This is a rough, unfinished workprint cut of Aardman's 2000 feature film Chicken Run, dated to have been made in December of 1999. This VHS tape was held by Twitter user Kneesnap along with a collection of production backup tapes from the film, the tape was then transferred and passed to Twitter and Instagram user Gunner Summie who posted it on The Internet Archive on March 10, 2023. Despite featuring extra content that was removed in the finalized theatrical cut, this workprint is the shortest and earliest version of the film, clocking in at only 75 minutes, while the final film is 84 minutes in length. The main part of the film is fully animated, although some scenes are still available as storyboards. The entire finale is also not animated. There are a lot of slight differences between the workprint and the theatrical version. In most cases, shots were slightly shortened for the theatrical version. Minimal reductions are not listed in the cut report. This is interesting because you would assume that you are only animating the scenes that you want to use. The following relevant differences should be mentioned. The death of Edwina is a bit more brutal in the workprint. You can see Mrs. Tweedy rushing the axe down and also the death screams of Edwina. In another new scene, which is only available as a storyboard drawing, Rocky, after escaping from the chicken farm, stretches a rope across a road to push a child off his tricycle so that he can steal it. This explains how Rocky got the tricycle, which is not explained in the theatrical version. When Mrs. Tweedy hangs from the rope of the plane in the finale, this also differs from the theatrical version. Ginger sends Rocky to the cockpit to asssit Fowler while she cuts the rope with a saw. Different sound effects are also used in this cut, along with music from other movies as placeholders. Chicken Run is owned by Dreamworks, Aardman and Pathe. This video is being uploaded for archival purposes, no "Miniscule Profits which I'm sick and tired of making." are intended to be made.
