| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Movie Name | Chicken Little (2005) |
| Director | Mark Dindal |
| Writer | Mark Dindal, Steve Bencich, Ron J. Friedman, Ron Anderson |
| Lead Actor | Zach Braff |
| Cast | Zach Braff, Joan Cusack, Dan Molina, Garry Marshall, Steve Zahn |
| Genre | Animation, Adventure, Comedy |
| Release Date | October 30, 2005 (United States) |
| Duration | 1h 21m |
| Budget | $150 million |
| Language | English |
| IMDb Rating | 5.7/10 |
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The familiar story of Chicken Little is given a twist with a moral lesson in the latest Disney animation feature, which Disney proudly trumpets as its first fully computer-animated release and a technological breakthrough. However, the success of the film, for children and adults alike, is dependent less on technology than on good storytelling.
The film first takes us through the story we already know in order to introduce us to the characters and the next level of dramatic conflict. Chicken Little is bonked on the head with “something” and rushes to ring the school bell and alert the town that the sky is falling. Instead of being treated as a hero for saving the town, Chicken Little finds himself an outcast for his ridiculous claim.
The most painful blow is that his own father does not believe him. Chuck Luck, once the baseball hero of the town, finds his son a profound embarrassment. Other kids, like the jock and bully Foxy Loxy, taunt him. The only ones who stay friendly are other town “losers” Abby Mallard (Ugly Duckling), Fish Out of Water and overweight Runt of the Litter.
Frantic to redeem himself in his father’s eyes, Chicken Little sets out to overcome his utter lack of athletic skills. (This riff on the movie Rocky is only one of several allusions to other movies, like Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Wars and War of the Worlds a way to give the elders in the audience something to chuckle over.) Chicken Little becomes an unlikely hero by hitting the decisive home run in the championship game, and at last all is well. Or is it?
He is soon bonked on the head again by a curiously transparent object, and discovers that the sky evidently really is falling! But now he is reluctant to risk losing his father’s approval and again become a laughingstock by alerting the populace. When Chicken Little and his outcast friends discover that the piece of the sky is actually a fragment from an alien spaceship, he faces a dilemma to do what is right or to protect his pride.
What follows is a lesson in misunderstanding that subjects the town to an alien attack. In this barnyard version of War of the Worlds, Chicken Little and his outcast friends rise to the challenge of saving a soft fuzzy baby alien, communicating with its alien parents in the face of great personal danger and truly saving their world from having the sky cave in.
Youngsters may take for granted the film’s extraordinary animation, but they will love the characters and the humor. Disney makes the story a transparent vehicle for strong parent child values that are both explicit and palatable: Parents, listen to what your kids are trying to tell you. Kids, talk to your parents.
Chicken Little is a father-son communication story wrapped in a delightfully animated nursery story wrapped, in turn, in war of the worlds action.
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