The end result is something that is just pure fun. I hate saying things like that but it's really the only way I can describe it. This is a movie that put a grin on my face pretty much through out the movie. This was punctuate by frequent chuckles and occasional loud outbursts of laughter. Judging by the rest of the audience I would say my reaction was far from atypical.
The movie focuses on a hen named Ginger (voiced by Julia Sawalha). She is determined to come up with a scheme that will allow her to break all the other chickens free so that they can feel the wonders of grass beneath their feet. Complicating her plans is the farmer, Mr. Tweedy, who patrols the fence around the chickens with his dogs as if he's patrolling a prison. Ginger's plans fail repeatedly, which keeps getting her thrown in solitary (a coal bin).
The big question I kept asking is why she just doesn't take off on her own. Almost all of the other chickens are about as dumb as, well... chickens. They seem to have only the vaguest notion of the danger they are in or what Ginger is doing. When she is about at the end of her rope with frustration she gets help from an unexpected source. A rooster named Rocky (voiced by Mel Gibson) comes shooting over the top of the farm shrieking "Freedom!" (get it?) With him is a poster proclaiming him as a flying rooster. Ginger thinks he can teach them to fly and talks him into helping with the escape plans. Rocky of course can't fly (he was fired out of a cannon) but they don't know that and he milks it for all it's worth.
The movie consists of an amazing number of sight gags, slapstick humor, bad puns and some genuinely sharp humor. All of this comes at the audience at a variety of levels. A lot of the humor can easily be appreciated by kids but there is a lot more that sails over their heads to keep the adults entertained too. This is a movie meant for kids but it isn't dumbed down at all. It respects its audiences' intelligence.
The animation and character design is a source of great entertainment by itself. The chickens only vaguely resemble real chickens but their appearance lends itself to a great amount of humor. The simple design also allows a great range of facial expressions which would never be possible with something that looked more like a real chicken.
Trust me on this, this movie is a lot of fun. It's well written, well animated and well voiced by the actors. If you don't come out of this movie with a big grin plastered all over your face you might want to check to see if you still have a pulse.
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