Chicken Run

RCAVictor Records

Music Composed, Arranged, and Produced by John Powell and Harry Gregson-Williams

Conducted by Harry Gregson-Williams, Gavin Greenaway, and Nick Ingham

Orchestrations by Bruce L. Fowler, Elizabeth Finch, Harry Kim, Ladd McInstosh, and Yvonne S. Moriarty 

Release Date: 2000

     I just can't believe that they did it. The duo of John Powell and Harry Gregson-Williams were responsible for the great score to AntZ which came out a couple of years ago, and I was expecting a good score to come out of this, but I can't believe how much they just absolutely topped themselves this time around.

      What makes this score so special is the heavy abundance of themes which are almost extremely mickey-moused around. At their worst, the themes are great, at their best they are absolutely fantastic. The main themes are takeoffs of Elmer Bernstein's The Great Escape, with the similarities coming from style and not out-right transposing or copying. The Main Titles track conveniently arranges most of the themes in a suite that is great fun. Along through the score is interweaving with swing and 50s sounding dance numbers which just add to the fun. There is very little influence of Zimmer in this score, and when you can pick it out, it's always a treat. Likewise, there is very little that is reminiscent of AntZ, except for some sections in the action cues which are still used really well.

     Of course, one cannot write about this score without mentioning the kazoos. The kazoos are a really fun element that kick in at just the right moments. Sometimes they pick up the brass-line of a preceding musical line, while in others they jump in to "assist" the orchestra (the best example of this being the wildly maniacal version of Mrs. Tweedy's theme in track 20). Another terrific effect is in track five where the orchestra suddenly disappears and leaves a lone flute to play along with a wailing harmonica. Very cool. The Italian-styled theme for Nick and Fetcher is great, especially with the lightly frantic version that pops up in track 16. There are so many great tracks on this disc that it would take forever just to pick out all of my favorite spots and cues, but the best by far is in Escape to Paradise. Shortly after the aforementioned kazoo version of Mrs. Tweedy's theme, the music takes a darker turn for a few moments before a full chorus blast heralds the main theme. This is epic quality stuff and it never fails to send chills down my spine.

     This is a fantastic score and it just goes to show that you can never be sure what exactly can come out of Media Ventures!  A great score for a great film. If you loved AntZ, you have no excuse to not rush to your nearest CD store and pick it up immediately. Highly recommended. *****

Track Listing

1 -  Opening Escape (3:39)

2 - Main Title (3:24)

3 - The Evil Mrs. Tweedy (4:22)

4 - Rats! (1:09)

5 - Chickens Are Not Organized (1:01)

6 - We Need a Miracle (2:03)

7 - Rocky and the Circus (3:51)

8 - Flight Training (3:39)

9 - A Really Big Truck Arrives (5:56)

10 - Cocktails and Flighty Thoughts (1:58)

11 - Bab's Big Break (1:40)

12 - Flip Flop and Fly (2:09)

13 - Up on the Roof (3:08)

14 - Into the Pie Machine (3:10)

15 - Rocky, A Fake All Along (3:28)

16 - Building The Crate (3:32)

17 - The Wanderer (2:47)

18 - The Chickens Are Revolting (2:45)

19 - Lift Off (3:41)

20 - Escape to Paradise (4:59)

Total Running Time: 62:33