Chicken Little
Year: 2005
Director: Mark Dindal
Starring: Zach Braff, Joan Cusack, Gary Marshall & Steve Zahn
Runtime: 81 mins
BBFC: U
Published: 04/10/21
Director: Mark Dindal
Starring: Zach Braff, Joan Cusack, Gary Marshall & Steve Zahn
Runtime: 81 mins
BBFC: U
Published: 04/10/21
The advancements in computer technology during the 1990’s led to great leaps in the use of computer-generated imagery. For some time animation teams had been toying with the idea of using CGI as an alternative to hand drawn animation, but the cost and talent involved in creating something worthwhile was often unattainable for many studios. That was until Pixar released Toy Story in 1995 and showed that 3D computer animation could be a viable alternative to hand drawn animation when the film was designed around the limitations that computers held at the time. This influenced a slew of animation studios to follow suit and create 3D computer animated films such as Dreamworks, Blue Sky, and Nickelodeon. Meanwhile Disney, who had been the undisputed kings of animation for a while, soldiered on with predominantly traditional 2D animation save for the experimental Dinosaur in 2000 (which bolstered its 3D computer animation with live action environments). But the time would come when even Disney felt the need to expand into the 3D computer animation space following a slew of underperforming films, a decision that would prove to certainly be profitable, but critically underwhelming.
One year after Chicken Little (Zach Braff) made a fool out of himself in front of his whole town by thinking the sky was falling, he is trying to settle into a normal and inconspicuous life so not to embarrass his father (Garry Marshall) any further.
With the help of his friends Abby Mallard (Joan Cusack), Fish Out of Water (Dan Molina), and Runt of the Littler (Steve Zahn), Chicken Little tries to join the school baseball team to make his father proud.
But when Chicken Little sees a part of the sky fall once again and discovers plans for an alien invasion of his hometown, he must try and convince his townsfolk that they’re in danger and to fight back against the alien menace.
One year after Chicken Little (Zach Braff) made a fool out of himself in front of his whole town by thinking the sky was falling, he is trying to settle into a normal and inconspicuous life so not to embarrass his father (Garry Marshall) any further.
With the help of his friends Abby Mallard (Joan Cusack), Fish Out of Water (Dan Molina), and Runt of the Littler (Steve Zahn), Chicken Little tries to join the school baseball team to make his father proud.
But when Chicken Little sees a part of the sky fall once again and discovers plans for an alien invasion of his hometown, he must try and convince his townsfolk that they’re in danger and to fight back against the alien menace.
I remember going to see Chicken Little when it came out and thoroughly enjoying it, but I was ten years old, and watching the film now I can say that this is a film that only those ten or under could possibly enjoy. The story lacks any kind of focus as it flits from an alien invasion story to a baseball story, to a message about always being yourself, but it doesn’t pull any of them off with any level of skill or finesse.
In fact, I would argue that Chicken Little arguably sends out a dangerous message to kids about trying to impress your parents at any cost due to the awful parenting on display by Little’s father, a chicken who is in a perpetual state of embarrassment and dissatisfaction with his child.
The film lacks anyone to gravitate to as all the characters are shallow archetypes that have no personality of their own. Plus, the alien invasion storyline doesn’t come in until over halfway through the story which beforehand had been about Little trying to make the baseball team. It’s just a mess of ideas and very obvious that there was no clear direction that the writers were heading in whilst making this film.
The animation is another point of failure for the film. This came out in between Pixar released The Incredible and Cars, now I know that it’s a little unfair to compare anyone to Pixar the majority of the time but it’s unbelievable how bad Chicken Little looks for the time it released; even when looking at studios like Dreamworks who the year prior had released Shrek 2, a film that is a technological marvel in comparison to Chicken Little. It doesn't hold the same characteristics as a Disney film either, bearing more resemblance to a Nickelodeon project.
Textures are flat, animations are stiff, environments are barren. If anything, it looks closer to Pixar’s short film output prior to Toy Story in 1995 than any other major 3D computer animated film up to that point. It’s frankly embarrassing that Disney felt that this was acceptable to release in the state it’s in with the animation regularly encountering dips in frame rate because the software couldn’t cope with what was on screen.
What makes this whole situation even worse was that Chicken Little had been the project Disney had been pumping all its resources into for the last few years instead of focusing its efforts on the traditional 2D films they were outputting like Brother Bear and Home on the Range. So not only did Chicken Little disappoint, but those other films suffered because Disney was allocating money and resources from those films into Chicken Little.
Whilst Chicken Little is sure to put a smile on the faces of the under ten crowd, for anyone old enough to properly comprehend character development, story structure, and acceptable presentation standards Chicken Little is a total waste of time. There is almost nothing that redeems this film from being a total misfire and a stain on Disney’s animated history.
In fact, I would argue that Chicken Little arguably sends out a dangerous message to kids about trying to impress your parents at any cost due to the awful parenting on display by Little’s father, a chicken who is in a perpetual state of embarrassment and dissatisfaction with his child.
The film lacks anyone to gravitate to as all the characters are shallow archetypes that have no personality of their own. Plus, the alien invasion storyline doesn’t come in until over halfway through the story which beforehand had been about Little trying to make the baseball team. It’s just a mess of ideas and very obvious that there was no clear direction that the writers were heading in whilst making this film.
The animation is another point of failure for the film. This came out in between Pixar released The Incredible and Cars, now I know that it’s a little unfair to compare anyone to Pixar the majority of the time but it’s unbelievable how bad Chicken Little looks for the time it released; even when looking at studios like Dreamworks who the year prior had released Shrek 2, a film that is a technological marvel in comparison to Chicken Little. It doesn't hold the same characteristics as a Disney film either, bearing more resemblance to a Nickelodeon project.
Textures are flat, animations are stiff, environments are barren. If anything, it looks closer to Pixar’s short film output prior to Toy Story in 1995 than any other major 3D computer animated film up to that point. It’s frankly embarrassing that Disney felt that this was acceptable to release in the state it’s in with the animation regularly encountering dips in frame rate because the software couldn’t cope with what was on screen.
What makes this whole situation even worse was that Chicken Little had been the project Disney had been pumping all its resources into for the last few years instead of focusing its efforts on the traditional 2D films they were outputting like Brother Bear and Home on the Range. So not only did Chicken Little disappoint, but those other films suffered because Disney was allocating money and resources from those films into Chicken Little.
Whilst Chicken Little is sure to put a smile on the faces of the under ten crowd, for anyone old enough to properly comprehend character development, story structure, and acceptable presentation standards Chicken Little is a total waste of time. There is almost nothing that redeems this film from being a total misfire and a stain on Disney’s animated history.