Chicken Little (2005 Film)
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''Chicken Little'' is a 2005 American animated science fiction comedy film produced by
Walt Disney Feature Animation Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS), sometimes shortened to Disney Animation, is an American animation studio that produces animated feature films and short films for the Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a s ...
and released by
Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Pictures is an American film Film production company, production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios (division), the Walt Disney Studios, a division of Disney Entertainment, which is owned by the Walt Disney Company. The st ...
. It was directed by Mark Dindal from a screenplay by Steve Bencich, Ron J. Friedman, and Ron Anderson, based on a story by Dindal and Mark Kennedy, loosely inspired on the European folk tale " Henny Penny", known in the United States as "Chicken Little". In this version, the title character is ridiculed by his town for causing a panic, thinking that the sky was "falling". A year later he attempts to fix his reputation, followed by an unexpected truth regarding his past being revealed. The film is dedicated to Disney artist and writer Joe Grant, who died before the film's release. This also marked the final film appearance of
Don Knotts Jesse Donald Knotts (July 21, 1924February 24, 2006) was an American actor and comedian. He is widely known for his role as Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife on the 1960s sitcom ''The Andy Griffith Show'', for which he earned five Emmy Awards. He als ...
during his lifetime, as his next and final film, '' Air Buddies'' (another Disney-produced film that was released just over a year later), would be released posthumously. ''Chicken Little'' was animated in-house at Walt Disney Feature Animation's main headquarters in
Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank had a Census-estimated population of 102,755 as of 2023. The city was ...
. It is Disney Animation's first fully computer-animated feature film, as ''
Dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...
'' (2000) was a combination of
live-action Live action is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live action with animation to create a live-action animated feature film. Live action is used to define film, video games or ...
and computer animation which in turn was provided by Disney's The Secret Lab. ''Chicken Little'' was Disney's second adaptation of the fable after an anti-Nazi propaganda cartoon made during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, serving as a loose
remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same s ...
to the cartoon. The film is also the last Disney animated film produced under the name Walt Disney Feature Animation before the studio was renamed Walt Disney Animation Studios. ''Chicken Little'' premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in
Hollywood, Los Angeles Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...
on October 30, 2005, and had its wide release on November 4, in Disney Digital 3-D (the first film to be released in this format) and 2D. It received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $314 million worldwide, making it the second-highest-grossing animated film of 2005 (behind ''
Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
'').


Plot

In the town of Oakey Oaks, "Chicken Little" Cluck rings the school bell and warns everyone to run for their lives. This sends the town into a panic. Eventually, the Head of the Fire Department calms down enough to ask him what is going on. He explains that the sky is falling because a piece of it had fallen on his head when he was sitting under the big oak tree in the town square; however, he cannot find the piece. His father, Buck "Ace" Cluck, who was once a high school baseball star, assumes that it was just an acorn that had fallen off the tree and had hit him on the head, making Chicken Little the laughingstock of the town. A year later, Chicken Little has become infamous in the town for being prone to ruin everything accidentally. His only friends are other outcasts: Abby Mallard (nicknamed "The Ugly Duckling"), Runt (a cowardly pig), and Fish Out of Water (who wears a helmet full of tap water). Chicken Little joins his school's baseball team to recover his reputation and his father's pride but is made last until the ninth inning of the last game. He hits the ball and makes it past first, second, and third bases but is met at home plate by the outfielders. He tries sliding onto the home plate but is touched by the ball. While it is presumed he lost the game, the umpire brushes away the dust to reveal Chicken Little's foot is touching home plate, thus declaring him safe and the game won; Chicken Little is hailed as a hero for winning the pennant. Later that night back at home, Chicken Little is hit on the head yet again by the same "piece of the sky" — only to find out that it is not that, but rather a panel that blends into the background (which would thereby explain why Chicken Little could not find it last time). He calls his friends over to help figure out what it is. When Fish pushes a button on the back of the hexagon, it flies into the sky, taking him with it. It turns out to be part of the camouflage of an invisible UFO piloted by two aliens. Chicken Little, Abby and Runt rescue Fish, and discover that the aliens are heading to Earth. The two aliens attack the group, chasing them through a cornfield. They rush back to the school, where Chicken Little rings the bell to warn everyone, but the aliens escape, leaving an orange alien child behind. No one believes the story of the alien invasion and Chicken Little's reputation is ruined again. The next morning, he and his friends discover the orange alien named Kirby, and minutes later, a fleet of alien ships descend on the town and start what appears to be an invasion. The invasion, however, is actually a misunderstanding, as the two aliens are looking for their lost child and attack only out of concern. As the aliens rampage throughout Oakey Oaks, supposedly vaporizing everything in their path, Chicken Little realizes he must return Kirby to his parents to save the planet. In the invasion, Buck, having regained his pride and trust in his son, defends him from the aliens until they get "vaporized." The aliens, however, are not actually vaporizing people but teleporting them aboard the UFO. It turns out the aliens were touring Earth and came across the town for its acorns. Their ship has broken camo panels that fell and hit Chicken Little on the head. After everything is explained, the apologetic aliens return everything to normal, and everyone is grateful for Chicken Little's efforts to save the town. Another year later, Chicken Little, Buck, his friends and the citizens of Oakey Oaks watch an in-universe movie depicting a fanciful retelling of the events that transpired, portraying Chicken Little as an action hero named Ace.


