Length: 77 min Rated: G Distributor: Buena Vista Pictures
Starring: VOICE: Zach Braff (Chicken Little), Joan Cusack (Ugly Duckling), Katie Finneran (Goosey Lucy), Don Knotts (Turkey Mayor), Gary Marshall (Father), Amy Sedaris (Foxy Loxy), Jeremy Shadad (Alien Boy), Steve Zahn (Runt), Harry Shearer, Patrick Stewart, Adam West, Fred Willard, Brad Abrell
Directed by: Mark Dindal Produced by: Randy Fullmer Written by: Steve Bencich, Ron J. Friedman
Plot:
After Chicken Little causes widespread panic--when he mistakes a falling acorn for a piece of the sky--the young chicken is determined to restore his reputation.
I really hope for Disneys sake that this is going to be good. It has to be good if they are to rebuild their reputation for animated movies - whether cartoon or CG.
My wife got us passes to see this on the 2nd, so we are gonna troop up to Hollywood to see it. I hope it doesn't suck eggs. I've heard a few good things, but with Disney lately, I'm not holding my breath.
Originally posted by Josh I don't think it'll be much different than normal 3D.
The only real hope for 3D is the new tech Spielberg is working on and the tech Cameron is using.
If it's not that... don't expect much.
It'll probably be alot like IMAX Polar Express.
CG animated flicks in 3D is a great idea, normal 3D flicks are getting to be awful, and when you watch them without it being in 3D the blatant 3D gags are nauseating.....I still cringe when I watch Jaws 3.
I'm think the difference is that it's probably just digitally projected.
The sky is falling, aliens try to conquer the earth? or are they looking for something. But no one believes Chicken little. He gains his trust with friends and eventually his father. Movie shows how he "saves the day" with the help of his friends. Not their best, but there are some nice funny music song parodies with various characters, guess thats disney. Check it out if you like these type of animated movies. 2.5
I saw it last night in Digital 3-D, a brief spoiler free review:
Disney is apparently releasing Chicken Little in "Disney Digital 3-D" to about 80 theaters. I can't compare the version I saw to anything since I haven't seen the non-Digital version of Chicken Little, but there aren't a lot of 3-D'ish stunts (plates flying right out at you, a character sticking his hand over the audience.) Rather, the 3-D seems to give the animation a deeper, fuller look. There were a few moments of swirrling leaves or debris that looked pretty cool, but after awhile it doesn't even really register that the movie is supposed to be 3-D, which I guess is good, since you don't get too caught up in some sort of stunt and are able to focus on the visuals and the story (such as it is.) You get a pair of take-home 3-D glasses (that look like Chicken's green specs from the film) and if you don't wear them, the film appears fuzzy, but they aren't obtrusive and it's easy to forget you are wearing them (they fit easily over my oldest daughter's glasses.)
On to the movie itself. I believe Josh summed it up perfectly when he used the word "mediocre" to describe this slight tale of how Chicken Little wasn't totally off his rocker when he claimed the sky was falling. Zack Braff is good as Chicken Little, using a pretty unrecognizable voice and giving full underdog weight to the character. But, as is a common problem in the movie, the character is never fully realized. At first, there are some hints that Chicken Little is resourceful and creative, using the everyday things in life (a sucker, his math homework) to make up for his small stature in clever ways. This idea isn't developed or continued later in the movie, when it seems likely he would need those types of skills. Rather, he just runs around screaming and trying not to get vaporized.
In another case of things left half done, Chicken's father, Buck Cluck, is also never fully formed. He stands for two seconds in front of a picture of his (presumably dead) wife and laments that she was always the one to handle Chicken Little. We're supposed to take from that his inability to communicate or guide his son but there should be more development of why Buck seems to be so sure in almost every case that his son is both wrong and crazy. It's never explored. Gary Marshall seemed wrong for the part of the father, sounding more like Chicken's grandfather from the Brooklyn section of Oakey Oaks.
The lack of development can be blamed primarily on the relatively short running time. Our showing was supposed to start at 4 and got delayed briefly and we were still out of there by 5:30. Checking on IMDB.com, I see that the running time is a paltry 1 hour 17 minutes. I'm all for economical movies, but this was a little ridiculous and considering the things left undone, probably harmful to the film. That said, a longer film probably would have just been more of the same, so the short running time was somewhat welcome. But a few minutes detailing the Chicken-Buck relationship that is supposed to be the core of the movie could have been helpful.
The movie isn't all bad. There are some very funny jokes and segments. Bored students learning how to speak sheep from a stuffy ram (voiced by Patrick Stewart), an Indian Jones tribute, almost anything done by Chicken's pal Fish out of Water all result in smiles and chuckles. There is also a pretty thrilling scene involving Chicken's friends (including the Ugly Duckling and the Runt of the Litter) using a firetruck to navigate the city streets. The 3-D look is decent with some gee whiz moments (although not many.) Also, there is good voice work by Joan Cusak as Ugly Duckling, and Don Knotts, Patrick Wharburton, Fred Willard, and the aforementioned Stewart. The main problem is the last four men are given very little to do, Stewart and Wharburton are basically one or two line cameos, in effect.
It's funny that I keep saying "this movie wasn't so great, I wish there was more of it" but, in the end, that seems to be the problem. Half-formed ideas, missed opportunities, too much of the wrong things and not enough of the right ones. At the end of the day, I put this on par with Madacasgar. Nothing you are gonna shoot yourself for seeing, but nothing you would probably want to see again.
Madagascar is a MUCH better movie than this... simply because Madagascar is flat out FUNNY... and that is all Madagascar is trying to be.
Chicken Little isn't particularly funny, it isn't particularly anything. It just kind of hangs there limp and useless... typical modern Disney just in a computer generated wrapper. Nothing has changed.
Originally posted by Josh Madagascar is a MUCH better movie than this... simply because Madagascar is flat out FUNNY... and that is all Madagascar is trying to be.
I gave them both 3 stars (out of 5) and put them next to each other on my "Best of 2005" list. I did think Madagascar was funnier, but I have no desire to see either one of them again (although I liked the Penguins short shown before Wallace and Grommit, maybe they can do a similar one for Fish out of Water.)
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Chicken Little
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