He continues this amazing animation tradition with Chicken Run, and maybe even kicks it up a notch. Stop-motion animation requires the animator to make every single movement by hand, with mind melting patience. And because the film is photographed frame by frame, instead of letting a computer do much of the work, I find it to more realistic looking. There is true lighting and depth in every shot. They even go so far as to create some great Scorsese like tracking shots. There's an incredible fluid motion that is created from this process, it is just amazing to watch.

The film opens with a overhead shot of what could be a war time concentration camp, it's actually the Tweedy's farm chicken coop. We meet the chickens, that without the name of the film, we might have some trouble recognizing as chickens. Human eyes, beaks that bend like lips to form words, big buck teeth, and instead of wings they have large Wallace type hands, that do the Wallace shake when they're nervous.

Ginger, our hero, is not satisfied to stay confined in this coop. Through the opening credits she attempts various ways of escape. Over, under, and through the fence she tries to go. Her not so dedicated friends keep getting her caught, and she is repeatedly thrown into the Tweedy's coal bin, that serves as solitary confinement. She is determined to get all the chickens out, but everyone is happy to have constant food and lay eggs for a career.

However, Mrs. Tweedy (looking similar to the plain clothed version of the Wicked Witch of the West), is not happy to be barely eking out a living on the eggs. She conceives of a plan to turn the chickens into chicken pot pie. About this time, Rocky a flying circus rooster, literally drops into the coop. He promises to teach all the chickens how to fly off the farm. We move into the meat of the film, Rocky trying to teach all the hens how to fly, with many hilarious results. And the best part of the film, Rocky bravely helps Ginger escape the pie making machine. It's an incredible action sequence. They run through the machinery, dodging gears and cutters, throwing in homages to Raiders of the Lost Ark along the way.

Everyone does a good job with the voice acting, taking it seriously and playing it right for the material. Mel Gibson as the brash American Rocky, Julia Sawalha (Absolutely Fabulous) as the heroic Ginger, Miranda Richardson (Sleepy Hollow) has fun in the role of the evil Mrs. Tweedy. The supporting roles are all equally as fun, the dim-witted Mr. Tweedy, Fowler a retired military chicken who thinks he runs the coop, Babs is Ginger's big hearted friend, Mac a geek inventor, and two rats Nick and Fletcher who play the Morgan Freeman role, they can get anything into the prison.

Chicken Run is one of the most imaginative movies I've seen in a long while, a constant barrage of never before seen images. Visually beautiful, with wonderful colors, lighting, and composition in every shot. Very funny, with lots of references to famous films, The Great Escape, Star Trek, Braveheart, etc. Two great action sequences dominate the film, the pie machine, and the final escape scene. This film is non-stop fun. Much like last year where animation dominated critics top-ten lists, I expect this one to stay high on mine for this year.