Chicken Run

This wry, wacky, egg-farm version of The Great Escape is an ingenious G-rated claymation adventure set on a 1950s English poultry ranch. Stern, greedy Mrs. Tweedy (the voice of Miranda Richardson) and her hen-pecked husband run the farm like a prisoner of war camp. Ginger (Julia Sawalha) is a scrappy, determined hen who enlists the aid of a cocky rooster (Mel Gibson) to help the feathered barnyard matrons escape before the Tweedys turn them into pot pies. The film has one of the most exciting action scenes of the year (think Modern Times crossed with Indiana Jones’ heroics), and many of the same mood swings that made Babe so richly rewarding. Directed by Wallace and Gromit creator Nick Park and Peter Lord.