Chicken Little (2005) User Reviews

Average in every way

[Ronald_Mexico · 6/10 · 16 February 2006]

This was a film with a somewhat interesting premise, a somewhat interesting main character, and a somewhat interesting conclusion. This was not a Pixar film: it wasn't designed to appeal to adults. Rather, the writers focus on giving the kiddies a few laughs without leaving the parents comatose with boredom.

And when everything is taken into consideration, the writers succeed. Somewhat.

It's just not a very memorable film. Whreas most kids can watch films like "Shrek" repeatedly because of the sight gags, talented voice-over performances, and hidden jokes that they might not catch the first time around, "Chicken Little" is likely to be forgotten the moment the credits roll. That's not to say that Disney doesn't provide it's standard politically correct message. Of course the best player on the baseball team is a girl (Foxy Loxy). Of course a girl (Goosey Loosey) beats up and humiliates the boy (Chicken Little). Of course the character with the most redeeming social value is physically unattractive (Abby Mallard). And on, and on, and on. Disney also manages to continue its bizarre tradition of creating single father families ("Little Mermaid", "Aladdin", "Beauty and the Beast", "The Goofy Movie"): Chicken Little's mother has, of course, departed for the great unknown.

The relationship between Chicken Little and his father comes across as more annoying than heartwarming. The premise: A father realizes that it's probably not such a great idea to be embarrassed by his son; by the end of the movie, what his own child thinks of him actually takes precedent over the opinions of neighbors and perfect strangers! This message would undoubtedly come across as highly inspirational...if not for the fact that it's so blatantly obvious, hackneyed, and overplayed.

The voice-over's for the film were largely uninspiring, save for amusing performances by Don Knotts and Adam West. "Fish out of Water" was easily the most likable of the bunch (yes, I was suckered by the standard Disney cutesy animated character in their never ending attempt to sell more toys), and he didn't even have a speaking roll. No, "Chicken Little" is not the worst animated film I've ever seen...but memorable, it is not.

A Look Back On It

[micahlhaddad · 7/10 · 24 August 2020]

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.

Almost too slight, but a vast improvement on "Dinosaur."

[Victor Field · 6/10 · 29 November 2005]

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...

Falls short and doesn't live up to its interesting and entertaining marketing campaign

[ScottDMenzel · 6/10 · 6 November 2005]

Chicken Little (Zach Braff) claims that the sky is falling but it turns out later that it's not. Chicken Little is then mocked for the next year because he worried the town for no reason. A year passes by and this time the sky really is falling! So it's now up to Chicken Little to alert the town and prove to them that the aliens are really here!

I was really looking forward to "Chicken Little" after seeing all the trailers but this movie doesn't live up to the hype and falls short. The characters are likable so it's not the characters that make this movie not live up to expectation but rather its story and running time.

The movie clocks in at a measly 77 minutes, which as many know is not nearly long enough for a movie. These days a movie should run no less than 90 mins and this film runs 13 minutes less than that. The whole problem is the story here, it starts off promising but then when the sky really does start to fall, the film feels rushed. The story definitely needed some brushing up on and I fear now for Disney that without Pixar they may really be in trouble. The problem was "Chicken Little" had so much potential and a great marketing campaign but the writers didn't pay any detail to the story to help the film live up to it's expectations.

Disney thinks that hand drawn animation is done for but the problem isn't hand drawn animation, it's the fact that the better stories are going to computer animated films. That is "Chicken Little's" problem. The film is computer animation but it still doesn't have a great story and therefore critics panned it. If someone hand drew "Finding Nemo" with the great and unique story it had, it probably would have done just as good as it did being computer animated. Disney really needs to concentrate more on its stories rather then its animation.

Now it sounds like I am beating up on "Chicken Little" but I don't mean too that much. I actually enjoyed the film but I expected more from it. I wanted a longer film; I wanted a more polished story. I just wanted more from this film in general and like I said the film fell short because the movie just relied too much on its animation and not enough on it's story.

