While it doesn’t break any new grounds in computer generated animation and follows the same path as most of the Disney CGI films that have come before it, Chicken Little does have enough laughs, music and excitement thrown in to make it entertaining.
Chicken Little fuses the classic story of “the sky is falling” with every pop culture alien invasion reference the writers could think to put into the script – from War of the Worlds to Star Wars no stone is left unturned. The movie also mines the familiar family film ground (notably between Chicken Little and his father) that we have seen in past Disney films such as Finding Nemo. In fact, parts of this script seems like it was taken straight from Finding Nemo and Disney just replaced the two fish with two chickens.
The movie opens with Chicken Little ringing Oakey Oaks’ town bell and proclaiming that the sky is falling. This causes a massive panic in the town, and results in Chicken Little and his father being humiliated when the town decides that an acorn fell on Little’s head and not the sky.
The plot then jumps a year, and we find that “Hollywood” has made a movie out of the incident; Chicken Little’s father is embarrassed by his son and just wants him to hide out; Chicken Little is the always the target of the school bully; and that Chicken Little is desperate to prove his worth to his father.
Chicken Little decides the way to prove himself to his father is by joining the school’s baseball team (his father was a star of the team back in his day). With the help of his friends (the ugly duckling Abby Mallard, a big pig named Runt and the hilarious Fish Out of Water), he even manages to help win the big game. Along with the big win, Chicken Little finally gets his father’s approval and everything looks to finally be going right. Then the sky falls again.
Chicken Little’s friends steal most of the movie’s laughs
As Chicken Little discovers the secret behind the sky falling, the movie shifts into overdrive. We finally get some excitement towards the end as aliens “attack” the town, and only Chicken Little, his father, and his friends can save the world.
Chicken Little is loaded with a cast of voice talent greats to bring to life the characters of the movie. They include Zach Braff (Scrubs) as Chicken Little, the great and crazy Joan Cusack as Mallard, Garry Marshall as Buck Cluck, Steve Zahn as Runt, and the legendary Don Knotts as Mayor Turkey Lurkey (in one of his last movies).
All the actors do a great job in making the characters real, and seem perfectly cast for the roles they play. I wish we could have had more Mayor Turkey Lurkey, but that is just because of a love for Don Knotts – who will truly be missed.
Chicken Little is loaded with fast dialogue that has enough jokes thrown in for adults to keep them laughing along side the kids. Some of the funniest moments come from Fish Out of Water and Runt. The two characters seem to constantly be finding themselves in trouble, and you can’t help but laugh when they are on screen. The movie also does a good job of throwing in some moments of pure slapstick style comedy (such as the dodge ball game) that will not be lost on the kids.
While Chicken Little does have some really funny moments (mostly through the side characters of Runt, Fish and Abby Mallard), parts of the movie flat out drag. It has several moments where the film’s pace slows to a crawl and leaves you wondering why you just don’t watch Finding Nemo instead.
THe movie has some great sci-fi action towards the end
The movie’s family message seems forced and towards the end of the film you might feel like the “father/son theme” is beating you over the head with a hammer. I don’t think it was as needed with such a group of funny characters, and the theme reminds you of Nemo too much.
The animation is crisp and what you would expect from the House of Mouse, but also lacks any signs of improvement from what we have seen a hundred times before. Everything in this movie screams “Disney formula” – from the music, to the sidekick characters and familiar plot. While kids won’t mind (my seven year old is watching it religiously), the movie may fail to impress parents.
The DVD comes loaded with the standard special features you would expect from a Disney release. They consist of deleted scenes – including three alternate openings; Hatching Chicken Little – a making of featurette that shows what went into bring the movie to the screen, and how the voice actors fit their parts; some games for kids – such as the “Where’s Fish?” trivia game where kids have to answer trivia questions to get a chance to find the missing Fish; Karaoke Sing Along; and two music videos – The Cheetah Girls and Barenaked Ladies.
Although Chicken Little won’t rank among the Disney classics or even some of the great computer generated animated films, it does manage to be entertaining (especially with kids) and has enough laughs to make it worth watching.
Chicken Little wants to prove himself by winning the big game
The movie’s plot has enough pop culture moments thrown in to keep parents interested, and manages to deliver the type of family message you expect from a Disney animated film. Chicken Little’s plot has been done before, but it is worth taking a chance on if you want a movie you can watch with the kids – which is who the movie was made for in the first place.
Chicken Little is now available at Amazon . It is available for pre-order at AmazonUK for a May 29th release. Visit the DVD’s database for more information.
Jeff SwindollMar 20th, 2006 - 21:04:08
The voice work that had me in stiches was in the Hollywoodized version of the Chicken Little story that they showed at the end of the movie.
[spoiler]Ace - Hollywood Chicken Little=Adam West[/spoiler]
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