--- title: "Chicken Run: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/chicken-run/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/chicken-run" critics_score: 80 critics_reviews: 11 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Chicken Run (2000): what the critics said Critics' score 80 from 11 reviews: 9 positive, 2 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics greet Chicken Run warmly, with praise clustering around its expressive stop-motion animation, distinctive characters and witty treatment of prison-escape films. The reviews repeatedly credit the models with conveying personality and feeling, while the voice performances add humour and pathos. The ingenious set pieces draw particular approval, and several critics find enough warmth in the chickens’ predicament to make the film more than a collection of references. Reservations centre on whether the escape-film premise sustains a feature, rather than on the animation itself. The AV Club admires the invention but suggests the story might work better as a shorter sketch. The Guardian finds it charming but modest and a little twee, while Time Out considers the laughs slow to arrive and the film closer to pastiche than parody. The spread runs from enthusiastic praise to qualified approval; even the cooler reviews acknowledge the craft. ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Rating 4/4. 23 June 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. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/chicken-run-2000) ## Empire — Angie Errigo Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. 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. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/chicken-run-review/) ## Evening Standard Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 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. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/chicken-run-7433722.html) ## The New York Times — Elvis Mitchell Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 21 June 2000. 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. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/21/movies/film-review-on-flying-the-coop-with-plenty-of-yolks.html) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 21 June 2000. 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. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-jun-21-ca-43050-story.html) ## Radio Times — David Parkinson Rating 4/5. 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. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-miv9rh/chicken-run/) ## The AV Club — Scott Tobias Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 23 June 2000. 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. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/chicken-run-1798192417) ## Variety Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 12 June 2000. 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. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2000/film/reviews/chicken-run-1200462982/) ## The Guardian Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 30 June 2000. 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. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2000/jun/30/culture.reviews) ## Time Out — GA Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 13 March 2014. 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. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/chicken-run) ## Sight and Sound — Kim Newman 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. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/small-masterpiece-cinematic-storytelling-chicken-run-reviewed-2000) ## Eye for Film — Angus Wolfe Murray Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 19 January 2001. 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. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/chicken-run-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/chicken-run.md