Chikan Thoda

There have been many, many movies that Disney has put out that I've had a high desire to see "succeed". All in all, most Disney animated movies that have made it to the big screen in the more modern cinema history of, say, from "Beauty and the Beast" all the way up to "Lilo & Stitch" and "Brother Bear", have done that. Perhaps some are only a financial success, like "Treasure Planet", but certainly they were popular enough with one group of moviegoers or another to have a good box office take.

Unfortunately, "Chicken Little" is not a success.

In pooling my thoughts to review this movie, I am so highly disappointed that good animation is its only high mark. In this pivotal point in the history of The Walt Disney Company, where its relationship with Pixar is still on the rocks while a new president is stepping up, I wanted this movie to be a smashing success. I wanted this to be the movie that starts another Golden Age revolution, where it is possible that Disney takes the top spot in producing awesome animated movies.

I fear that there aren't many good storytellers left at Disney Feature Animation, and there didn't seem to by any present for the making of "Chicken Little". The story itself, chronicling the tales of the title character proving to his community that he is not a failure, was a good enough premise. Though it wasn't executed well at all. Instead of solid, premise-building scenes where it's main characters interact well with others (and get the audience laughing along the way), we get a sappy, melodramatic mini-soap with voice actors who don't have a good script...followed immediately by, more times than I'd care to recall, potty humor gags. Judging by the audience of my screening, made up of at least 40% little kids, only they found that funny.

With so many 3D animated movies coming out recently, like "Madagascar", "Robots" and "Valiant", all released this year, many companies are trying to prove their movie-making chops to us movie-goers. They can make a very beautiful looking movie, with wonderfully rendered characters that can move so fluidly and realistic...but the very vital element of sharing a good story is missing in action. It's my belief that a great story without great animation will be a much better movie than one that looks great, but has a weak story. Though, both elements are what made Pixar's "The Incredibles" an Oscar-contending, $265 million hit. Computer animation is, indeed, not the shoe-in, cure-all solution to a great movie.

To boot, "Chicken Little" has a weak soundtrack, composed mainly of songs that were popular at one time or another...to the pre-teen-aged crowd. Instead of beautiful, original, fully-composed songs like "A Whole New World" in "Aladdin" (or anything close to it), we are treated to Spice Girls' "If You Wanna Be My Lover" (complete, by the way, with karaoke subtitles). Unoriginal and highly annoying.

Having sufficiently railed on the movie, it is my belief that the corporate suits in charge of financing Feature Animation have more blame for the steady decline in their movies than anybody working under them. It seems they think they know what makes a successful movie, over-riding many decisions of the animators and storytellers--those who are still at Feature Animation--who have proved they can make great movies. I believe said pencil pushers are what made last year's "Home on the Range" fail, critically and financially.

All in all, I believe "Chicken Little" is a failure that I define as hot having a good story to match its sweet computer animation. In Disney's quest to prove that they are still the Best of the Best, movies like this will prove to the world that they are merely the best of the rest. And we all know that it's not the Disney we grew up on and cherished.

"Chicken Little" gets 4 of 10 stars

Reviewing "Robots," "The New York Times" opined that when it comes to animation there's Pixar, there's Japan, and there's everyone else (it should be noted that not all Japanese cartoons are good - "Shin Chan," anyone? - but you see A.O. Scott's point). "Chicken Little" definitely falls into the "anywhere else" camp, but while it won't siphon away fans from John Lasseter or Nick Park - especially since Disney's delayed its UK release for a few months, the way they did with "Sky High" (but not "Herbie: Fully Loaded," I notice. Idiots) - it's not DreamWorks-mediocre either.

The House of Mouse's first attempt at computer animated movies without Pixar was the skilfully made but hollow "Dinosaur"; this one is under the auspices of the team behind the wonderful "The Emperor's New Groove," and while it doesn't have that cartoon's spirit it still has some virtues of its own. More deliberately cartoonish in its look and feel than many recent features, it's also probably a little too sentimental for some tastes - an awful lot of the movie involves our feathered hero wanting not only to redeem himself for the whole "the sky is falling" farrago but also to open up two-way communication with his single dad, with all the Family Issues that implies. Fortunately it never really swamps the movie, with the family message never overriding the main intent, i.e. to entertain.

Unlike the inexplicably hugely successful "Madagascar," it doesn't drag and the voice cast (Zach Braff, Garry Marshall, Joan Cusack, et al) doesn't get in the way of the movie's effect; it relies a little too much on popular culture references and songs for its effect (particularly in the opening - that works in "Raiders of the Lost Ark" in live action - and in the case of Runt of the Litter, the show-tune-loving pig voiced by Steve Zahn), but it's a colourful, charming little movie that thankfully ends well before it has a chance to wear out its welcome, and it's nice to have a movie with a message that doesn't try to ram it down your throat. There are worse Disney movies that could have been dedicated to veteran animator Joe Grant.

And if nothing else, I defy anyone to find another movie that has the voices of Don Knotts and Patrick Stewart joining in on "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" over the credits...

My three kids (15,12 &10) laughed through the whole movie.My 15 year old son laughed so hard he couldn't stop coughing! My husband (who hates to spend money to see movies at the theater) felt it was worth the expense, though he said there were one or two spots where he lost interest. But overall, he felt it was a good all around Disney movie. I thought the message was excellent, and a very accurate portrayal of what kids go through today. I also love a movie that isn't under written with political agendas, crude adult innuendos, or excessive body function humor. Chicken Little is free of all my pet peeves. I would recommend this movie for a fun family outing.

I remember watching "Chicken Little" in theaters as a kid, right when it premiered. It's hard to believe that almost 20 years have passed since then. That experience, seen through the eyes of a child, was immensely entertaining, filled with adventures that captured the imagination and kept kids like me glued to the screen.

However, looking back on it now as an adult, I realize it's not a movie I'd choose to watch a second time. While the premise, based on the classic "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" tale, where no one believes the protagonist until the truth is revealed, worked well and even became part of the cultural zeitgeist of the time -to the point where "Chicken Little" became a nickname for those considered alarmists without cause- my adult perspective tells me that, though entertaining, it wasn't a film that marked a before and after in the world of animation.

Despite this, I can't deny that "Chicken Little" had its impact, inspiring or, at the very least, entertaining many. To this day, I consider it a perfect choice for young children looking for something fun to watch. This movie, with its humor and lessons about bravery and the importance of truth, will surely capture the attention of kids, offering them a fun-filled and adventurous experience, just as it did for me back then.

I remember this movie as one of the earliest memories as a child. All the way back to the first house my parents lived in together, my first books, first games, and my first movies. This one stands out to me in a big way, I had never even thought a movie could be that wild and crazy while also having some themes I could understand as a one-year-old, a movie with a soundtrack that I could still hear as a kid while doing other stuff a kid my age would do. I think I wore my parents out on this movie, but they still let me watch it over and over again. It is truly a great movie for a kid, enough to keep the children content and to keep the parents mildly interested. Its obviously not a mind bending classic, but it is a movie that is very near to my heart.