You see, the two friends could not be content with just a quick switch. Pete is actually good at being the mascot, and he decides he does not want anyone to know the truth. This works out great for Cleatis, who gains a cheerleader girlfriend and instant popularity when everyone believes he is still the one cock-a-doodle-doing at the basketball games. The deal? He is supposed to be talking up his best friend to his sister, someone Pete has a crush on but only manages to dry heave in front of when he wants to ask her out. Of course, this arrangement cannot work for long, otherwise there would be no plot, and hilarity ensues.

The newest Disney Channel Original Movie features a slew of familiar faces to bring this story to life, and while the premise is a little odd, all of the actors do a fantastic job. While watching the movie, I was definitely rooting for Pete to “break out of his shell” and wondering if Cleatis was really an insensitive jerk, or just a friend who answered when opportunity came knocking. Dolley and Musso nailed their respective roles. Tiffany Thornton was fantastic as the popular cheerleader holding Cleatis in the palm of her hand. The stand out though would have to be Josie Loren as new girl Angela. She portrays a likeable “girl next door” character. She is the only character in the film to appreciate Pete before the whole chicken debacle. Some people do not even realize he goes to their school. While I had my doubts about how a script revolving around a misidentified mascot could entertain, the cast managed to really bring the story together, and the tale of the chicken takes the audience for a fantastic ride.

The important thing to realize about the mascot is that to a school where the basketball team has lost its last 20 games, and in a town where school spirit is a way of life, the chicken is more than just a boy in a suit. The chicken stands for something larger. He is a force that is capable of uniting all of the students and is able to bring the crowd to its feet, even inspiring the basketball players to (gasp!) make a few baskets. The chicken demonstrates that the town of Brewster needs a little push to really believe in themselves, just like Pete.

Above all, the film provides a great lesson for its viewers, no matter that it has been used in various forms in countless other Disney movies. As the tagline says, “you can live your whole life in a shell, or you can hatch.”