Warning: spoilers. Do not read if you want to be surprised by the movie
The Movie
As our story opens, we find the infamous Chicken Little proclaiming, “The sky is falling, the sky is falling” and ringing the school bell wildly. Of course, havoc ensues and the town is left in shambles with everybody running chaotically through the streets. When the town confronts Chicken Little, he cannot find the proof. His father, Buck Cluck, announces out of embarrassment that it was only an acorn falling on his head. Chicken Little becomes the town laughing stock and even has a movie made of his blunder. We soon see him bullied at school and labeled a troublemaker. His father, once the school’s baseball star, just seems disappointed in our young cluckling. Chicken Little decides to join the baseball team to make dad proud. At the game, Chicken Little is not allowed to play until the last inning with the team behind by one. Unfortunately, a number of players have been injured and only Chicken Little is left. Everybody automatically assumes the game is lost. However in a turn of extreme luck and unlikely events, CL becomes the town hero. Dad is proud and CL’s reputation is redeemed. That night, however, the ‘sky’ once again falls on CL and he along with his three friends, Runt the pig, the Ugly Duckling and Fish out of Water have to decide whether to alert the town after they discover an alien invasion under way. You guessed it, once they announce the invasion, nobody believes them until big, scary aliens start destroying the town.
Positive Elements
Perhaps the storyline of a father and son realizing the value of trust and pride makes this movie somewhat redeemable. However, even the moment where Buck realizes CL needs his praise and to be believed is long and drawn out. The Fish out of Water was cute with his Jacques Cousteau-type helmet filled with water but the cuteness does wear off quickly. I have to admit, I found little enjoyable about the film.
Negative Elements
I think most of the review could be taken up with what I didn’t like so let me just give my top five:
1. As in the tradition of 99.9% of Disney flicks, we learn soon into the movie that there is no mom. Disney prefers to kill off mothers usually prior to the opening scene and we find this movie is no different.
2. I felt the movie was choppy with no real flow. We were dragged along from one scene to the next and left with a shallow feeling. This movie seriously lacked any substance.
3. I know Disney and other animation studios like to leave sly references to other films. However, aside from the Lion King and a Mickey Mouse watch, most of the other references were bound to be over the kids’ heads (i.e. Raiders of the Lost Ark, King Kong, War of the Worlds). In fact, I know there were a few I obviously did not get either, not because they were cleverly disguised but because they were so obscure or brought up out of context.
4. Bodily function jokes…need I say more?
5. The characters are not even cute. I'll admit, I didn’t like the look of the characters. The Ugly Duckling was ugly but so was the Runt, Foxy Loxy and just about every other cartoon character in the movie.
My Children’s Thoughts
My seven-year-old son did not have much to say about the movie. He was just excited to see a movie and get a large tub of popcorn. I heard him laugh two times during the movie during a couple slapstick-type routines but otherwise he just watched the film. My two-and-a-half-year-old daughter asked about two minutes into the movie, “Go home now?” She kept asking and finally about half way through out of desperation, she asked, “Go, nite-nite now.” The movie was too dark and scary for her. The aliens scared her and the scenes too dark and loud. The music was also too loud and didn’t really flow with the movie. Felt as if Disney finished the movie and thought, “Hmmmm…maybe if we add some pop songs, we’ll redeem this flick.” Neither one of my children got the Dr. Phil type elements talking of closure and the like. Honestly, the story line of closure could have been cut and saved us a good ten minutes or so of boredom.
Overall Thoughts
I love children’s movies and enjoy seeing them with my children. Some of my favorites have been Toy Story, Ice Age and The Incredibles. Chicken Little is not even close to the quality of these movies. Perhaps production was rushed to get this movie out in time for the holidays or perhaps Disney knows that no matter what they put out, parents desperate for a children’s movie will take their children to see the movie whether it is good or not. Personally, I did not laugh at all during the movie and was bored almost to tears. I really was disappointed by Chicken Little.
If you really would like to see this movie, personally, I’d recommend waiting for the video. No reason to shell out twenty-plus dollars on a movie reeking of rotten eggs.
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