Another problem was that the jokes aren't very fresh and there aren't enough jokes in the script that adults can enjoy as well as their kids. The characters are the best part of the movie especially Runt of the litter voiced by Steve Zahn, Abby Mallard voiced by Joan Cusack and of course Chicken Little himself. The voice talent was great, they just needed a better story to help move the film along better.

In the end, "Chicken Little" is disappointing. It's a decent film that could have been great only if Disney concentrated more on its story rather than on its marketing. The movie on the whole isn't bad, it just isn't great. The characters, voice talent and some of the jokes save the movie from really sinking. This movie is sure to amuse the little ones but once you get past the age of 13, you may not find the film overly amusing. The shame is that movies like "Corpse Bride" and "Wallace and Gromit" which were released into theaters a few weeks ago are far more enjoyable then "Chicken Little" and contain things that both adults and children alike can enjoy like their stories. "Chicken Little" is worth a matinée ticket at the multiplex but not worth full price. If you have kids, take them they will love it even though you may not enjoy it as much as its clever marketing makes you believe.

MovieManMenzel's final rating for Chicken Little is a 6/10. It's decent but had the potential to be so much more!

Better than expected, but still needs work...

[kergillian · 7/10 · 10 November 2005]

The best non-Pixar Disney film in years. Sure it had a touch of drag, and it was most definitely a kids flick, but one thing that stood out was that it wasn't infested with fart jokes and potty humour, which is a step above most kids films these days.

The CGI was ho-hum, but one thing I liked was the expressiveness which was highlighted by some wonderful voice work by Joan Cusack and Steve Zahn. And Don Knotts was fabulous - we need to find more work for Don Knotts, he's so good! I also loved the Adam West cameo at the end.

The problem with the film was, as pointed out by a few, that the story was thin and they filled the empty spaces with fun moments, like the Spice Girls karaoke scene which cracked me up. More attention should have been made towards a linear plot - but hey, the film wasn't that long, and the fun scenes they used as mortar really did hold it together.

All in all, an amusing film, above average in terms of entertainment, but hardly a classic. I'd recommend it for a fun family outing, as the kids in the theater seemed to really get into it - and I had nearly as much fun hearing all of the kids laughing as I did watching the film. 6.5/10.

The Sky fell all right, but The Story was already a shattered mess

[guerillagorilla · 4/10 · 29 October 2005]

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

My whole family found it fun and entertaining

[ladyreyna · 7/10 · 6 November 2005]

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.

Bad Casting!

[screamapillar · 1/10 · 10 June 2006]

Why does Chicken Little have the voice of a NY accountant. Nemo sounded like a little boy, Chicken Little sounds like a twenty-something Woody Allen. Just awful casting! No magic or script in this film. Horrible. The plot seemed rushed through. The voices were annoying, not endearing. The surrounding cast of characters, especially the pig and the fish were annoying and not cute, nor funny. The gags and jokes were just stupid. The computer animation was bottom rate. Disney should be appalled and Pixar should be feeling indestructible after this flop.The songs were cheesy and ill-timed, they felt forced in to the film. I can't believe they had a training montage set to music. I know it's a kid's film, but come on, the montage is dead. The soundtrack was just plain bad. My kids hate it, and I stand by my kids.

Laughter ensues in this film

[zebraspots · 7/10 · 26 March 2006]

Chicken Little

Chicken Little puts you right with the characters and is funny for all. The jokes are great because children will still get them, while the adults won't groan aloud. The movie is based on the original tale of Chicken Little, but adds so much more to the story.

The story starts off with Chicken Little proclaiming that "the sky is falling". Sadly, not even his father believes him. Chicken Little feels bad about this, but manages to keep high spirits with the help of three good friends: Runt (a nervous pig), Fish (a mute fish, who goes around with a water filled helmet), and Abby (an "ugly duckling", but it is the nicest girl on the block, and has a crush on Chicken Little).

