Chicken Little (2005)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Mark Dindal

Writers:

Mark Dindal (story) &
Mark Kennedy (story) ...

Release Date:

4 November 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Panic

Plot:

After ruining his reputation with the town, a courageous chicken must come to the rescue of his fellow citizens when aliens start an invasion.

Plot Keywords:

Chicken | Fish | Panic | Acorn | Alien

Awards:

3 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Zach Braff	...	Chicken Little (voice)
Garry Marshall	...	Buck Cluck (voice)
Don Knotts	...	Mayor Turkey Lurkey (voice)
Patrick Stewart	...	Mr. Woolensworth (voice)
Amy Sedaris	...	Foxy Loxy (voice)
Steve Zahn	...	Runt of the Litter (voice)
Joan Cusack	...	Abby Mallard (voice)
Wallace Shawn	...	Principal Fetchit (voice)
Harry Shearer	...	Dog Announcer (voice)
Fred Willard	...	Melvin - Alien Dad (voice)
Catherine O'Hara	...	Tina - Alien Mom (voice)
Patrick Warburton	...	Alien Cop (voice)
Adam West	...	Ace - Hollywood Chicken Little (voice)
Mark Walton	...	Goosey Loosey (voice)
Mark Dindal	...	Morkubine Porcupine / Coach (voice)

Runtime:

81 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Hong Kong:I | Ireland:G | Finland:K-7 | Philippines:G | Australia:PG | Singapore:PG | Mexico:AA | Taiwan:GP | UK:U | Brazil:Livre | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Canada:G (all jurisdictions) | Netherlands:AL | Czech Republic:U | Peru:PT | USA:G (certificate #41987) | Sweden:Btl | Germany:o.Al. | Malaysia:U | Portugal:M/4 | Iceland:L | South Korea:All | New Zealand:PG | USA:G

Company:

Walt Disney Pictures

Trivia:

Holly Hunter was considered for the role of Chicken Little.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Chicken Little, his father, and Kirby run up the stairs to the top of the town hall building so that Kirby can be given back to his parents, they pass a sign in the stairwell indicating 10th floor. If you look carefully at the building before they go in, the building is no more than 4-5 stories tall.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Buck Cluck: [voice over] Now, where to begin?
[shaft of light and pixie dust]
Buck Cluck: How about "Once upon a time"?
[screen suddenly goes black]
Buck Cluck: How many times have you heard that to begin a story? Let's do something else.
[gasps]
Buck Cluck: I got it. I got it. Here we go. Here's how to open a movie.
[opening to The Lion King]
Buck Cluck: No, I don't think so. It sounds familiar, doesn't it to you?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Spoofs "Friends" (1994)

Soundtrack:

Stayin' Alive

'Little' Is A Lot To See

This is yet another of those recently-made animated films that is outstanding. They ("Polar Express," "Robots," "Cars," "Madagascar," "Barnyard," "Ice Age," etc.) all seem to have the following positive characteristics that I found in this movie:

1 - Fabulous colors; 2 - Great artwork; 3 - likable, humorous characters who care about; 4 - excellent jokes, both visually and audibly, many that make adults laugh; 5 - excellent surround sound that is entertaining in itself; and 6 - a nice story without a lot of sexual innuendos and other questionable (for kids) material. Like the old "Leave It To Beaver" TV show, these animated films also end with a positive message for kids and adults.

In fact, I would say that I - as an older adult - have seen more good animated feature films in the past two years than the previous 50 years put together.

The main character in this movie, "Chicken Little" (voiced by Zach Braff) has to be one of the cutest little animated figures I've ever seen. I smiled almost every time they had a closeup of his face with those green glasses.

The colors in this film are very bold and bright, sometimes making my jaw drop. Also, here's another example of a animated movie where there are so many things to see - meaning clever, funny things in the background - you can't possibly catch them all. An added highlight is that this story plays homage, or pokes fun at, previous science-fiction films. How many tongue-in-cheek references can you find to sci-fi movies?

The only complaint I have, and it's minor, is that they could have used a lull or two in the last 30 minutes of this. It's almost too much action but at an overall running time of less than 80 minutes (I'm not including the ending credits), the time is manageable.

Overall, this is another winner. Good stuff!