Chicken Little

The children’s fable about mass hysteria and foolish assumptions is almost entirely unrecognisable in this Disney animation. Set in a small town, this Chicken Little is a spoof on the cautionary tale but the laughs are painfully few.

School-aged (male) Chicken Little is something of a pariah in his town. Ever since he mistook an acorn for a piece of the sky and sent the town into a panic he has been treated with disdain by those around him. Even his father is embarrassed by him. But despite all evidence to the contrary, Chicken Little is convinced he is right. His misfit friends Abby Mallard aka Ugly Duckling, the uber-sized Runt of the Litter and the silent Fish-out-of-Water are the only ones who believe him. His nemesis is the popular Foxy Loxy who is a hero to teachers and students alike.

In an effort to win the admiration of his father Buck Cluck, Chicken Little defies the odds and becomes a school baseball champion. The relationship is healed but of course no one wants to be loved simply because of success. And before long Chicken Little is thwacked by another piece of the sky and becomes the laughing stock of the town once again.

It’s a somewhat maudlin tale about seeking parental acceptance. It has a slapped together script, cheap laughs and a plot that is achingly dull - at least for adult viewers. There is toilet humour for the pre-teens, a cute fuzzy alien for the pre-schoolers and nothing for the grown-ups. On the up side the animation work is excellent and the soundtrack is pretty groovy. There are strong messages about loyalty, faith and kindness. Everything works out in the end. Relationships are healed, Chicken Little is vindicated and Foxy Loxy lobotomised (or something like that). I saw the film with my nearly-five-year-old daughter. She sat stony-faced throughout but insisted that she liked it. When I asked her if it was funny she was shocked - there’s nothing funny about having to prove yourself to win acceptance. Quite.

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