One year after the "sky is falling" incident, it happens again. A piece of the sky falls right on his head! This time, Chicken Little gets his friends' help. They soon discover that the "sky piece" is really part of and alien space ship. Jokes galore when they find themselves on the ship. You'll laugh until you cry.

Chicken Little is played Scrubs' Zach Braff. He brings a childish innocence to the character, while completely relating to thousands. Steve Zahn lends his voice to Runt, who has a superiority complex, but is a true friend and a karaoke fan. Fish Dan Molina creates Fish's voice. This is a cute role, who is a classic character, such as Scrat in Ice Age. He'll make any situation funny.

Don't miss this!

Unimpressed

[heartflash · 3/10 · 27 July 2006]

When I first saw the trailer for this movie I was dying to see it, I didn't get around to it though until I was at a friends house a while back. I couldn't get myself to watch passed the aliens first invasion. The beginning is amazingly well done, although completely unrealisitc, but i mean its an animation movie and that's the genius of it. Then I finally sat down and watched this movie and I quickly found out that it wasn't worth the hour or so of my time. It seemed rushed at the end and wasn't funny at all. I kept on thinking, what will they do for an ending, and then it was over so I was kind of disappointed. It's good for the younger audience, but not for a teenager like myself.

An excellent first movie

[Caia1972 · 8/10 · 28 December 2005]

My son is four years old and I decided that his gift for the second day of Christmas would be his first trip to a movie theater. We scanned the list of titles now playing and Chicken little was pretty much the only option. Narnia or Cheaper by the dozen, for instance, are for much older kids. Mine found Shreck boring (he never had the patience to watch the whole movie on DVD). The same goes for Finding Nemo and pretty much every other movie I tried to make him watch, unless it was after some TV show. I was beginning to fear that we are doomed to watch nothing but Power Rangers forever. But Chicken Little did the trick. He watched it and loved it. In fact, he had the time of his life. He laughed, he screamed, he jumped, he covered his eyes and screamed again, and then he laughed some more.I can't say anything about myself, because I was to busy taking pictures of my kid watching his first movie to pay any attention to the screen, but my 4-year old rated this movie excellent. And I think his opinion is the only one that matters, because the movie is for him, and for other kids his age, not for grown-ups or teens. So please try to see it with the eyes of a little kid, and you might enjoy it better.

When it comes to saving the world, it helps to be a little chicken.

[Lady_Targaryen · 7/10 · 3 April 2006]

''Chicken Little'' is not a bad movie, but for sure I missed Pixar's good humor and jokes in the animation,like in 'The Incredibles'for example. Even being a big fan of 3D computer generated movies, I miss the hand drawn animation cartoon's classics that made Disney so famous, like Bambi,Lion King, Little Mermaid,etc.

Anyway,I think the Fish-Out-of-Water character is very funny, and also remembers me Kenny from South Park every time I see him! (He doesn't speak as Kenny and both use something to cover their heads.:p) I am surprise to know that Joan Cusack is Abby's voice. (it doesn't look like her)

This movie has many elements who makes a big resemblance with the movie war of the worlds and Mars,attack!

I actually cried

[konrad-296-152616 · 1/10 · 14 January 2013]

This is without a split second of hesitation the worst movie I have ever seen. I actually cried through large parts of it due to the agony of watching it.

Moral of the first 60 minutes of the story: if you are not good at sports then you are a bad person that nobody likes, not even your own parents, and that is just what you deserve. And if you are being bullied for not being good at sports then do not expect any help from adults, because you deserve that as well.

After 60 minutes the movie turns info a cartoon version of War of the Worlds with aliens in giant octopus vessels terrorizing the town.

The only thing I am grateful for is that I watched this on TV and not on cinema—that way I only wasted time and not money.

