Best Debut (Nick Park and Peter Lord) Nominated
European Film Awards[17] Best Film Nominated
Florida Film Critics[18] Best Animated Feature Won
Genesis Awards[19] Best Feature Film Won
Golden Globe Awards[20] Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy Nominated
Golden Tomato Awards 2000[21] Best Films Won
Kansas City Film Critics[22] Best Animated Feature Won
Las Vegas Film Critics[23] Best Family Film Won
Los Angeles Film Critics[24] Best Animated Feature Won
National Board of Review[25] Won
New York Film Critics[26] Won
Phoenix Film Critics[27] Won
Best Family Film Won
Best Original Score (John Powell and Harry Gregson-Williams) Nominated
Satellite Awards[28][29] Best Motion Picture - Animated or Mixed Media Won
Best Sound Nominated
Southeastern Film Critics[30] Best Film Nominated

Soundtrack

John Powell and Harry Gregson-Williams composed and produced the music for the film, which was released on 20 June 2000 under the RCA Victor label.[31][32][33]

All music composed by John Powell and Harry Gregson-Williams, except as noted.

No. Title Length
1. "Opening Escape"   3:39
2. "Main Titles"   3:24
3. "The Evil Mr. Tweedy"   4:22
4. "Rats!"   1:09
5. "Chickens Are Not Organized"   1:01
6. "We Need a Miracle"   2:03
7. "Rocky and the Circus"   3:51
8. "Flight Training"   3:39
9. "A Really Big Truck Arrives"   5:56
10. "Cocktails and Flighty Thoughts"   1:58
11. "Babs' Big Break"   1:40
12. "Flip, Flop and Fly" (composed by Charles Calhoun and Lou Willie Turner, and performed by Ellis Hall) 2:09
13. "Up on the Roof"   3:08
14. "Into the Pie Machine"   3:10
15. "Rocky, a Fake All Along"   3:28
16. "Building the Crate"   3:32
17. "The Wanderer" (composed by Ernest Peter Maresca, and performed by Dion) 2:47
18. "The Chickens Are Revolting"   2:45
19. "Lift Off"   3:41
20. "Escape to Paradise"   4:59
Total length:
 62:21

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 World War II.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Chicken Run (2000)". British Film Institute. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Chicken Run". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  3. ↑ McCarthy, Todd (12 June 2000). "Review: 'Chicken Run'". Variety. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Cox, Dan (3 December 1997). "D'Works' feat of clay". Variety. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
  5. ↑ "The Longer View: British animation". BBC. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  6. ↑ Rex Weiner (10 April 1997). "Aardman on 'Run'". Variety. Retrieved 18 February 2010.
  7. 1 2 Spall, Timothy (2000). Fowl Play: The Making of Chicken Run. Picture Production.
  8. ↑ "Chicken Run - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  9. ↑ "Chicken Run Movie Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More". Metacritic. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
  10. ↑ Income weekend - 23-25 June 2000, Box Office Mojo
  11. ↑ Income weekend - 30 June – 2 July 2000, Box Office Mojo
  12. ↑ DeMott, Rick (22 November 2000). "Chicken Run Flies Into Stores". Animation World Network. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  13. ↑ "28th Annual Annie". Annie Awards. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  14. ↑ "Bigger Better Baftas". Empire Online. 31 January 2001. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  15. ↑ Armstrong, Mark (19 December 2000). "Broadcast Critics Eat Crowe". E! Online UK. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  16. ↑ Reifsteck, Greg (8 January 2001). "Dallas crix pick 'Traffic'". Variety. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  17. ↑ "Billy aims to conquer Europe". BBC News. 8 November 2000. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  18. ↑ "Traffic is Florida favourite". BBC News. 5 January 2011. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  19. ↑ "FIRST LOOK: The News in Brief, February 27, 2001". E! Online UK. 27 February 2001. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  20. ↑ DeMott, Rick (21 December 2000). "Chicken Run Lays A Golden Globe Nom". Animated World Network. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  21. ↑ Reifsteck, Greg (18 December 2000). "The 2nd Annual Golden Tomato Awards". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  22. ↑ "KCFCC Award Winners – 2000-09". Kansas City Film Critics Circle. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  23. ↑ Scherzer, Barbara (26 December 2000). "Las Vegas critics fete 'Erin,' 'Gladiator'". Variety. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  24. ↑ King, Susan. "'Crouching Tiger' Wins Top Prize from L.A. Critics". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 9 September 2014. 17 December 2000
  25. ↑ King, Susan (7 December 2000). "'Quills' Named Best Film by National Board of Review". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  26. ↑ "Traffic wows New York critics". BBC News. 14 December 2000. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  27. ↑ "Flashes From the week of January 18, 2001". Phoenix New Times. 18 January 2001. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  28. ↑ Reifsteck, Greg (18 December 2000). "'Gladiator,' 'Traffic' lead Golden Sat noms". Variety. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  29. ↑ Minotta, Mauricio (31 July 2011). "'Traffic,' 'Betty' Are Golden". Hollywood.com. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  30. ↑ "2000 SEFCA Best Films of the Year". Southeastern Film Critics Association. Archived from the original on 13 June 2004. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  31. ↑ "Chicken Run [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] - John Powell | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". Retrieved 20 August 2012.
  32. ↑ "Amazon.com: Chicken Run: Music". Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  33. ↑ "Chicken Run Soundtrack (2000)". Soundtrack.Net. Retrieved 11 October 2014.

External links

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