# For fans of the movie "Chicken Run" **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 14, 2001, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-movie-chicken-run/61896 "2001-04-14T00:45:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jab1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee7513/32.png) [@jab1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jab1)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2001, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-movie-chicken-run/61896/1 "2001-04-14T00:45:24Z")
The animated-clay movie _Chicken Run_ was very popular among Dopers last summer. You should know that the film’s director/producer, Nick Park, of Aardman Animation, got his start with a series of three short films featuring the characters of Wallace and his dog, Gromit. These three shorts will be shown on the Cartoon Network Sunday morning from 10:00 AM to Noon, EDT. The films are: **"A Grand Day Out"** Wallace and Gromit love cheese. The Moon is made of cheese. So, they build a rocketship and fly to the Moon to get cheese. **"The Wrong Trousers"** Wallace invents robotic trousers. A penguin uses them and a sleeping Wallace to rob a jewelry exhibition. Highlight of the film is a dizzzying chase throughout W&G’s flat on a model train. **"Close Shave"** W&G rescue a flock of sheep with a home-made airplane. All are worth watching and/or recording. Aardman Animations is also responsible for the talking car commercials for Chevron. ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2001, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-movie-chicken-run/61896/2 "2001-04-14T00:52:54Z")
Damn, I can’t program my vcr to record on that channel. I love Wallace and Gromit and my mom’s making me do the church thing on Sunday. [The only reason I’m waking up to go to a sunrise service is to go out to breakfast afterward.] ---
**Author:** ![techchick68](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea5d25/32.png) [@techchick68](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/techchick68)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2001, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-movie-chicken-run/61896/3 "2001-04-14T01:24:35Z")
You can also buy the movies at Media Play…I have _The Wrong Trousers_ but not the other two…I believe you can buy them in a set as well. Well worth the money! ---
**Author:** ![pluto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f08c70/32.png) [@pluto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pluto)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2001, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-movie-chicken-run/61896/4 "2001-04-14T01:31:59Z")
If you get a chance, check out _Creature Comforts_, also by Ardman Animation. It’s older than the others but also won an Academy Award for best short and is the Pluto family’s favorite of them all. I’ve never seen it all by itself but I’ve found it in a couple of animation compilations. Check the animation videos in the public library. ---
**Author:** ![hypergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/49beb7/32.png) [@hypergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hypergirl)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2001, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-movie-chicken-run/61896/5 "2001-04-14T01:34:22Z")
I love Wallace and Gromit. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2001, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-movie-chicken-run/61896/6 "2001-04-14T01:38:25Z")
You may also be interested to hear that Chicken Run was the first in a, IIRC, 3 movie deal for these guys. Again, IIRC, the second movie is going to be a Wallace and Grommit movie. (I know I got that right, with the possible exception of the numbers…) ---
**Author:** ![pluto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f08c70/32.png) [@pluto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pluto)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2001, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-movie-chicken-run/61896/7 "2001-04-14T04:57:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by techchick68 \* > \*\*I have _The Wrong Trousers_ \*\* \ ---
**Author:** ![silent\_rob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@silent\_rob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silent_rob)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2001, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-movie-chicken-run/61896/8 "2001-04-14T08:27:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pluto \* > **If you get a chance, check out _Creature Comforts_, also by Ardman Animation. It’s older than the others but also won an Academy Award for best short and is the Pluto family’s favorite of them all.** Nick Park is amazing, and I love all of his work (_Creature Comforts_ is also his). I think, however, that the win for _Creature Comforts_ was bitter sweet. He was in a film school (the N.F.T.S.; hence why it’s presented by Aardman & them) when he started making _A Grand Day Out_; that was in 1982. He needed money so he took a job at Aardman. The school kept funding him and allowed him to work at Aardman. So he finished the first _Wallace and Gromit_ in 1989, the same year he finished _Creature Comforts_ for Aardman. Now, _CC_ is a great film, but it would have been nice for him to have won for what had become his labour of love (though the preceding two _Wallace & Gromit_ films won). Oh, and the three are available in a set. I bought my set a few years ago for $10 (Canadian). A travesty to be priced so cheap, but I was glad: they really are great films. **Smeghead** , you got it all right (from what I’ve heard). I can’t wait for the _W&G_ feature. ---
**Author:** ![jab1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee7513/32.png) [@jab1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jab1)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2001, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-movie-chicken-run/61896/9 "2001-04-14T19:14:11Z")
How did he come up with the name “Gromit,” anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2001, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-movie-chicken-run/61896/10 "2001-04-14T19:24:26Z")