Laugh Out Loud for Kids of All Ages

[mn8335 · 7/10 · 4 November 2005]

I am 27 years old and saw this movie with my mother. Nope, no kiddos in tow. I was hoping this wouldn't turn out to be a case of seeing the best parts in the previews. Not even close. You can be a kid of any age and still enjoy 77 minutes of frivolous fun.

There are some great sight gags, clever puns, and a few pop culture phrases thrown in for good measure. Casting is excellent, matching voice characteristics to superb animation, and a fun mix of characters to fall in love with. Along with other commenters, I vastly prefer Pixar's films; however, this is an ace in the hole for Disney.

The only caution is the alien invasion scenes. Might be a bit scary for children in some parts, especially when the humor is sparse to break the tension, but as with any Disney film, all's well that ends well.

I will probably own this one on DVD. 7/10 stars.

not the best but has some potential

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 23 August 2016]

Chicken Little causes widespread panic in Oakey Oaks when he claims a piece of the sky fell and hit him on the head. His father Buck "Ace" Cluck passes it off as a mistake over an acorn. One year later, he's a laughing stock and there's even a movie. He is highly inventive but gets ridiculed despite being bullied by some of the kids. He's friends with the other outcasts; ugly duckling Abby Mallard, Runt of the Litter, and Fish out of Water. He finally gains his father's respect after getting the winning hit. When another piece of the sky falls into his room, he has to save the world with his friends while keeping it a secret from everybody else. The sky is electronic and chameleon.

The story is a little thin. Chicken Little and his father have a compelling relationship but it does need more layers. As for his friends, ugly duckling is a little too ugly. Runt's proportions are too wrong. I understand the idea but the design feels off. The one I love the most is Fish out of Water. It's a great design and loads of mime fun. As for the animation, it looks a bit too primitive. I didn't know that this is Disney and one can see the attempted transition. It's not the best and inferior to the Pixar of the era.

An Unfortunate Addition to the Disney Cannon

[jaycub · 4/10 · 29 October 2005]

After a long wait, Chicken Little will finally be released to the public this week, and after a preview screening, I think they should have delayed the release a little longer.

I love Disney, it's something that has its roots in my childhood. I hold ambitions to work in the animation industry, and would love to work for the company that has provided me with so many wonderful memories over the years. With that said, nothing makes me more sad than to see Disney continuously putting out films like Chicken Little.

The concept was interesting, the animation phenomenal, but the story was atrocious (not as bad as the Blue Sky offering "Robots," but still not worthy of the Disney name.) Disney used to be the pioneers of the industry, always pushing the competition to do better, as well as pushing themselves. Now the real talent from Disney has apparently moved to Pixar, while corporate monkeys who have no place in a creative environment are writing the films. Chicken Little feels like a rip off of movies like Shrek, Madagascar, and the like. Rather than committing to something magical, they cram the film with gags that have run their course, and crummy remakes of pop songs that didn't really do that well to begin with.

The real shame is that there are still some creative people working for the mouse who'd talents are being choked off by the suits who think they know better. I still am optimistic for the future, and I think that the films currently in production have a lot of potential, but they will have to raise the bar quite a bit to move beyond Chicken Little.

For a more enlightening animation experience, I say that you should save your money and go see the Wallace and Grommit movie instead.

It was totally Fun and Comedy

[manikhero · 7/10 · 8 December 2008]

The movie was totally fun and cool. The aliens in the movie were totally cool and awesome. Amongst the animals, Runt is very funny. Even, Chicken Little was so cute among the animals. The Baseball scene was so awesome and thrilling. When, the teacher is taking attendance in the class, that scene is totally funny. When, the students are playing dodge ball in a basketball hall, that scene is totally cool. When, Chicken Little is chasing the school bus, that time Chicken Little's activity is so funny. The alien baby is also cute. When, Chicken Little, Abby, Fish and Runt are seeing the alien's picnic map that time Runt is very funny. The Alien's spaceship is very awesome and cool. When, Chicken Little is telling the animals that "The sky is falling", that time he is very funny. When, the aliens enter the city and come to search the alien baby, that scene is totally awesome and cool. When, the aliens are chasing Chicken Little, Runt, Fish and Abby, that time the aliens were awesome and cool and that scene is totally thrilling. I should really appreciate the creators of "Chicken Little".

