May 26, 2002
Chicken Run

Yeah, I'm about two years late for a review of Chicken Run. But I'm watching it and realizing that while there's a lot of "poppycock" and foolishness, it sparks several thoughts. But first,

"Which part of 'they kill us' do you not understand?"

It starts off simply enough. Dozens of chickens on a chicken farm. If they cannot lay eggs, they are killed. Ginger, a chicken sporting a poorly knitted green cap, is the only chicken among them determined to escape. When the worst seems to have come, Rocky Rhodes, a rooster comes flying into the farm from the circus. He must now teach them to fly out of the chicken farm.

There are problems, though.

Ginger wears a green cap. Mack wears glasses. The fat one wears a blue beaded necklace. Babs knits beak warmers. Rocky wears a kerchief. Fowler was in the airforce and has a British flag, and reads. They have several machines and contraptions. Something is wrong.

Does Mrs. Tweedy, the cruel owner of the chickens, not notice their behavior? Certainly Mr. Tweedy does, but even he overlooks their strange habits. I wouldn't expect my chickens to wear caps or knit or to have posters of soldiers in their bunks. I would find something suspicious about a chicken carrying a lantern around at night. But I suppose the Tweedy's are just.. different.

My favorite chicken has to be Mack, the genius chicken. Of course, to show that he's smart, the animators just had to provide him with glasses and a rather stupid hairstyle. Chickens don't have hair, first of all. And second, I don't see why glasses signify that this chicken has brains. But alas, this is the way it always goes, isn't it. An innocent chicken with remarkable thinking ablities is always ruined by a pair of specs.

As the plot develops, the villains - being the Tweedy's (chicken owners) - find that the years of egg business they have been in has been a waste, and they are poor. Mrs. Tweedy purchases a new device to change the Tweedy company.

'It's a Pie Machine,' she tells her husband. 'Chickens go in, pies come out.'

'What kind of pie?'

'Apple.'

'Ooh my favorite!'

'Chicken, you idiot!'

I love that part. Anyway, to show how it works, Mrs. Tweedy puts Ginger in the machine, and Rocky heroically saves her from the cavernous machine that is really only about 6 feet tall, but appears to be an entire factory within.

When the chickens all proclaim that they 'don't want to be a pie!' they are overjoyed that Rocky will continue to teach them to fly. Unfortunately, the next morning, he leaves a scrap of paper. She finds this to be the second half of Rocky's circus poster, completing the rocket he is shot out of. The truth is revealed - Rocky can't fly.

Then how is it that he escapes from the chicken farm? He stayed for at least a month, then suddenly leaves? The others have been trying forever, yet he succeeds in one night? And why can he ride a bicycle? Where did he get the bicycle?

Being the determined hen that she is, Ginger does not give up. Fowler, the eldest chicken who gives the constant reminder that back in his day, blah blah blah. He was in the air force, too. So obviously, he knows about aviation! The chickens get to work on what could possibly be the greatest flying machine ever. When the contraption is complete, Ginger calls him for his duty.

'Alright, Fowler, ready for takeoff'

'Behind you all the way!'

'You're supposed to be up there!' Ginger says, startled.

'Dont be ridiculous! I can't fly it!'

'You mean.. you didn't fly it before?'

'Good heavens, no! I'm a chicken!'

Best line in the entire move, hands down.

In the end, Fowler ends up flying it, and Rocky comes back to save them from the pie machine, which he finds out about a little too late. The chickens destroy the entire farm, escape the clutches of the Tweedy's, and there you have it. Chicken Run.

Though shouldn't it be Chicken Fly?

The last two quotes I liked :

'You thievy little boogers...' said by Mr. Tweedy to the chickens.

and,

'You can do it, you old sausage!' said by the fattest chicken to Fowler.

All in all, I think that it is safe to say,

Chicken Run = quality entertainment!!

- Molly{11:30 pm}

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