Chicken Run

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

It's aimed at adults as much as children, with jokes that work on multiple levels, and contraptions.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

People who have seen it seem to be crazy about it.

San Francisco Chronicle Peter Stack

It will be the most talked-about comedy of summer.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

The visual comedy is brilliant.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

It's a purely winning film.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

The suspense isn't exactly breathtaking, but there are some mighty fine laughs in this clever Claymation cartoon.Family fun for all.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

A delightful, perceptive, funny, detail-perfect fable.

Mr. Showbiz Kevin Maynard

Flock (don't walk) to the theater to see Chicken Run.

Dallas Observer Gregory Weinkauf

Gleefully blurs the line between species. Vive la révolution!

The New York Times A.O. Scott

Doesn't try to cram messages of uplift down its audience's gullet. It's a great eggscape from banality.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

Never loses its priceless stamp of individuality. Reduced to its essence, this is a joke told by a person, not a corporation--and that makes all the difference.

LA Weekly F. X. Feeney

A delirious fable about every creature's need for espace.

Newsweek David Ansen

It starts quietly, introducing its splendid gallery of fowl, rats and humans, then builds and builds until it achieves full comic liftoff.

Variety Todd McCarthy

Technically superb and witty in an old-fashioned, veddy British way that will delight many adults but will sail over the heads of young audiences.

Film.com Tom Keogh

Finally, there's a female action hero for the summer of 2000, and she's a . . . chicken. But a chicken to believe in.

Film.com John Hartl

All but guarantees that you'll want to see Chicken Run more than once.

Salon.com Michael Sragow

This movie's cornucopia of humorous riffs and stunts never fails to amuse or enthrall because it never ceases to be unexpected.

TNT RoughCut Heather Fehere

A movie that kids may want to see again and again, and adults will be happy to oblige.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

It may sound silly, but Lord and Park conjure up a world of visual miracles.

Slate David Edelstein

Poetry in motion: It's eggsquisite.

Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector

A scene set inside the chicken-pie-making machinery proves that the Rube Goldberg formula is infallible.

Film.com Sean Means

That rare movie, a clever and unabashedly fun adventure that has as many winning moments as it has hen's teeth -- which is quite a lot.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Not only funny and wicked, clever and visually inventive, but . . . kind and sweet. Tender and touching.

USA Today Susan Wloszczyna

A little slapstick, a little action, rich characters and a whopping serving of wit. All baked to near-perfection.

Boston Globe Jay Carr

There's nothing paltry about its poultry.

San Francisco Examiner Wesley Morris

Imbued with infectious pluck. It's also a lucid, competent, titanically entertaining movie loaded with workable gags.

New York Daily News Staff (Not Credited)

Funny, even thrilling.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

A bizarre, thrilling, warmly funny spoof of the WWII Steve McQueen prison camp thriller, "The Great Escape" remade for a near all-chicken cast.

New York Post Jonathan Foreman

It is not only an amazing technical accomplishment, it's also the wittiest and best-voiced animated movie to come along in years.

TV Guide Stephen Miller

Who'd have thought you'd find yourself caring so much about the fate of a flock of fryers? This chicken has legs -- lots of them.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

Absolutely delightful filmmaking, chock-full of gorgeously goofy animation and a storyline that cleverly echoes everything from "Stalag 17" to "Cool Hand Luke."

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

The package is perfectly irresistible.

Baltimore Sun Ann Hornaday

That rare kids' movie that may be even more entertaining for its intended audience's adult companions.

Village Voice J. Hoberman

A combination of "Barnyard Follies" and "Schindler's List."