The Good

This is one of those movies that is something both children and grownups can enjoy.

The Bad

I would have liked a more in-depth look at the artistry behind this movie.

Chicken Little is a fun loving movie that takes the classic tale of a chicken thinking the sky is falling and updates it. Basically, we see the classic tale of the acorn falling on Chicken Little's head. After panic and mayhem ensue, everyone soon realizes that Chicken Little mistaken. This young fellow is now the butt of many jokes and the object of much ridicule. Suddenly, the sky starts to really fall and Chicken Little (with the help of his friends Abby Mallard, Runt of the Litter and Fish Out of Water) has to figure out a way to save the planet without making everybody crazy all over again.

There is a certain sweetness to this movie that is underscored by it's good heart. The animation is spot on perfect, the voice actors very well cast and everything else about Chicken Little seems just right.

Features

Deleted Scenes

To be honest, I just sort of scrolled these deleted scenes. I really think that Chicken Little, with it's runtime of 81 minutes is pretty much perfectly paced. While I enjoyed seeing these scenes, (especially the 3 alternate openings for this movie), I think they may have been better served to have left these off of this DVD. They're good and funny in parts, I just don't know that they needed to be here.

Hatching Chicken Little

This is a "Making Of" featurette that, since this movie has such a large and interesting cast, essentially just focuses on that. We hear from the people behind the movie talking about the story and the actors, and we also get to hear the actors talk about their roles as well as working with everyone else on this movie. A pretty standard piece as far as featurettes go and I would have liked a more in-depth, detailed explanation of the way the animation was created for this movie.

"Where's Fish?" Interactive Game

This is a pretty easy game where the player use their remote control on their DVD player to find Fish. There isn't anything that hard about it and like most games, you just click around and advance (or not) to the various levels that are offered.

Music Videos and Sing Along

There are music videos for The Cheetah Girls and Barenaked Ladies. Honestly, had I not had to review this DVD, I don't think that I would have ever seen these videos or listened to these songs. While I didn't find them to be terrible, they aren't really anything that I would have listened to or watched otherwise. The "Karaoke Sing Along" is precisely what it says it is. All one has to do is set up their system (if they have a microphone input on their player so much the better or they can even incorporate their stereo system into this) and their kids will be off an running. Truthfully, I could see this "Karaoke" option as a potential deal breaker, simply because I don't know that parents are going to necessarily want them to be singing.

Video

Aspect Ratio - 1.78:1. While I don't care if a movie is animated in 2D or 3D, I must admit that I was very impressed with the way this film looked in it's 3D style. Everything looks incredible. The way the characters are lit, the objects they handle and their surrounding environments and locations. I was absolutely blown away by how painstakingly real everything seemed. While in my opinion, the story of a movie matters the most, there is something about 3D animation in general that is very eye-catching.

Audio

Dolby Digital. Lets be honest, animated movies always sound good. I think because all the noises, voices and everything else have to be created from scratch, they can't help but sound better than normal movies (even though 90% of a live action movie is recreated in a sound booth, anyway). Like I mentioned above, there is just a good feeling behind this film. The movie just flows and as a result of that it plays very easily. I think a big reason for this is the way the audio has been put together for this DVD and the movie itself.

Package

The front cover features a poised Chicken Little as he meets the press. He sits inside an eggshell (which looks like a mogul's chair) with his friends and spaceships zooming around behind him. The back cover has a few shots from the movie, a succinct description of what Chicken Little is about, a "Special Features/Technical Specs listing and a cast list. Simple packaging that seems to take into account that this movie's primary audience is young children.

Final Word

I was very impressed with the voice talents of everyone on this movie. Most notably I would have to give kudos to Zach Braff (Chicken Little), Steve Zahn (Runt of the Litter) and Joan Cusack (Abby Mallard). I know I am leaving many people off this list, and the ones mentioned were mainly mentioned because they were in the movie more than others. There was just a freewheeling energy to Chicken Little that made this movie stand out for me. It's funny, but I really found myself rooting for the main character. Even though this is technically "just a cartoon," I found that I got more involved with this movie then I do with most live action ones.

Chicken Little is a welcome release on DVD and one that I think will make grownups and young kids happy.