Chicken Run

Chicken Run - ***1/2

From directors Peter Lord and Nick Park (Wallace and Gromit), the 2000 film Chicken Run is animated comedy before it became safe and templatic. Mel Gibson leads the cast of relative unknowns, although clearly voice work is not a problem. While it is easy to make connections between this movie and "The Great Escape", the film is full of subtle references to action/adventure movies of the past. The animation is not unlike The Incredibles in that the action sequences are just as visually intriguing as they would be had they been done in live action. It looks good, it sounds good, it is good. Thumbs up.