You may not be able to save a turkey this Thanksgiving (except for sandwiches over the weekend), but you can honor the contributions of our feathered brethren by watching some classic films with avian heroes.

Despite Morgan Freeman's grandfatherly narration and the charming – and often heroic – behavior of the emperor penguins, the Oscar-winning French documentary March of the Penguins can be bone-chilling, and not just because of the Antarctic setting. Penguins travel dozens of miles, go without sustenance for weeks at a time, face threats from leopard seals and killer whales, and hunker down in bitter cold and powerful winds, all for a chance to reproduce. This should help you keep things in perspective when your relatives start getting on your nerves.

The technology used to bring Winged Migration to the screen is nearly as fascinating as the footage it made possible. Over three years of production, five camera crews flew from one pole of the earth to the other in ultra-light aircraft, helicopters and balloons, and employed remote controlled gliders and a delta wing plane that could approach flocks of migrating birds without disturbing them. The result is a nearly silent, breathtakingly beautiful documentary that allows you to see the world as birds do. You'll forget all about those four hours stranded on the tarmac.

Many families have trouble agreeing on the evening's entertainment, but fans of Wallace & Gromit, or Mel Gibson, or barnyard comedy – and really, doesn't that cover everyone? – will enjoy Chicken Run. The imperiled inhabitants of a British chicken farm engineer a daring escape with the help of an American circus rooster who catapults (literally) into their midst. Clever puns and cultural references abound; the film alludes to prisoner of war pictures like Stalag 17 and The Great Escape, as well as Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Braveheart.

Too sweet, after all that pie?  The Birds is playing on AMC Thanksgiving night.