Chicken Run (2000)

The critic praises the film as a magical, charming animated feature that uses animals as surrogates for human hopes and fears, with a whimsical and sometimes darker view. He singles out the observant take on character and nature, along with the kind, sweet, and visually inventive stop-motion work by Lord and Park.

The critic calls it a remarkably well-sustained POW camp parody that is very funny and imaginative. They single out the hilarious set-piece inside the pie-making machine for particular praise.

The critic hails it as a witty, ingenious and imaginative original that is a real winner and the freshest addition to the summer's entertainment. They single out the spectacular large-scale sequences, especially the white-knuckle ride through the chicken-pie machine, for praise.

The critic calls it a brainy, confident parody of prison escape films that makes clever use of Mel Gibson's voice and stands out from bland animated features. He praises the wistful, fable-like quality and the plucky heroine Ginger.

The critic finds it a gleeful, charming parody of prison movies with the unmistakable hallmarks of Wallace and Gromit-style wit and cleverness. He highlights the individuality and playful humor that make it a standout stop-motion achievement.

The critic calls it an awesome achievement with plentiful funny nods to classic films, a strong British voice cast adding humour and pathos, and exhilarating, ingenious set pieces.

The critic praises the inventive stop-motion animation and the film's clever extended riff on The Great Escape, recast in a Yorkshire chicken coop. The level of invention in the models, figurines, and characters is astonishing, though the story might work better as a shorter sketch.

The review describes it as a delightfully clever feature debut that is technically superb and witty in a veddy British way, though it doesn't quite reach the heights of the team's shorts. It singles out the marvelous stop-motion work, nuanced characterizations, and outstanding voice performances.

The film is a cheerful pastiche of The Great Escape featuring plucky chickens escaping a farm, offering solid family entertainment. It is charmingly conceived but modest and a little twee compared to Pixar films like Toy Story.

The review finds the film slow to take off in laughs and gags, feeling more like pastiche than parody of POW films, but credits the craftsmanlike stop-motion technique as a triumph.

Kim Newman praises the film as an ingenious homage to wartime escape movies brought to life through expressive stop-motion animation, singling out an inventive narrative device in the scene revealing the truth about Rocky.

The critic praises the film as a refreshingly old-fashioned and peculiarly English stop-motion feature that trusts its idiosyncratic style over Hollywood conventions. He singles out its refusal to embrace modernity in favor of nostalgic Yorkshire surrealism and the expressive character work through the models' eyes.