Voice cast

*
Zach Braff Zachary Israel Braff (born April 6, 1975) is an American actor and filmmaker. He portrayed J.D. (Scrubs), John Michael "J.D." Dorian on the NBC/American Broadcasting Company, ABC television series ''Scrubs (TV series), Scrubs'' (2001–2010), for ...
as "Chicken Little" Cluck, a young and diminutive
rooster The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and is now one of the most common and w ...
, who suffers from a reputation for being called crazy after causing a panic when he thought that the sky was falling. *
Joan Cusack Joan Mary Cusack ( ; born October 11, 1962) is an American actress and comedian. She received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her roles in the comedy-drama '' Working Girl'' (1988) and the romantic comedy '' In ...
as Abigail "Abby" Mallard (also known as the Ugly Duckling), a female
duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...
(implied swan) with buck teeth. She is Chicken Little's best friend, and by the end, his girlfriend. * Dan Molina as Fish Out of Water, a
goldfish The goldfish (''Carassius auratus'') is a freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of the order Cypriniformes. It is commonly kept as a pet in indoor aquariums, and is one of the most popular aquarium fish. Goldfish released into the w ...
who wears a scuba helmet filled with water and lives on the surface. * Steve Zahn as Runt of the Litter, a large pig who is much larger than the other children but is far smaller than the other members of his family. * Garry Marshall as Buck "Ace" Cluck, Chicken Little's widower father and a former high school baseball star. ** Mark Mitchell would later voice the character in the Australian release. * Amy Sedaris as Foxy Loxy, a mean fox who is a baseball star and the "hometown hero". She is also a tomboy and one of the "popular kids" at school. In the original fable, as well as the 1943 short film, Foxy is a male fox. * Mark Walton as Goosey Loosey, a dimwitted goose and Foxy Loxy's best friend and henchwoman. *
Don Knotts Jesse Donald Knotts (July 21, 1924February 24, 2006) was an American actor and comedian. He is widely known for his role as Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife on the 1960s sitcom ''The Andy Griffith Show'', for which he earned five Emmy Awards. He als ...
as Turkey Lurkey, a
turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
and the mayor of Oakey Oaks, who is friendly and sensible but not very bright. * Sean Elmore, Matthew Josten, and Evan Dunn as Kirby * Fred Willard as Melvin * Catherine O'Hara as Tina * Mark Dindal as Morkubine Porcupine and the Coach *
Patrick Stewart Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor. With a career spanning over seven decades of Patrick Stewart on stage and screen, stage and screen, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Patrick Stewart, variou ...
as Mr. Woolensworth *
Wallace Shawn Wallace Michael Shawn (born November 12, 1943) is an American actor, essayist, playwright, and screenwriter. He is known for playing Vizzini in '' The Princess Bride'' (1987), Mr. Hall in '' Clueless'' (1995), Dr. John Sturgis in '' Young Sheldo ...
as Principal Fetchit * Patrick Warburton as Alien Cop * Adam West as Ace - Hollywood Chicken Little * Harry Shearer as Don Bowowser