Chicken Little lives up to its name.

[cns-5 · 1/10 · 7 November 2005]

Ready for a lot of political correctness? Than you must watch Chicken Little. Good cartoons teach good lessons effortlessly. Usually, a good story develops as the main theme slowly moves into focus. Instead, this movie kept advertising itself during the movie. Watch it for your self. Here's the spoiler: the world is saved, not by Chicken Little, but because he can finally communicate openly with his dad- really? Here's why The Incredibles made money: it avoided political correctness (in fact being un-politically correct is the new "raw, edgy, straddles the line perfectly"), it respects real heroes (not accidental ones), it doesn't pander to the insignificant moviegoers, and it was cut well (Chicken Little's school life was wholly insignificant to the movie).

I was pleasantly surprised.

[Theoron · 7/10 · 31 October 2005]

When I saw the trailers for this film, I was under whelmed, to say the least, and hoped my kids wouldn't ask me to go see it. Amazingly, neither of them were impressed with the trailers either, and so they didn't.

But as fate would have it, I received free tickets to a sneak preview, and having nothing to risk except gas and popcorn money, decided to take the kids to see "Chicken Little." In short: I found the movie surprisingly enjoyable, and liked it a little more than the Wallace & Gromit film we saw just a week earlier.

As one might expect, the movie "Chicken Little" takes the concept of the "sky is falling" to a whole new level for the 21st century, this time involving aliens from outer space, baseball, and high school nerds.

The film is computer animated, but not a Pixar film. The look of the film is very "cartooney" and all the characters are various anthromorphized farm and woodland animals. The plot is simple and straightforward: Chicken Little (voiced by Zach Braff) is a nerdy little high school chicken/kid (though very cute!) who just can't seem to do anything right. Like in so many children's films, one, if not both parents are missing, and in Chicken Little's case it is his mother. So poor Chicken Little is stuck being raised by his father Buck (voiced by Garry Marshall), a one-time high school baseball hero who is often finds himself disappointed by the antics of his nerdy (but cute!) little son, a disappointment Chicken Little feels all too acutely.

The event that really strained their relationship is when Chicken Little sounded the town alarm after being hit in the head by "a piece of the sky." Sadly, this mishap happened under one of the town's stately oak trees, and so when Chicken Little's father comes to the scene, he insists that his son was just hit in the head by one of the acorns laying on the ground, and mistook it for being a piece of the sky. In other words, dad does damage control, and lets his son, along with his son's credibility, dangle in the wind. I'm afraid this review would give away a bit too much in stating what the "piece of the sky" actually is...

Because the event is not forgotten, but instead becomes the ultimate "in" joke, (even becoming a Hollywood movie!) poor Chicken Little is forced to live under the shroud of shame that the false alarm brought upon him. He then decides to find some way, some means to show himself worthy to his father, so that he might erase the shame of "the sky is falling" incident. That's were the baseball and the space aliens come in.

Chicken Little also gets a little help from his friends: the ugly duckling Abby Mallard (Joan Cusack), a fat pig named 'Runt' Of The Litter (Steve Zahn), and a cute, voiceless 'Fish' Out Of Water , who wears a special diving mask to help him "breath" on land—think the opposite of Sponge Bob's Sandy Squirrel.

"Chicken Little" starts rather slow, and is very dialog heavy for an animated kid's flick. The set-up is slow and deliberate, and there isn't much in the way of the typical slapstick and one-liners to keep things light. However, the long slow setup really pays-off at the end of the film, which is gut-busting hilarious! As a matter of fact, it was one of the best endings of a film I've seen since "Napoleon Dynamite." They climaxed the fun and excitement at exactly the right moment, and kept the ending very sweet and enjoyable. Too often, Hollywood films fail to end convincingly, or draw out the ending far too long; this film deftly manages to avoid either extreme.