It’s a word. According to one source, it’s a variation on _gourmet_. From personal experience, it’s also a generic term for an unidentifiable technical ‘thing’ – grommits, widgets and so on. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2001, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-movie-chicken-run/61896/11 "2001-04-14T19:42:13Z")
> [@](#): > > Now, CC is a great film, but it would have been nice for him to have won for what had become his labour of love (though the preceding two Wallace & Gromit films won). Well, I say the Academy is already guilty enough of giving out Oscars for sentimental reasons. _Creature Comforts_ was by far a better film than _AGDO_ (IMHO, the worst of the 3 W&G films), so I’m glad the Academy didn’t submit to the idea that longer/more ambitious automatically equals “better”. And I assume you mean the **subsequent** W&G films won, not “preceding.” ---
**Author:** ![DAVEW0071](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e19b73/32.png) [@DAVEW0071](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DAVEW0071)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2001, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-movie-chicken-run/61896/12 "2001-04-14T20:11:40Z")
I own all three Wallace and Gromit videos, and Creature Comforts and Chicken Run as well. 😃 I can’t wait for more Nick Park animation!! ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2001, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-movie-chicken-run/61896/13 "2001-04-14T21:15:54Z")
As do I, Dave. I wouldn’t have pegged a Mets fan for having any taste! 😃 [sub](And no, lets not hijack this thread…you can return with one cheap shot to me which I will let slide)[/sub] A question for eveyone. What’s your favorite of the 3 W&G’s? Mine is “The Wrong Trousers”. That Penguin just kills me. “A Close Shave” is very near to TWT. However, I think that those two are heads above “A Grand Day Out”. That one doesnt do much for me. ---
**Author:** ![jab1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee7513/32.png) [@jab1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jab1)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2001, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-movie-chicken-run/61896/14 "2001-04-14T21:42:30Z")
TWT. As I said in the OP, I love that chase on the model train at the end. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2001, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-movie-chicken-run/61896/15 "2001-04-14T22:18:34Z")
Isn’t a grommit one of those small plastic things you hammer into the wall to make it easier to screw in a screw? ---
**Author:** ![jab1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee7513/32.png) [@jab1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jab1)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2001, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-movie-chicken-run/61896/16 "2001-04-14T22:31:18Z")
That’s a “grommet,” according to Webster’s. It’s also the name for the hard ring inside a shoelace hole. Aardman has a [website.](http://www.aardman.com/) (Doesn’t everybody?) ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2001, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-movie-chicken-run/61896/17 "2001-04-14T23:06:25Z")
**mouthbreather** , I agree about The Wrong Trousers and A Close Shave being better than A Grand Day Out. In fact, I prefer Creature Comforts to AGDO, too. The penguin and the wallpaper in TWT just crack me up. Genuis. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2001, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-movie-chicken-run/61896/18 "2001-04-14T23:13:46Z")
“The Wrong Trousers” is my favorite W&G. When I lost my job, I was desperate to see it so I could get through things. Still, I think “Chicken Run” tops W&G. I don’t think I’ve enjoyed any movie as much. ---
**Author:** ![silent\_rob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@silent\_rob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silent_rob)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2001, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-movie-chicken-run/61896/19 "2001-04-15T01:51:18Z")
To each their own, **ArchiveGuy**. I didn’t say that the Academy Awards should have picked _A Grand Day Out_, I simply said it would have been nice for Nick Park. Since you brought it up, though, I like _Creature Comforts_ but prefer _A Grand Day Out_. Again, to each their own (maybe it’s the seemingly countless times I’ve seen _CC_ on television; many, many more times than any of the _Wallace & Gromit_’s have been aired, here). But yeah, _AGDO_ is the weakest of the three films, but that doesn’t make it bad. Still a great flick (that won the British Academy Awards for animation that year, which maybe meant more to Park). And yep, I did mean **subsequent**. Favourite has to go to _The Wrong Trousers_. The train scene is just amazing and I just really like the whole film. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2001, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-movie-chicken-run/61896/20 "2001-04-15T02:10:23Z")
Thanks for the alert, Jab1. If you’ll go to [http://www.rottentomatoes.com](http://www.rottentomatoes.com) , you can see that _Chicken Run_ was the only movie released in 2000 to get 100% positive reviews. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-movie-chicken-run/61896.md?page=2)