Release Date:
11/09/2005
The first third of Chicken Little is so G-rated, if you didnt have a kid already, you would have to go out and rent one just to get into the theater. Then suddenly, the whole enterprise turns into a Kafkaesque vision of War of the Worlds, as a Kentucky Fried alarmist tries to convince his town there are odd-looking strangers in their midst. Forget the permanently smiling farm animals of early animated flicks, this one sports a manic depressive 900-pound porker named Runt of the Litter (voiced by Steve Zahn) with chronic worries that he is the smallest in his family. Of course, the title character (voiced by Scrubs' Zach Braff) is the real star, and, after almost fowling out at the start, his emerging heroism grows on you just like this harmless movie. Somehow Disney took an ordinary cluck-fuck and turned out an animated winner with memorable characters ready-made for the shelf at The Disney Store.