There is a downside to "Chicken Little" however, and that is the strange fact that it's really not a kids' film, though there's nothing in it that would jeopardize the well-earned "G" rating. The film's core message is a child's need for unconditional love and support from a parent, especially a father. This is quite a powerful and heavy issue, and one that is difficult for young children to fully comprehend, let alone many adults! (Think of "Field of Dreams" in cartoon format.) Also, there are a lot of jokes that depend one having a fairly good knowledge of 70's and 80's pop culture and pop music (especially disco), which most people under 40 simply do not have. That makes the movie rather fun for the adults, but goes right over the kiddies' heads. My own children found most of the film rather boring, and only liked the ending.

One thing I especially enjoyed is a bit of voice-over work done by none other than Adam West, who is famous for playing Batman on the 60's era TV show by the same name. I recognized the voice immediately, and it made me smile, but my children wouldn't know Adam West from Mae West, and the voice-over work meant nothing too them. Again, it plays far better to adults than it does to children! But my kids don't write reviews for IMDb, and I do. And I liked the film enough to seriously consider buying the DVD when it comes out, even if I have to watch it alone!

Rating: A solid 7 out of 10.

wasted time

[nobbytatoes · 2/10 · 31 December 2005]

In hysterical panic, Chicken Little alerts the town to his discovery that the sky is falling. Failing to prove this everyone labels him the village idiot. One year later, the town hasn't forgotten the incident, and wont let Chicken forget it either, with a movie in the making of it. To make everyone get passed it, Chicken tries to do anything that will make him look like a hero. One night though, history starts to repeat itself, when an alien device falls into Chicken's room. He alerts his friends; Abby, Runt and Fish, and they decide to alert the town, though they don't believe them, another Chicken Little hoax. Next day everyone finds that aliens have come, and mass hysteria unravels.

Chicken Little is Disney's first computer animated feature, which seems to taken a long time to have been made. Though they have finally released one; it doesn't reach any real height of excellence. Disney's affiliate Pixar have raised the bar so high on computer animation; with deeper story lines, more emotional depth and more sub plotting. This never reaches this level as it relies to heavily on referencing other films. There are references everywhere, using another ideas for their laughs. The script is to bogged down by them, trying to squeeze in as many as possible. It lacks a lot of originality to the story, and there isn't much depth to. The drama between Chicken and his father is so mellow dramatic that it's nauseating to watch.

All the characters and settings are caricatures, with a very simplistic design. Though the design is simplistic, the colour palate is over saturated; there's too much colour. So many colours appear at once that they are visually overloading. All the characters while made to look cute and cuddly, the go way over the top with it; they are too cute and cuddly.

The voice talent is the only redeeming factor. Zach Braff conjures up the cutest voice he could muster as Chicken, Steve Zahn hits the note well as the shy Runt, Joan Cusack also does a good job as Abby; the ugly duckling. Anothers include Garry Marshall, Patrick Stewart, Catherine O'Hara and Harry Shearer.

This will appeal to the kids, but children movies have come along way, also tailoring to the older audiences; with humor that mixes with the children and adults, and this misses it completely.

Love!

[collazorudy · 10/10 · 14 September 2018]

I love this movie it's part of my childhood and I love it to death. Best Disney film I've seen.

