Chicken Little Reviews

Inspired by the classic fable about the birdbrain who cried "the sky is falling," this animated adventure ventures into the heart of a pint-size pullet and his relationship with the greater barnyard community. One year after Chicken Little (voice of Zach Braff) caused havoc in the Oakey Oaks community by insisting he was hit on the head by a stop-sign-shaped piece of sky, he's still the laughing stock of the town. A movie called "Crazy Little Chicken" is set to debut at the local cineplex, poking fun at the frantic fowl who overreacted to a knock on the noggin with an acorn. Not even Chicken Little's single dad, Buck Cluck (Garry Marshall), believes him and advises his son to lay low and not draw any further attention to himself. But unfortunately for Chicken and his misfit group of pals, Fish out of Water (Dan Molina), Runt of the Litter (Steve Zahn) and Abby Mallard aka the Ugly Duckling (Joan Cusack), trouble seems determined to find them, especially when bully Foxy Loxy (Amy Sedaris) is involved. Chicken decides to forge a new reputation by trying out for the school baseball team — his dad was once a star player — and through an unlikely turn of events becomes a hero on the field, winning his team the championship. But shortly after the celebration dies down, another chunk of sky — an odd piece of metal with some unique capabilities — lands in his bedroom. Afraid to tell his dad, Chicken calls his gaggle of pals away from their very amusing karaoke party and next thing you know, Fish out of Water has been sucked up into the sky via a mysterious force. Chicken Little and company frantically try to save their friend and find themselves involved in an intergalactic war. This wild and unexpected ride should delight younger children with its bright colors and constant chaos, while adults are likely to be charmed by the witty banter, subtle one-liners and a sweet father-son relationship that highlights the need for good communication. Though this is Disney's first fully computer-animated feature film (previous computer-animated Disney releases like the TOY STORY movies were actually made by Pixar), director Mark Dindal wisely opted to avoid photo-realistic depictions of the scenes, instead using a cute, old-fashioned cartoon style that blends well with the personable poultry and various lively livestock characters.