Now comes Chicken Run, a family comedy in which most of the characters are talking chickens. The movie is an example of "claymation," a process in which 3-dimensional figures are manipulated and photographed one frame at a time to give the illusion of movement. It can take several years to complete a film using this technique, but the results are incredible, creating a sense of exaggerated reality. (One of the best examples of this effect at work is in Henry Selick's James & the Giant Peach.) In the case of Chicken Run, the visuals are surreal and funny, like peeking into some chicken dream world.

Run, little chickens! Run for your lives!

Or nightmare world. The film's characters are constantly in danger of being eaten. They live in a pen owned by Mr. and Mrs. Tweedy. The pen looks more like a refugee camp than anything, and for the chickens, that's what it feels like too. Days are spent laying eggs and dreaming of escape. One day, Mrs. Tweedy gets an idea that she believes will make her rich. Instead of using the chickens for eggs, she buys a machine that will allow her to make chicken potpies. When the chickens find out what's going on, one chicken, Ginger, steps forward to plan an escape. She gets help from Rocky (voiced by Mel Gibson), a "flying rooster" who crash lands inside the pen. Together, they devise numerous plans to get over the fence, most of which seem to end in near-catastrophe.

Chicken Run was created and co-directed by Nick Park, whose Oscar-winning "Wallace and Grommit" shorts have garnered much acclaim. For his first full-length feature, Park keeps the urbane sense of humor his fans have come to expect. The story is populated with eccentric characters and packed with gags that are simultaneously silly and sophisticated. At one point, Ginger and Rocky get stuck into the potpie machine and try to get out without being turned into dinner. They dodge rolling pins and dough cutters, grease shooters and label makers. I really liked the sense of imagination the movie has. Park and his collaborators have envisioned an entire fantasy world that is a delight to behold.

The animation process is also quite spectacular. Having tinkered with a super-8 camera and clay figures in my childhood, I can attest that claymation is as frustrating as it is time-consuming. The rewards, however, justify the headaches. I found it dazzling to look at the animation in this film and to realize that it was all done by hand. The conceptualization is intricate - loaded with little details that add to the effect. The chickens themselves are funny just to see, as they have been designed with perpetually worried faces and feathered bottoms. Chicken Run is a triumph of artistic design.

I only wish that the characters themselves had been more fully developed. Each chicken seems to have one particular trait that she repeats throughout the film. Many of them seem interchangeable. The best animated features create memorable characters who we know something about (think of Dumbo or Beast or even Eric Cartman). I often had trouble telling the characters here apart. They're much more generic than they need to be.

I recommend Chicken Run for the look and the humor, both of which are top notch. There's a lot to enjoy in these regards - for adults and children alike. Hopefully, with his next feature (which I will look forward to), Nick Park will place as much emphasis on the characterization as he does on the animation. In the meantime, this one will satisfy moviegoers looking for an original and clever family film this summer.

( out of four)

Chicken Run is rated G. The running time is 1 hour and 26 minutes.