|
 Director
: Peter Lord
Starring
: (Voices of) Phil Daniels, Lynn Ferguson, Jane Horrocks,
Julia Sawalha, Miranda Richardson, Timothy Spall and Mel
Gibson
Picture
1.85:1, DD 5.1, Single-Side, Dual Layer, Keep Case
Running
Time : 81 mins
The
story:
Escape
or die frying !
Having
been hopelessly repressed and facing eventual certain death
at the chicken farm where they are held, Ginger the chicken
(Julia Sawahla) and her friends decide to rebel against
the evil Mr. and Mrs. Tweedy, the farm's owners. They happen
to meet a mysterious stranger called Rocky the Rooster (Mel
Gibson) who is on the run from a circus. Rocky and Ginger
lead their fellow chickens in a great escape from the murderous
farmers and their farm of doom where their destiny's lie
in chicken pies !
The
summary:
One
of the keys to this film is that it works well, especially
when it is lampooning the classic, The Great Escape. Set
against the backdrop of Battery Hens and their struggle
to escape from a date with a pie machine this cleverly constructed
film pulls out all the stops. Firstly we have Nick Parks'
familiar animation, which looks every bit as bug eyed and
toothy as Wallace and Gromit. Secondly we have a great story
that uses all the best Great Escape moments but carefully
adds a touch of comedy in order to keep both its younger
and Adult viewers happy. Lastly we have some brilliantly
cast voices in key roles. Mel Gibson is wonderful as the
strutting Rooster who finds himself imprisoned with the
Hens and Julia Sawalha is also great as the scheming ringleader,
Ginger. Other players that really shine are Jane Horrocks
and Phil Daniels who always know how to put their foot right
through any situation. The film works this well because
it does not try too hard to be funny. It relies heavily
on the endearment or repulsion of its characters to pull
the story along and beacause of this it avoids tweeness
and also rises above the childishness normally associated
with, well a kids movie. This, like Toy Story is a movie
that both kids AND adults will enjoy for different reasons.
For
a region 2 DVD release this is an impressive affair. The
sound and picture quality are stunning and the extra's are
at last worthy of the film. You even get some DVD-ROM content
which has, up until now, been lacking in most R2 releases.
|
|
Extras:
*
Teaser Trailer
*
Regular Trailer
*
"Chicken Impossible"
Trailer - This film was released at the same
time as M:I 2 at the cinema and this trailer uses teh connection
to the films advantage.
*
Directors Commentary
- Nick Park and Peter Lord talk us through the film
*
Chicken Run Game Trailer
- Short advert for the Playstation and Dreamcast game of
the film.
*
Aardman Archive - 14
Clips from the classic Nick Park/Aardman animated short
films. Includes the best of the Heat Electric adverts and
Wallace & Gromit.
*
Chickens go in, pies come out
- A documentary that explores the Chicken Pie making machine
seen in the film together with lots of other scenes and
models used. Also looks at the camera techniques used in
Aardmans' unique blend of animation. 14 Minutes 36 Seconds.
*
Fowl Play - A Making
of documentary that includes behind the scenes footage,
production shots and interviews with all the major cast
& Crew. 22 Minutes 44 Seconds.
DVD-ROM:
*
Web Links - Links to
Aardman and Dreamworks as well as the Chicken Run site
|
