CHICKEN RUN
Continued from page 11
I I I I ‘It‘s kind of perceived as a small cottage industr)’. a kind of craft thing.‘ says Nick. ‘To industrialise it like this . . . ’ He gestures towards the
studio floor. ‘It often seems strange They've hung out with the Spice Girls, made telly ads and won Oscars. Here are to me that here we are. 200 of us. the Amazing Adventures of Aardman. Words: Brian Donaldson
playing with these Plasticine models.
and yet we‘re making a movie that‘s 1972 Aardman Animations founded by
going to go out on that global scale. David Sproxton and Peter Lord. Their initial
But then I feel that we’ve been creations appear in 3305 Vi$ion On-
making movies a long time. Our previous films have been frustrated movies really.‘
It’s a safe bet that Chicken Run will be the big hit of the summer. appealing to everyone across the board. Well. almost everyone. Each time Bambi is reissued. there‘s a 1975 Morph makes his debUti” Take Hart- surge in vegetarianism among the under-sevens. When Babe was
O Aardman/Morph Limited 1980
OAardman/W8G Ltd 1989
1993 Wallace And Gromit return donning
released. pig farmers were furious at 8 The Wrong Trousers. the sudden drop in demand for g sausages. Chicken Run doesn‘t g exactly depict the egg industry in a 8 s: a a 'You Imagine Steve McQueen, é . g Donald Pleasence and Richard ’3 g Attenborough a" as chickens: 1981 The little clay fella gets his own series ~ . xx": . ‘ 3-52 § entitled The Amazing Adventures Of 0. peter Lord Morph. 1995 For a budget of £1 .3m, the third W&G extravaganza, A Close Shave IS 1986 Peter Gabriel enlists Aardman’s aid released. positive light. with the birds being cage? revomt'onary Sledgehammer 1998 Aardman go backtothe pop carted off to slaughter after they‘ve ' promo fold teaming up with the Spice laid their last. just like they are in 1987 Nina Simone follows suit for her Girls for ’Viva Forever'. real life. So are there any fears of a Christmas hit ’My Babylust Cares For Me’. backlash from the Colonel Sanders E lobby‘.’ ‘We went to a farm to do .2: research at the beginning. and they g came and saw the first six minutes of 39; g the film last weekend. just as a v; 8‘ courtesy visit.‘ confesses Nick. 3 ~§._ cringing slightly at the memory. ‘I ' E 3.33 was so apologetic afterwards. I was g ‘7?" 93 saying: "I hope I'm not painting E 1999 New creations include Rex The chicken farmers in a bad light". And . 9 Rum and two bored Shadow puppe“ mm. said. um no nu some of them 2989551: firCSDtlgvallace Alnd (3rng tale/IA in the Oscar-nominated Humdrum. ' ., . ran a u,icm t in _ are .m 11 ' The.) “ch laughing a” the Film And ielevisiosn gch‘oglegradiiataet, in; 2000 '” Apr”! the [Heat Elear'c' , way through it . . . Park commercials reach number four in Channel 4’s poll of the 100 best TV ads. Chicken Run goes on general release 1, May sees anarchic new character Angry Fri Jun. An Omnibus specia| on i ‘2 Kid launched on the internet. June Aardman is broadcast at the end of g marks the release of Chicken Run. Jun,BBC1. g 5 ’I hope I'm not painting chicken farmers ‘5 in a bad light' 33%
Best Animated Short
a Oscar for Creature
Comforts, a
series of conversations , v
with animals L V
in a zoo. ” V" m
(O Aardman Animations Ltd 1999
12 meusr 25 May—8 m 2000