Netting and chicken wire enclose dismal, barrack-like huts. Watchdogs patrol, held back by a lumbering figure. The scent of fear is in the air as an escape attempt is foiled. Welcome to post-War Britain and Farmer Tweedy's poultry farm.

Life on this ranch is no picnic and even morning roll-call is a terrifying experience as egg-outlay determines the right to live. However it is Mrs. Tweedy, warden, accountant and executioner who rules this roost. She dismisses Tweedy's suspicions that the hens are "organised" and "have a plan" and that Ginger, now in solitary confinement is the ring -leader, as part of his blithering personality. The resident rooster, a retired RAF member, Wing Commander Fowler, is past his prime and in spite of Ginger's efforts, morale is low.

At this junction "Rocky Road" rooster, an American adventurer and "free-lone ranger" falls into the farm from the skies, injured. In reality he is a fugitive from the circus, and is forced to help Ginger and her friends fly in return for a hiding place . Their hearts a -flap, the hens embrace his covert training regime with vigour and many crash-landings. Unsurprisingly they would love to embrace Rocky too. Ginger alone suffers his American banter as a necessary evil greeting his casual sweet-talk with luke-warm disdain.

Time however waits for no bird. The ambitious Mrs. Tweedy invests in pie-making machine and Ginger is chosen as the filling for the trial-run pie. Against the odds, with her feet stuck in pastry and cutters on all sides, Rocky manages to save her and buy some time as the machine breaks down. His heroism leads the chickens to believe that the morrow will show them the secret of flight at last. Mac the Scottish cockerel and engineer have doubts about body weight and wing power for it is only Ginger who has seen Rocky airborne.

When Fowler presents Rocky with his treasured RAF medal and apologises for misjudging him, Rocky can live his lie no longer. As the new day dawns, he makes a run for it. Puff-pastry and commercialism aside, this film is about courage, cooperation and honesty. Rocky teaches Ginger a lesson in people-management and in turn learns not to be egg-o-centric.

The animators walk a fine line between the ludicrous and acceptable and manage to convincingly juggle matters of personality and poultry. The chickens dress like 1950's dinner ladies and one almost expects them to have feather dusters in hand, but they waddle and gorge and even cluck when required.

The very inventiveness of Ginger's escape plans is staggering, from catapults and tunnels to various disguises and the action scenes are conducted with a momentum worthy of any blockbuster.

The opening scenes show us her courage in the face of adversity and in spite of her mud-green crochet beret much of the film is carried on her no-nonsense wings. At a different level, she reinforces how important women were to the War effort. There are shades of Animal Farm but only if you are watching out for them. The hens dream of a Chicken Utopia where they can feel the grass beneath their feet, where they can feed themselves and where there are no fences. Every member of the troop pitches in to prepare for the last attempt at escape, to do or die.

There is a great deal of bird-word-play throughout the film but much of it is delivered by the two rats in the show who supply the hens with their get-a-way equipment, at a price, and who close the film with a philosophical debate.

The development of Rocky and Ginger's romance is a little weak, perhaps there was the problem of maintaining the pace, and at a running time of 84 minutes the film becomes a little long for the younger audience.

The voice casting is spot-on with Julia Sawalha (Absolutely Fabulous) as Ginger, Mel Gibson as Rocky and Miranda Richardson as the merciless Mrs. Tweedy. Though the Aardman group have worked with Steven Spielberg and the American studio DreamWorks, the humour is ultimately British.

The hens like us, have their hopes and fears and the treatment of their characters is consistent throughout. In every given situation their reactions are true to what we know of them and this attention to detail is faultless. Much of the dialogue is tongue-in-cheek and many of the situations farcical, but the suspense and drama are sincere, and the final offering is a truly delectable dish of Ginger chicken.