Chicken Run (soundtrack)

Chicken Run (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Soundtrack album by Harry Gregson-Williams and John Powell
Released	20 June 2000
Recorded	2000
Studio	Abbey Road Studios, London
Genre	Film score
Length	62:21
Label	RCA Victor
Producer	Harry Gregson-Williams John Powell
Harry Gregson-Williams chronology
The Magic of Marciano (2000) Chicken Run (2000) Shrek (2001)
John Powell chronology
The Road to El Dorado (2000) Chicken Run (2000) Just Visiting (2001)

Chicken Run (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack album composed by Harry Gregson-Williams and John Powell for the film of the same name and released by RCA Victor on 20 June 2000.

Background

The film score is jointly composed by Harry Gregson-Williams and John Powell, who previously collaborated on the DreamWorks Animation film Antz (1998). Like their previous film, Gregson-Williams wrote the primary themes whereas Powell would work on the large character themes, and both composers worked on the main theme.^[1] The score was recorded at the Abbey Road Studios in London.^[2] Powell incorporated the use of kazoos and whistles for more fun elements, and added that in the track "Building the Crate", he had utiliized a kazoo orchestra for recording the cue, which the players had enjoyed it.^[3] The score further emphasized the use of brass, owing to Powell liking the sound of brass, having mentioned his father being a brass player.^[4] The opening sequences, had been temped with the score from The Great Escape (1963), which the composers tried hard to crack and it took them months to work on the opening piece. At one point, the directors had tried to acquire the piece, as they didn't think about the composers cracking the theme.^[4]

Release

RCA Victor released the Chicken Run soundtrack on 20 June 2000, featuring 18 tracks from Gregson-Williams' and Powell's score, and two songs "Flip, Flip and Fly" by Ellis Hall and "The Wanderer" by Dion DiMucci.^[5]

Reception

Jonathan Broxton of Movie Music UK wrote "Jaded collectors who thought that innovation was dead in modern film scoring need look no further than the work of John Powell and Harry Gregson-Williams for proof that, when presented with the right project and the right set of circumstances, the composers of today can compete with the best that film music has ever offered."^[6] Thomas Glorieux of Maintitles wrote "Frankly, it is still a sign that Chicken Run works so well even after all this time, showing Harry Gregson-Williams was back then a lot more inspired than today, and that John Powell was just warming up what was going to become one amazing career. Yet both complemented each other so well that I don't mind seeing them together in one movie once again, because even the collaboration after that (Shrek) was worthy of some acclaim. However giving some acclaim is the least you can do when hearing, adoring and liking everything that Chicken Run has to offer" calling it as "one of the biggest fun scores ever written".^[7]

Christian Clemmensen of Filmtracks wrote "Chicken Run is extremely likable in character and a technical marvel in its orchestration and outstanding recording quality. It is, however, an overload of orchestral bombast and energy, with just too much flair to hold together for some listeners. As well as the composers succeed in their satirical tributes, it is this exact constant throughout Chicken Run that makes it a difficult score to enjoy unless you're looking for music that will consume all of your concentration [...] for enthusiasts of highly sophisticated orchestral comedy and satire, Chicken Run will crank you up."^[8] Heather Phares of AllMusic wrote "Chicken Run's soaring, symphonic pieces—which were composed and arranged by John Powell and Harry Gregson-Willamson—are an affectionate homage to the golden age of film music. A must for fans of the movie, as well as aficionados of great movie music in general."^[9] David A. Koran of Soundtrack.Net wrote "Chicken Run proves that pairing these two guys up again can prove better than their work on their last collaboration Antz, which was also released by Dreamworks."^[10]

Track listing

No.	Title	Artist(s)	Length
1.	"Opening Titles"		3:39
2.	"Main Titles"		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.	"Babs' Big Break"		1:40
12.	"Flip Flip and Fly"	Ellis Hall	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"	Dion DiMucci	2:47
18.	"The Chickens Are Revolting"		2:45
19.	"Lift Off"		3:41
20.	"Escape To Paradise"		4:59
Total length:			62:21

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes:^[11]

• Music composer, arranger and producer – Harry Gregson-Williams, John Powell
• Conductors – Gavin Greenaway, Harry Gregson-Williams, Nick Ingman
• Orchestrators – Bruce L. Fowler, Elizabeth Finch, Harry Kim, Ladd McIntosh, Yvonne S. Moriarty
• Contractor – Isobel Griffiths
• Score readers – Alastair King, Harry Gregson-Williams
• Compiler – Gavin Greenaway
• Engineers – Andy Dudman, Chris Clark
• Recording – Nick Wollage, Alan Meyerson
• Mixing – Nick Wollage
• Mastering – Nick Webb
• Supervising music editor – Richard Whitfield
• Music editor – Bruno Roussel, Vicki Hiatt
• Musical assistance – Geoff Zanelli, James McKee Smith, Steve Jablonsky
• Production services – Media Ventures
• Music supervisor – Marylata E. Jacob
• Copyist – Tony Stanton
• Art direction – Rich Dombrowski
• A&R – Bill Rosenfield

Accolades

Group	Category (Recipient)	Result
Phoenix Film Critics[12]	Best Original Score (John Powell and Harry Gregson-Williams)	Nominated

References

1. László, Kulics. "Different ways – Interview with John Powell". Filmzene.net (in Hungarian). Archived from the original on 30 September 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
2. "Hans Zimmer Website". hans-zimmer.com. Archived from the original on 1 September 2022. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
3. Smit, Anton (1 March 2024). "Interview with John Powell". Soundtrack World. Archived from the original on 6 February 2026. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
4. Simons, Pete (30 April 2013). "Interview with John Powell". Synchrotones. Archived from the original on 27 September 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
5. "Amazon.com: Chicken Run: Music". Amazon. Archived from the original on 16 October 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
6. Broxton, Jonathan (24 June 2000). "CHICKEN RUN – Harry Gregson-Williams, John Powell". MOVIE MUSIC UK. Archived from the original on 5 October 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
7. Glorieux, Thomas. "John Powell and Harry Gregson-Williams: Chicken Run - maintitles.net". Maintitles. Archived from the original on 22 June 2010. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
8. Clemmensen, Christian (18 August 2000). "Chicken Run (John Powell/Harry Gregson-Williams)". Filmtracks. Archived from the original on 27 October 2000. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
9. "Chicken Run [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] – John Powell | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 10 December 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
10. "Chicken Run Soundtrack (2000)". Soundtrack.Net. Archived from the original on 18 October 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
11. Harry Gregson-Williams; John Powell. Chicken Run (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (Media notes). RCA Victor.
12. "Flashes From the week of January 18, 2001". Phoenix New Times. 18 January 2001. Archived from the original on 10 September 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2014.