Giving opinions for several years and showing like a fine vintage
Giving opinions for several years and showing like a fine vintage
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Because Chicken Run is very british it's only right that we should get a better treatment when it comes to the dvd as we get a few more extras than our american cousins.
The film is a very amusing and extremely well animated. Like Toy Story the plot and characters come first over the the look and it works.
The film is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. The transfer is excellent and clean. It's the best you'll se the film. Sound wise Pathe have given the consumer a couple of options. The disk has the usual Dolby Digital 5.1 sound mix which itself is quite lively with some good surround effects. They've also included the soundtrack in DTS which is popular in the USA but hasn't really been put to use in the UK yet. The DTS mix is better than 5.1 as it's more full and has a lot more depth picking out the slightest sounds to make a more rounded mix. If you have the necessary equipment then this is the best way to watch the film.
The menus are animated with clips from the film that blend into the menus. A very nice job. They are also backed by a music score.
Now for the real "coup"-the extras.
Directors Nick Park and Peter Lord have provided an audio commentary on the film. this is quite leisurely and gives a lot of info on the animation process but at times the pair are a bit quiet.
Next is a 25 minute making of which has interviews with the voice cast and animators. it also has behind the scenes stiff on recording the score and recording the voices for the film. It's better than most but has a bit of a promotional feel in places.
'Chickens Go In, Pies Come Out' is a featurette dedicated to animating the pie machine scene in the film. Park and Lord talk you through how the scene is acomplished. It certainly shows how tedious the process can be but also ver rewarding.
There are also the usual trailers for the film with one spoofing Mission Impossible.
The best feature here thought is the 'Aardman Archive Clips'. This is a sereis of clips that feature many examples of Aardman's animation through the years. There are a few primative examples of Parks' early work. Also some clips of Morph, Wallace and Gromit but alos the excellent Creature Comforts adverts from years ago.
Flip this bird into a dvd-rom drive and you get some great dvd-rom extras that provide an educational look at animation and creatign the film. It's more base at kids and isn't that easy to navigate but is certainly a great addition.
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commercially successful British family movie that has near-universal appeal without compromising its inherent British pluckiness (that will be the first and last...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
As warming as a nice cup of tea on a cloudy day,Chicken Runis that charming singularity, a ... more
commercially successful British family movie that has near-universal appeal without compromising its inherent British pluckiness (that will be the first and last...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
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Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Advantages: Two classic films in one amazing box set Disadvantages: There is none
soph_da_snail 24.12.2005 (27.12.2005)
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Review of Ice Age / ChickenRun (DVD)