Amazon.com A classic fable gets fused with War of the Worlds in Disney's Chicken Little. In the small town of Oakey Oaks, young Chicken Little (voiced by Zach Braff, Garden State) struggles to live down the embarrassment of having once thought the sky was falling. But when he gets struck again by a hexagonal, sky-camouflaged, hi-tech doohickey, he and his friends Ugly Duckling (Joan Cusack, School of Rock), Runt of the Litter (Steve Zahn, Sahara), and Fish Out of Water discover that aliens are preparing to invade Earth--but since no one believed Chicken Little the first time, why would they believe him now? Though kids will enjoy the bright whizz-bang action sequences of Chicken Little, discerning parents will find the movie tedious. Technically, it has the computer animation quality of Pixar--but with none of their intelligence, heart, or simple storytelling skill. The basic idea of connecting the fable to aliens is amusing, but the script routinely bogs down in clumsy father-son issues that seem like material edited out of Finding Nemo. The jokes rarely have anything to do with the characters, but are mostly pop-culture references that are sadly out of date. The action sequences were obviously created with the inevitable video game in mind, for which the movie is little more than an advertisement. Chicken Little falls flat. --Bret Fetzer
Description Experience a fantastic world of breathtaking action in Disney's hilarious new movie CHICKEN LITTLE. It's "the perfect family film," raves Scott Mantz of Access Hollywood. When the sky really is falling and sanity has flown the coop, who will rise to save the day? Together with his hysterical band of misfit friends, Chicken Little must hatch a plan to save the planet from alien invasion and prove that the world's biggest hero is a little chicken. Overflowing with incredible music and bursting with exciting bonus features, including alternate openings, an exclusive "making of" featurette, games, and much more, this sensational DVD is truly something to cluck about.
- CHICKEN LITTLE: Keep your expectations little and you might be able to enjoy it.... (2)
I hear these movies take 3 to 5 years to make. That would make one assume that the script would consist of more than drawn-out stuttering, lame jokes, old songs and every cliche known to man repeated over and over. Now I like kiddy movies. I do. I thoroughly enjoyed Finding Nemo, The Incredibles and the Shrek movies. They were witty, humorous, intelligent and cleverly made to play to all ages. Not so with Chicken. The plot needed to either hold together or entertain - both preferably, but it suceeded in neither.
While the animation was very good, they overdid facial expressions and gestures, as if proud of themselves for their abilities. Rightly so, but subtlety is what makes it look real, believable.
The main problem I saw was lack of originality. They had obviously been watching Nemo and Shrek in the key moments of script and plot writing. But the father/son motif fell short of moving and wandered into the painful-to-watch relm. The "sly" allusions to other movies were not only outdated, but presented in such a "please laugh hysterically now" fashion that I simply rolled my eyes.
Kids will like it, but kids like Scooby Doo and Herbie too.
With such creative characters and invenite plotlines as Nemo, Incredibles and Shrek, I would have been more than a little chicken releasing this foul mess. - Cute and enjoyable (3)
Chicken Little is a funny movie. It's one of Disney's first computer animated movies(not counting the Pixar films) The music is good. Chicken Little's friends are funny and enjoyable, especially Runt and Fish.
Chicken Little has things other animated films of today lack. For one thing it is about a child. Another thing it has details seen in classic cartoons. It also shows what a child feels about his father. (Unlike Finding Nemo where it's the other way around)
Chicken Little is a great family film. The father son story is touching. The townspeople are cute, especially Mayor Turkey Lurkey(Don Knotts last role ever) The sci-fi story was not overwhelming. The only real disapointment is there isn't enought LOL humor in it. It's probaly a good enough movie there will be a ride at one of the Disney Parks based on it. - Very Funny and Entertaining Film for Children and Adults (4)
Perhaps because it does not aspire to the more ambitious plotting of a Pixar film (i.e. The Incredibles, Little Nemo), poor Chicken Little has been treated like the runt of the litter by many "critics". Too bad, as CL as a film is actually a notch above those Pixar flicks, if only because it only strives to elicit laughs. Guess what? It works. Clocking in at just over 80 minutes, CL burrows through a mostly non-stop barrage of funny characterizations, sight gags and dizzying 3-D animation. There are, in essence, no slow spots. Which is probably why, unlike the enjoyable but longish Pixar films, my five year old has watched this one repeatedly and laughed throughout. As either a multi-day rental or purchase, you really can't go wrong with this one. - Family Split on Movie (4)
My family was split on this movie. I gave it 4 stars, and darn it, I'm writing the review -- so there. They gave it 3 stars because they felt that the move wrapped up too quickly.
Chicken Little starts where all Chicken Little movies starts, with Chicken Little raising the alarm that the sky is falling. Then it moves into an entertaining tale of a son trying to win his father's admiration.
The science fiction references are excellent, and the characters are funny and original. For example, there is a fish (named Fish) who goes to school wearing an inverted diving bell (water on the inside). One great line comes when one of the character taps on the diving bell faceplate to get Fish's attention. The other character says, "Don't tap on the glass. They don't like that."
The humor was quick. The story was entertaining, and the movie is only an hour and 20 minutes long. Cudo's to the writers for not stretching it artificially.
I recommend it. - 3.5; Enjoyable but not as special as I want it to be (3)
After watching Chicken Little, the film reminded me of a former football player in his late 40's: he's still got the physique and loves the game but the younger players are much faster and have more endurance. In a way that's like Disney when Pixar came into the picture: while Treasure Planet and Chicken Little are likable, we have to look elsewhere for truly special films. But still the film is at least worth a look.
One day, Chicken Little causes panic when he says the sky's falling. He says it looked like the sky and octagonal shaped, which people assume is a stop sign and that the acorn that dropped on his head confused him. The event ended up making him look crazy and odd to everyone until it proves that the sky is falling, only he wish he wasn't right.
The film's animation is certainly up to snuff. Not as complex and striking as Pixar's but more than willing to provide layers of detail and colorful environments. The voice acting is top notch with an almost unrecognizable Zach Braff, Joan Cusack and Steve Zahn. There's nary a weak element in the cast or in the animation so it's so far so good.
Where's it fall apart? Most likely in the script which stretches a thin concept to 80 minutes and is full of pop-culture references and pop tune soundtrack. A traditional movie score would make a great action scene later on work but what's on instead? REM's It's the End of the World. Instead of a sad melody we got Five for Fighting. It's not a bad thing but this film could've worked so much better if the script didn't decide to be contemporary and "modern". Kiddies however will love it.
If you absolutely got to have this for your kids or you're a fan than buy it but if you want it for say a Disney collection than by all means, wait. This is a rather disappointing lack of extras with a making of that's less than 20 minutes and deleted scenes. No director's commentary? Any bigger insight documentary style? Expect a 2 disc later on. Lilo and Stitch is getting one so most likely this will too.
Kiddies will love it but adults, well...might want to try your luck on it first.