I LIKE "Chicken Little"!

[judyindisguise]

I rented CL over the weekend, and watched it - the second viewing for me (first time at a theatre). And I make no apologies - I like it. I really like it. Far far better than "Ice Age 2", as a matter of fact. Maybe its storyline was just easier to identify with - a kid trying desperately to make his parent proud of him, a child's misery at not being believed even by his loved ones, and a bereaved father trying to communicate with his son. All acted out by poultry.

I can't help it. I LIKE it.

As for IA2, it...just didn't involve me. I had a hard time caring about what was going on. It had some nice animation and some funny moments, but for the most part I just sort of...endured it. And mind you I liked the first "Ice Age". I adore Ray Romano's Manny. But the story was blah...and I HATED Jay Leno's armadillo character. Very annoying.

The only thing about CL I don't like is that overly large pig - his extreme obesity is a little painful to watch for some reason, although he's a likeable personality - and the fact that there are very few animal species in CL's world. It looks like the Diz crew really scrimped when it came to central casting ;) . But overall CL is just a really fun, sweet, goodhearted fun movie. Not very Diz toon has to be a "Lion King"-like epic. I think that considering CL is not a Pixar toon, Diz done good. JMHO.

[Luna]

I enjoyed Chicken Little as well...I thought it was funny,and I liked the characters,esp. Chicken Little,his dad,and Abby....
Granted,I wouldn't say it's one of Disney's best(it's worth seeing,though),but it's way better than most of the Dreamworks animated films(except the Shrek movies,I love those!!!),Robots,and Ice Age (I HATED Ice Age,so I have no interest in the sequel)...

[Snailbait]

Hmm...
I liked the first 30 minutes. Then the plot got out of control.
Post #600, by the way.

[judyindisguise]

Hmm...
I liked the first 30 minutes. Then the plot got out of control.
Post #600, by the way.

It did take a bizarre turn, but trying to flesh out a simple fable like "Chicken Little" had to have been a heck of a challenge, don't you think? When I first read about CL it was just going into production and my thoughts were "Ooh, bad choice, bad idea!" And the first glimpses I got of CL himself didn't help. "Eew!" But the producers did manage to make a likeable character out of him, much to my surprise. Sure, most of the jokes in the movie don't work, but at least the emotions rang true for the most part, and I think that resulted in good word-of-mouth, which helped make the movie a financial success. It's my belief that people will more vividly remember how a film or TV show made them feel rather than a particular scene or line of dialogue. Anyway, getting back to that "bizarre turn", I think it worked, but if hadn't been for the cute little three-eyed alien, and the way the writers were able to tie the alien invasion into the father/son theme, it would have been a total mess. Anyway again JMHO.

[Wussycat]

My only problem with it is they didn't get kids to voice the kids. They got middle-aged actors who didn't even TRY to sound like kids.

[Baltofan]

I love Chicken Little too!

[Snailbait]

It did take a bizarre turn, but trying to flesh out a simple fable like "Chicken Little" had to have been a heck of a challenge, don't you think? When I first read about CL it was just going into production and my thoughts were "Ooh, bad choice, bad idea!" And the first glimpses I got of CL himself didn't help. "Eew!" But the producers did manage to make a likeable character out of him, much to my surprise. Sure, most of the jokes in the movie don't work, but at least the emotions rang true for the most part, and I think that resulted in good word-of-mouth, which helped make the movie a financial success. It's my belief that people will more vividly remember how a film or TV show made them feel rather than a particular scene or line of dialogue. Anyway, getting back to that "bizarre turn", I think it worked, but if hadn't been for the cute little three-eyed alien, and the way the writers were able to tie the alien invasion into the father/son theme, it would have been a total mess. Anyway again JMHO.
I sort of agree with some of your points. I loved Kirby (I think that was the alien's name?). But the movie got way too weird. Dindal did a much better job with The Emperor's New Groove.

[Wonderwall]

I enjoyed it, it was a good way to spend 70 or so minutes. I actually liked Zach Braff as Chicken Little, he sort of used his own voice but a bit higher pitched so that plus combined with his model came off as very cute. I can't be the only one who smirked when he muttered Today is another day just before hitting the ball in the baseball game.

[Locall]

I didn't like it at all... I really thought I was too old to for this film, I bought it, watched it and returned it the next day for Lady & the Tramp. :p

[Craig Crumpton]

I rented this through Netflix this past weekend and I didn't like it either. It just didn't feel quite like a "comedy." There are a few laughs to be had, but a lot of the gags either fall flat or they're dated (doing a gag on the Spice Girls' "Wannabe" was almost 10 years too late), and the rest are just... "meh."

Whatever happened to the timeless Disney classic animated films? Dated music... dated gags... I have a feeling Disney will be the only ones calling this a "classic."

It was like watching an extended episode of Jimmy Neutron, but with barnyard animals instead. And talk about clichés... ye gods! This movie's full of 'em: predictable dialog, stereotyped characters, overused themes, and actors voicing the same type characters they've done before (some of them more than once previously).

The voice cast was okay overall, and I can't agree that the kid characters in the movie should've had younger voices. It's implied that they're at least middle-school age. And during one of the time-sequence photo scenes (deleted scenes), you'll note that Chicken Little was at least old enough to be in the 9th grade. He was just... y'know, little.

As for the rest of the primary cast, I enjoyed Joan Cusack and Steve Zahn, but they've both been much funnier in other movies. Zach Braff was just okay for me, and I hated one bit of his early in the movie where they looped the same clip three times. That gag dropped like a bomb.

But it was the smaller roles/cameos I enjoyed more: Don Knotts, Patrick Stewart, Adam West, and Patrick Warburton. But again, the latter two have played those same kind of characters over and over again.

The "Fish Out of Water" character got almost as much screen time as the title character and he was pointless--an unnecessary additional comic relief who didn't make sense most of the time. He could've been left out altogether.

And I'm so sick of Disney's constant theme of "acceptance." It is possible to make characters likeable and have kids identify with them without falling into that same tired old cliché.

As for the plot, it was indeed "out of control."

In short, it's a cliché-ridden, poorly-plotted, Pixar wannabe. Might be enjoyable for your kids, but cartoon-loving adults should skip this one unless you just don't have anything better to do for a couple hours.

[Shadow Blaziken]

I saw Chicken Little in theatres, and I laughed at a few lines. Of course it's nothing of Pixar's caliber, and a lot of the jokes fell flat.

[Dudley]

The movie is really aimed towards kids, it's something they would enjoy. Adults probably wouldn't.
I thought it was a sweet film. Not a great film, but a sweet one.

[Baltofan]

I agree, that was lame with the same clip with Foxy Loxy, who was looped three times! :D
I enjoyed Patrick Stewart too!