August 2000

     

    The feather's have well-and-truly flown for Chicken Run. It's now made
    more than $95million in America, and it's even managed to squeeze
    out M-I2 and Stuart Little over here, taking over $30million in the UK
    this Summer - cracking stuff!

    Check out:
    http://www.aardman.com/makingof
    http://www.chickenrun.co.uk

    ______________________________________________________________

     

    Chicken Run's success extends beyond the Big Screen, though. You
    surely can't miss all the licensed products and tie-ins that are filling
    High Street shelves up and down the country. So you're not some
    corporate slave, you won't be coerced into buying into some vast
    money-hungry conglomerate design? So look again. The Chicken Run
    licenses are fab.  Aardman have built carefully upon past successes,
    developed through Creature Comforts and Wallace & Gromit with
    the exclusive Boots product range, the Giftware International stuff,
    the Wesco clocks and watches, Vivid Imaginations and the Martin
    Yaffe collectibles. Whoever handled these accounts deserves
    a huge pat on the back. No, I've not been paid to write this, I'm just a
    hugely impressed collector.

    Anyways, to celebrate - sort of - this edition of THE HOUND is a
    'Fings Wot i Must Have' special, looking at some of the exclusive
    Chicken Run product promotions and merchandise you can find
    on the British High Street:

    

     WEETABIX & READY BREK
     There's a CR bean toy promotion running on special packs. You can
     collect tokens to redeem against Golden Bear bean toys.  The beanies
     aren't 'egg-sclusives' but the pack design is very smart...

     WEETOS BREAKFAST CEREAL
     There are 10 different CR plastic figures to collect - as advertised on TV.

     STONEGATE EGGS
     Now this is just terrific. You would have thought a promotion with
     an egg farm would have been a tad insensitive, eh?- But these are
     free range - very clever! - There are 8 different CR egg cups free in
     these here special packs. And they're proper ceramic ones too.
     Needless to say, our fridge is over-flowing with eggs right now...        

          

     FABULOUS BAKIN BOYS MUFFINS
    There are four of these CR sticker sheets to collect in special boxes,
    which feature four different background scenes for you to stick 'em
    on. The muffins are p'erty delicious too. You'll find 'em at Tesco's...

    LAUGHING COW
    More stickers! - Laughing Cow are giving away 8 different designs, plus
    cinema admission tokens in special packs of their cheez dippers and triangles!

    KINNERTON CONFECTIONARY
    Kinnerton have produced flat-packs of moulded chocolate selections
    with chocolate characters and pies - like the one above - Yum!
    They've also produced cute CR jelly sweet tins, with moulded
    characters on top. I've spied at least three different...

             

    Best of the bunch, though, are these CR fruit flavoured shaped
    jellies, which come with one of six different 'egg-breaker' cards
    inside. Crack 'em open to reveal Mrs Tweedy, Rocky, etc. - Tops!    
       
    MARKS & SPENCER
    St Michael have produced CR bedclothes and underwear,
    plus a range of sweets and cakes in a special 'Ministry Of Yummy'
    range, featuring Kinnerton-style sweety tins with moulded
    plastic figures on top, and - 'Chocs away!' - flat-pack chocolate
    selections like the one above. The range-topper is a smart CR birthday
    cake. Pity mine's not till next April...

    THORNTONS
    More sweeties! - Thorntons are selling special CR bagged toffee
    and fudge, featuring different characters on the packs...

    PIZZA HUT
    The Hut are offering up special 'Poultry In Motion' softballs. The 'eggs'
    jiggle and shake when you pull the cord. B-z-z-z-z.....

    ARGOS
    Occassionally, Argos seem to get stuff that no one else gets:
    Earlier this year they got the Emperor Zurg room guard from TS2,
    now they seem to be the only place with a fab 15" high Rocky
    room guard. It's the centrepoint of a terrific full page of CR
    toys and colectibles in their latest catalogue...

    BOOTS
    Boots stock a range of CR products, like my fave, the Nick & Fetcher
    radio from Wesco. But so far, only two Boots exclusives seem to
    have appeared on shelves. These being 9" high Rocky and Ginger
    moulded bubble bath bottles.

    HALFORDS
    Halfords have stocked up on Rocky and Ginger air fresheners for
    your car. I've not seen these anywhere else - even in Woolworths...
         
    BHS
    Collectors should take a look at their fab 'Cracking Clothing Co.' range
    of exclusive W&G adult nightwear. They've expanded it to include CR and
    they now offer a big red Ginger dressing gown, plus CR pyjamas, a nightshirt
    and matching  slippers - all top quality and almost too good to wear...

    THE REST
    Elsewhere, it''s business as usual with Golden Bear bean toys,
    Giftware fridge magnets, a great greeting card range, stationery and
    Wesco clocks and watches etc. available from numerous outlets - but
    why not buy 'em online at the Aardmarket?
       
     http://www.aardman.co.uk         

    Have I missed out on an 'egg-sclusive'? - Drop us a line if you
    know of one: thehound@toonhound.com

    But before I sign off, look at this exclusive: A special Chicken Run
    biscuit you can buy at Tescos - I'll scan anything, me!

        

     - ' No Chicken Run products escape from Toonhound!'
    ______________________________________________________________

       

   Time for some news from the other toon sites:

   The ever-fab 80sNostalgia had a revamp recently. New nifty gifs
   animate in to their place when you surf from page to page - a very
   smart revamp for a very smart site - Go there now!

    http://www.80snostalgia.com/classictv/

   Meanwhile, Claire Hamilton - who still seems to be battling
   Geocities - has just launched the beginnings of an online cartoon store.
   Very much a home-starter this one, but who knows where it might go?
   Take a peek for yourself at:

    http://thecartoonstore.8k.com
           
    ______________________________________________________________

   
    Got a new Brit cartoon to promote? - Let me know and
    I'll plug it for you. It could be a finished project, an early concept
    a comic strip creation, tv, or movie even - whatever - We all know
    how frustrating it can be trying to get that break or close that deal.
    Toonhound's here to help if it can...

    Just drop me a line: thehound@toonhound.com
    ______________________________________________________________
                
   
    The search goes on (still!)...

    Please, please can someone unearth a 'Cockleshell Bay' site?
    Jediman has a small 'Cloppa Castle' puppet page - but I want more,
    greedy beggar that I am - Can anyone help?!
       
     - Till next time!