It's not fabulous, but it's fun

[chussey-1 · 7/10 · 2 November 2005]

Unlike other critics, I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. Disney's offerings lately (outside of the Pixar label) have been mind-numbingly unoriginal, so I expected Chicken Little to be as lame. I thought there were a few moments that drug on, and a couple of scenes that were almost painful (the karaoke scene, for one), but overall it was a fun, entertaining movie, and a clever take on the "sky is falling" thing. Along with most of the known universe, I haven't figured out what Disney has against mothers, and why 90% of Disney's main characters must have at least one absent parent; in this case it did set up a couple of pretty schmaltzy scenes that could have been done differently. But I think adults will appreciate C.Little's brains, Runt's obsession with Golden Oldies, Fish's gung-ho ditziness, and Abby's psychobabble need for "closure." And you'd have to be a cold, heartless goon to not think Kirby is absolutely adorable. As for the kids, a couple of scenes could be a little frightening for the very young, but the pace is quick enough most of the time to keep them glued to the screen. I actually laughed out loud several times, and I suspect the next time I see this I will find even more to laugh at. It's not on par with a Pixar film, and I don't see it becoming a classic, but it's a fun watch.

ADDITION: As I've been reading the other comments, I've discovered one thing: if you thought Shrek was the height of animated hilarity, please don't watch Chicken Little. You do everyone a disservice by comparing the two, since Chicken Little is truly a family film (with likable characters and a little intelligence) and Shrek is for those who find 8th-grade bathroom humor funny (or gags that simply make fun of Disney) and don't care about character development.

What is it with Scriptwriters these days?

[cmauro3927 · 2/10 · 11 November 2005]

I went to the theater thinking that I would be entertained. Instead, I was disappointed. The music portrayed in this film were above the kid's heads as they could not relate to the outdated tunes. Also, for a scriptwriter to have to use overused dialog really hints that this person has no original thought in their head. Also, the PC themes in there got on my nerves as they do not belong in this country. I could not even feel for the poor Chicken Little as his shallow dad was disappointed in him because he was not the great person he himself once was. It just did not pull me in because that part of the plot was weak. I find this as bad as Robots and Yugioh the Movie. I know that in Hollywood that it's not what you know, it's who you know, but I think that these major film companies need to review their staff of writers and get some REAL talent. Yes, I could have written a better film. This is from a writer who knows better!

pretty good for the little ones

[TMB12 · 6/10 · 7 November 2005]

"Chicken Little" was much anticipated in our family, especially by my three year old son. It didn't disappoint him. A good movie for small children, my son actually sat still through most of it. Not bad for grown ups; however, if "Chicken Little" is an example of post-Pixar Disney computer animation then there's trouble for the mighty entertainment monolith. The animation was okay, but doesn't come close to the quality we have come to expect from the folks at Pixar. The writing was mediocre, some funny bits for the grown ups. Disney needs to make nice to Pixar; because, it is obvious that the Walt Disney Corporation is having some trouble on its own.

a nice movie with great messages to kids

[The_Amazing_Spy_Rises · 6/10 · 8 July 2006]

2005's version of Chicken Little had me from the start with its clever poster: The End Is Near, with CL's rear facing me. I laughed at the poster a lot. Unfortunately, it wasn't as entertaining as I'd hoped it would have been. I enjoyed hearing Zach Braff and Gary Marshall perform as Chicken Little and his dad respectively, as they are both 2 of comedy's bright stars.

The film follows Chicken Little (Braff), who was made a social outcast for claiming that the sky was falling. Now, later on, Chicken happens to notice the same things he noticed the first time. What to do?

I loved the messages the film sends to our youth, and the parents of the world. A message sent to kids is this: if something's on your mind, if something's bothering you, tell someone. Don't hide it in, because the truth is always the right thing to say. What a great message to send in a children's film. The other message sent to the parents here is this: Parents, listen to your children, and stand by them no matter what. Both of these themes are expressed throughout the film, which is barely above 80 minutes, perfect for an animated children's movie.

I, being 17, felt left out when I watched this because I couldn't stay interested as much as my siblings were. It's an excellent film for kids ages 5-10, above average for 11-13, and mediocre to poor to anyone above those ages. I recommend Chicken Little to any young child and I also recommend that a parent watches it with said child, because it's a great family movie that you'll enjoy.

CHICKEN LITTLE 6/10 --spy