Chicken Little
Review by Clint Morris
Whether you’re a fan of the Original, Hot 'N’ Spicy
or Zinger, there’s no denying that the lead clucker in
Disney’s Chicken Little is rather adorable.
But like the Colonel’s fried chicken franchise, seems
the commercials are more appealing than the product itself...
Chicken Little (voiced by Zach Braff, of 'Scrubs' fame) is
the embarrassment of the town following a shameful incident
in which he announced to one and all that the sky was falling
down.
When a piece of the sky - or in this case, a tile from a
spaceship's invisible shield - actually does fall to the ground,
and Aliens do start invading earth, he’s faced with an
opportunity to redeem himself.
Akin to one of those short-running holiday specials they
run on Christmas day - you know the ones, Frosty the Snowman
saves Christmas, or Scrappy Doo Learns the Meaning of Christmas
- Chicken Little is an undersized (running for only
78 minutes) computer graphics experiment camouflaged in blockbuster
Disney clothing.
There’s more meat in the Colonel’s secret recipe
- and that’s saying something...
The main problem with the film is the distinct lack of any
real script. There just doesn’t seem to be one - there
is more plot in an episode of 'Muppet Babies'. There's no
real direction either. No real start, middle or end - just
endearing animals running around, and filling the frame whilst
a poppy song overlays the lack of action.
Even worse though, the film seems unsure what audience it's
trying to attract. Though most of the characters are undeniably
going to appeal to the under-10 crowd, the majority of the
film’s jokes are way too mature.
The Filmmakers have neglected to research just how many ankle-biters
have actually seen Raiders of the Lost Ark, War
of the Worlds, and King Kong - let alone how many
know what it means if you’re a Streisand/Gloria Gaynor
fan! - before littering their film with pokes at such films.
A sloppy effort Disney. And far from the fine fully computer
animated effort from the Mouse Factory that we were hoping
for.
1.5 out of 5
Chicken Little
Australian release: Sunday the 1st of January, 2006.
Cast: Zach Braff, Mark Mitchell, Don Knotts, Patrick Stewart,
Steve Zahn, Joan Cusack, Wallace Shawn, Harry Shearer, Fred
Willard, Catherine O’Hara, Patrick Warburton, Adam West.
Director: Mark Dindal.
Website: Click
here.
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