This movie is fantastic! This movie is fantastic! Oh wait: no it isn't. It's just another screw-up from Walt Disney Pictures.
How Disney ever thought it could put together a solid CG film without Pixar is unfathomable. This picture's release was pushed back a couple of times over the past year or so, and with good reason. Despite boasting a solid voice cast, including Zach Braff as the title character, "Chicken Little" barely manages to rise above a puerile level of wit and humor.
The story begins, appropriately, with the destruction of Chicken Little's credibility because of his "the sky is falling!" antics. It then jumps ahead a year to see a MacGyver-esque Chicken Little making his way through life as a diminutive chicken in a world that sees him as a crazy loser. His only friends, imaginatively enough, are Abby "The Ugly Duckling" Mallard, Fish Out of Water and Runt of the Litter, who is anything but a runt and has odd undertones running through his character.
However, when a piece of the sky actually does fall on Chicken Little, its alien technology leads the motley crew to track down its source, a spacecraft harboring vicious looking robots and a furry little critter. The chaotic chase that follows ends up leading to a full-scale invasion by the alien armada. The ending sticks to typical Disney schmaltz with none of the reward seen in movies like "Toy Story" and "The Incredibles."
The crew that worked on this film carries impressive resumes when it comes to animated features, but for several reasons "Chicken Little" falls as flat as a deflated meringue. The biggest reason is the animation just looks shoddily rendered. Another reason is the script. The movie doesn't seem to know what kind of picture it wants to be, so it vacillates between feel-good-family and science-fiction-action. Throw in a couple of montages set to outdated pop music and dialogue that seems to have been lifted straight from other movies, and Disney has itself a terrible movie that's going to make a lot of money.
The voice acting is probably the only redeeming part of the movie. Zach Braff does a decent job of bringing Chicken Little to life, making the little guy just endearing enough not to make the viewer want to pluck and broil him. Other voices include Joan Cusack as Abby Mallard, Steve Zahn as Runt of the Litter and a smattering of character actors who make the ending a little bit more worthwhile. Specifically, comic genius Fred Willard, Catherine O'Hara, Patrick Warburton and Adam West all help end the movie on a higher note than it seems headed for. Ironically, the best character, Fish Out of Water, doesn't speak, relying instead upon chuckle-inducing sight gags.
Obviously, this is a movie for kids. However, back in the good old days of the Pixar-Disney partnership, there was an understanding that animated feature films could be made for adults as well as children. After all, kids can't get to the theater by themselves. Try as it might, this is not a Pixar film; it isn't even in the same league. Disney should leave CG to the professionals and attempt a return to their classically animated features. Kids will love this movie, but adults are sure to wonder why the sky can't fall and put them out of their misery.
