D52–Chicken Little

After a decade of success releasing Pixar’s films, Chicken Little was touted as Disney’s first in house CG animated film. Using the classic children’s story as a launching point, is a fairly simple twist on the ‘son longing for his father’s approval’ story, with some aliens thrown in for good measure. Thanks to the success of The Polar Express, in addition to it’s regular release, it also saw limited released in IMAX theatres in 3D form.

Though the plot is unmemorable, the script definitely has some funny moments. The voice cast, lead by Zach Braff, is excellent, and delivers their lines with great timing. Though the direction seems unremarkable today, it was rather unique when it was released. Rather than using mostly static shots, as was the norm in CG films, it featured a comparatively large amount of camera movement, as well inventive angles and placements. The result was a film that felt a little more like its live action brethren.

When I first watched Chicken Little in theatres on its initial release, I couldn’t help being a little disappointed. Up to that point, CG films released by Disney were exclusively Pixar, and this film was a noticeable step backwards in terms of both animation quality and storytelling. Revisiting it, it still doesn’t hold up against the best of either studio, but that doesn’t make it a bad film. It is entertaining throughout, and kids will definitely get a kick out of the characters of Pig and Fish Out Of Water, there just isn’t that much there beneath the surface.

Original theatrical trailer

Up next: Meet The Robinsons (2007)