At first, I was an ordinary girl who did not want to see Chicken Run. Sure, I liked quoting the preview ("I don't want to be a pie!") but I was content in my chicken-free life. Then, suddenly, it hit me like a ton of feathers: I actually wanted to see it very, very desperately. 

After drumming up enthusiasm among my friends ("If you don't come see the chicken movie with me, I'll hate you forever.") I got my wish. And Chicken Run is a little comedy that enchanted not only me, but everyone else I dragged to the theater with me. 

It's the story of a group of chickens interred in the chicken equivalent of a prison camp: the Tweedy chicken farm. They've been hatching (groan) escape plot after escape plot, each one ending in spectacular failure and "solitary confinement" for their leader, Ginger. One day, an American Rooster named Rocky (voiced by Mel Gibson) flies over the fence, and soon has been coerced into teaching the hens how to fly to their freedom.

There are clever in-jokes sprinkled throughout the film, such as when Rocky flies over the wall yelling "Freeee-doooomm!" ala Braveheart. There's a wonderful sequence of the chickens doing preparatory flying exercises. The film has a great villain in Mrs. Tweedy, who executes the chickens when they stop laying eggs (I knew my friend was invested in the movie when she let out a loud, shocked gasp at the prospect of an execution) and finally decides to turn them into chicken pies. There's colorful supporting characters. And there's a chicken love story.

The actors and their characters are endearing, particularly Gibson as Rocky, and AbFab alums Jane Horrocks (as the clueless Babs) and Julia Sawahla (as Ginger). The voices are only half of the fun, though—the painstaking animation is appealing as well. Realistic elements, like the rain and the rusty lock, are impressive enough, but who knew a claymation chicken could convey such subtle emotions? Every one of Ginger's sarcastic blinks is priceless. 

Chicken Run has a tight, smart script. It's original and inventive. And the film touches on larger themes: self-reliance, trust, persistence and yes, freedom. It even has a positive feminist heroine in Ginger: when Rocky tries to rescue her from the pie machine, she turns the tables and ends up rescuing him instead. 

In other words, it has a lot more depth than you might expect from your average chicken movie. And that's the hot gravy on this homemade chicken pie.