I have to say I loved this film. The direction and cinematography were fantastic. Some of the camera points-of-view were fabulous -- facial reflections in blades, the forboding boots, etc.

I loved the parallels to The Great Escape (WWII POW movie with Charles Bronson, Steve McQueen, and others) including the Solitary Confinement, underground tunnel, even lifting the stove with the two notched 2x4's. I wonder why they chose to focus on building 17 -- Perhaps as an honor to Stalag 17 in Hogan's Heroes?

I don't know if Mel Gibson would've been my first choice to play the Yankee. But other than that I found only one nit regarding the passage of time.

When the Tweedy's got their 'machine', Mrs. Tweedy said that everything would be running 'in a fortnight' (=2 weeks) but they immediatly got a chicken to test out the machine. And after the machine was fully repaired, they again immediately went to get chickens to see if it worked. Later we see there's already a billboard for the pies. So what was going to take 2 weeks?

OK, here's another nit I just thought of. They always started up the machine BEFORE they had any chickens to put in it. Wouldn't that just make empty pies?

I just read the advice from the Me, Myself + Irene board about staying through the closing credits, and I must say the same holds true for Chicken Run.

Stay through to the very end to hear more of the Rats' discussion of the famous question. :)

Inside the pie machine there is a sign warning about the possiblity of falling gears, like the falling rocks sign. Also I'm sure the health inspectors wouldn't take to kindly to food for public consumption being prepaired in a mucky barn.

Great movie, but was there ever any reason offered for the very mercenary rats to get on the airplane they thought wouldn't fly?

Chewwie-

You seem to be confusing Hogan's Heroes' Stalag 13 with the movie Stalag 17 (1953, starring William Holden, Peter Graves, and Otto Preminger) It was a dark story with a foiled escape attempt, a diabolical Kommandant, and ultimately a more successful escape.

As much as Chicken Run owes to The Great Escape, it also honors its debts to this earlier movie

I loved, loved, loved, LOVED this movie!

With all due respect to Roger Ebert.

Funniest movie of 2000. Genius.

Absolutely adored this movie. I was just completely enchanted - by the detail in the tech work (all those feathers!), the character-based humour, the surprisingly sophisticated plot structure underlying it all.

The real fun came when my sister and I rented the video for my mom (the escape-movie fan) and my five-year-old nephew (the Wallace & Gromit) fan simoultaneously. Mom loved finding all the old classic references and nephew just laughed uproariously at the $tupid rats.

Chewie: When the Tweedy's got their 'machine', Mrs. Tweedy said that everything would be running 'in a fortnight' (=2 weeks) but they immediatly got a chicken to test out the machine. And after the machine was fully repaired, they again immediately went to get chickens to see if it worked. Later we see there's already a billboard for the pies. So what was going to take 2 weeks?

Maybe that's how long they it would take them to build up enough stock to meet demand? Of course, that doesn't explain the billboard...but I figure it's in character for Mrs.Tweedy to be so fired up about her coming millions that she'd want to get that sucker up PDQ.

When I first saw advertisements for this movie I was unimpressed. I mean, claymationy things? I had just taken my Kids^TM to see ANTZor something. It was clear that good studios with good money to pay for good scripts would want to go digital.

Then I heard it was the guy who did all the Wallace & Grommet stuff and my kids became convenient excuses to get me to the cinema.

My daughter (who was 5 at the time) laughed at the rats. My son Laughed at the rats and me laughing at all the Great Escape and Stalag 17 parodies.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a rainy Fathers day. Daddy might use that as an excuse to rent The Great Escape. (Whom am I kidding? My daughter will not watch a movie without a girl in it.)


My daughter (who was 5 at the time) laughed at the rats. My son Laughed at the rats and me laughing at all the Great Escape and Stalag 17 parodies.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a rainy Fathers day. Daddy might use that as an excuse to rent The Great Escape. (Who am I kidding. My daughter will not watch a movie without a girl in it.)

Chewie: Mel Gibson IS a Yankee. He was born in Poughkeepsie, New York. His father moved the family to Australia, I believe in search of work.
This pic is still funny, charming and a total delight.

I think Mel Gibson's from Peekskill, New York, but the point's the same.

He wad indeed born in Peekskill, according to the Internet Movie Database.

That was a question on Jeopardy the other night.