“Prepare to hurt, and I don't mean emotionally like I do!” -- Chicken Little (and me, after having to sit through this movie)
Initial thoughts before viewing: I saw this in theatres in 2005 and almost walked out. It's that bad.
Because most of us Disney fans prefer to pretend that this movie does not exist, here is a brief movie summary (courtesy of Disney+) to help set the stage for you: When the sky 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.
If you'd like a more comprehensive summary of Chicken Little, here is a link to the movie's Disney Wiki page where you can read the entire plot summary.
Highlights:
-Nada. Nothing. Zip.
Disliked:
-Chicken Little tries too hard to be DreamWorks a la Shrek. There are too many human-world pop-culture references for a town that is supposed to just be populated with animals. The cameo of Indiana Jones in the theater during the opening is jarring, as is Runt yelling "Is Darth Vader Luke’s Father?!" later in the movie. It's obvious that Disney was trying to take a page from DreamWorks book by trying to incorporate popular songs and obvious real-world calls outs, but it just doesn't work here. These pop culture injections feel very forced and take you out of the Chicken Little world.
-The tone of the movie is harsh and mean-spirited. There are a number of mean characters in a movie that—despite my use of the word “mean”—doesn’t really have any villains. The way that the adults who aren’t bullying Chicken Little hastily pull their children out of his way, convinced that Chicken Little will harm their kids. It’s the way that the film often seems to be inviting us to laugh at Chicken Little even as he’s being bullied at school, instead of with him. The film also has multiple fat jokes, mostly centered around Runt, a (you guessed it) pig.
-...and then aliens show up. I'm pretty sure this was the part where I threw up my hands and almost left the theater. I get that this is an animated kids movie, but COME ON. This has no relation to the source material. It's like an executive at Disney just quipped, "Hey, how about an alien invasion? Kids will love that." The alien storyline takes Chicken Little from merely bad to bizarre and unwatchable.
-The animation looks mediocre at best. Granted, this was Disney's first fully CGI film without Pixar's involvement, but come on. The backgrounds are uninspired and character designs are clearly reused throughout. The character designs are also pretty poor, such as Runt's mother, who has the same model as him, only larger with a few minor differences. Disney's first all-CGI effort not supported by Pixar, looks cheap, bland, plastic, and often fuzzy.
Closing Thoughts:
Surprisingly, in its opening weekend, Chicken Little debuted at #1. This reversed the slump that Disney had been facing since 2000, during which time it released several flops, most notably Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001), Treasure Planet (2002), and Home on the Range (2004). However, these films received better critical reception.
The bottom line: Chicken Little looks and feels like an extended episode of a TV cartoon. Everything about this movie falls well below the Disney standard.
Don't watch this one. Ever.
My Rating: 1/10
