- published: 25 May 2016
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Chicken Run is a 2000 stop-motion animated comedy film produced by the British studio Aardman Animations. As the studio's first feature-length film, it was directed by Peter Lord and Nick Park. It was co-financed by DreamWorks Pictures and Pathé, with the former distributing the film worldwide except for Europe, where it was handled by Pathé. The plot centers on a band of chickens who see a smooth-talking Rhode Island Red named Rocky as their only hope to escape from certain death when the owners of their farm decide to move from selling eggs to selling chicken pot pies. The film features the voices of Julia Sawalha, Mel Gibson, Timothy Spall, Phil Daniels, Tony Haygarth and Miranda Richardson. Chicken Run received positive reviews from critics, and grossed over $224 million, becoming the highest-grossing stop motion animated film ever.
Mr. and Mrs. Tweedy run a failing chicken farm in Yorkshire; the chickens are caged in the style of a prison camp with a high fence and barbed wire, with two dogs that patrol the grounds. Chickens that fail to produce enough eggs are slaughtered for food. Frustrated at the "minuscule profits" generated by the farm, Mrs. Tweedy comes up with the idea of converting their product from eggs to chicken pies, and orders a large automatic pie maker.