Production


Writing

In September 2001, director Mark Dindal developed the idea for ''Chicken Little'', with its title character envisioned as a paranoid female chicken with the voice of Holly Hunter that went to summer camp to reduce her anxiety, as well as repair her relationship with her father. At the summer camp, she would uncover a nefarious plot that her camp counselor, who was to be voiced by
Penn Jillette Penn Fraser Jillette (born March 5, 1955) is an American Magic (illusion), magician, actor, comedian, musician, inventor, television presenter, and author, best known for his work with fellow magician Teller (magician), Teller as half of the t ...
, was planning against her hometown. Dindal would later pitch his idea to
Michael Eisner Michael Dammann Eisner ( ; born March 7, 1942) is an American businessman and former chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Walt Disney Company from September 1984 to September 2005. Prior to Disney, Eisner was president of rival film ...
who suggested it would be better to change Chicken Little into a male because as Dindal recalled, "if you're a boy and you're short, you get picked on." However, Dindal later clarified that the decision was made, in part, due to market research stating, "I remember being told, 'Girls will go see a movie with a boy protagonist but boys won't see a movie with a girl protagonist, ..That was the wisdom at the time, until '' Frozen'' comes out and makes $1 billion." In January 2003, when David Stainton became Disney's new president of
Walt Disney Feature Animation Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS), sometimes shortened to Disney Animation, is an American animation studio that produces animated feature films and short films for the Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a s ...
, he decided the story needed a different approach. He told the director the script had to be revised, and during the next three months, it was rewritten into a tale of a boy trying to save his town from space aliens. During the rewriting process, Dindal, along with three credited writers and nine others, threw out twenty-five scenes to improve the character development and add more emotional resonance with the parent-child relationship. Dindal stated that "It took us about 2½ years to pretty much get back to where we started... But in the course of that, the story got stronger, more emotional, and Amazing, too."


Casting

When originally envisioned as a female character, Holly Hunter provided the voice for the title character for eight months, until it was decided for Chicken Little to be a male. Michael J. Fox, Dave Foley, D.B. Sweeney, Ben Stiller,
Matt Damon Matthew Paige Damon ( ; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. He was ranked among ''Forbes'' most bankable stars in 2007, and in 2010 was one of the highest-grossing actors of all time. He has received va ...
,
Leonardo DiCaprio Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (; ; born November 11, 1974) is an American actor and film producer. Known for Leonardo DiCaprio filmography, his work in biographical and period films, he is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received ...
, Shia LaBeouf, Steve Martin, Jon Heder, Matthew Broderick,
Jack Black Thomas Jacob "Jack" Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is known for roles in family and comedy films, in addition to his voice work in animated films. His awards include a Children's and Family Emmy ...
, Paul Walker,
Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and comedie ...
,
Nathan Lane Nathan Lane (born Joseph Lane; February 3, 1956) is an American actor. Since 1975, he has been Nathan Lane on screen and stage, on stage and screen in both comedic and dramatic roles. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Na ...
,
Drake Bell Jared Drake Bell (born June 27, 1986) is an American actor and musician. Born in Newport Beach, California, he began his career as a child actor in the 1990s, appearing on ''Home Improvement (TV series), Home Improvement'' (1994) and in severa ...
,
Josh Peck Joshua Michael Peck (born November 10, 1986) is an American actor, comedian, and YouTuber. Peck began his career as a child actor, appearing in the film Snow Day (2000 film), ''Snow Day'' (2000) and the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series ''The Ama ...
, Keanu Reeves and David Spade were all originally considered for the role. Against forty actors competing for the title role,
Zach Braff Zachary Israel Braff (born April 6, 1975) is an American actor and filmmaker. He portrayed J.D. (Scrubs), John Michael "J.D." Dorian on the NBC/American Broadcasting Company, ABC television series ''Scrubs (TV series), Scrubs'' (2001–2010), for ...
auditioned where Dindal noted he "pitched his voice slightly to sound like a junior high kid. Right there, that was really unique — and then he had such great energy." In April 2002, '' Variety'' reported that Sean Hayes was to voice a character named the Ugly Duckling, but the character was rewritten into a female. Now conceived as Abby Mallard, Hunter, Jamie Donnelly,
Jamie Lee Curtis Jamie Lee Curtis (born November 22, 1958) is an American actress, producer, and children's author. Known for List of Jamie Lee Curtis performances, her performances in the horror and slasher film, slasher genres, she is regarded as a scream qu ...
, Sarah Jessica Parker,
Jodie Foster Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster (born November 19, 1962) is an American actress and filmmaker. Foster started her career as a child actor before establishing herself as leading actress in film. She has received List of awards and nominations re ...
, Laura Dern, Geena Davis, and
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
were considered, but
Joan Cusack Joan Mary Cusack ( ; born October 11, 1962) is an American actress and comedian. She received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her roles in the comedy-drama '' Working Girl'' (1988) and the romantic comedy '' In ...
won the role for her natural comedy. In December 2003, it was announced Braff and Cusack were cast, along with other cast members including Steve Zahn, Amy Sedaris,
Don Knotts Jesse Donald Knotts (July 21, 1924February 24, 2006) was an American actor and comedian. He is widely known for his role as Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife on the 1960s sitcom ''The Andy Griffith Show'', for which he earned five Emmy Awards. He als ...
, Katie Finneran, and Garry Marshall. Marshall was asked to provide a voice for ''Kingdom of the Sun'', which was re-conceived into ''
The Emperor's New Groove ''The Emperor's New Groove'' is a 2000 American animated fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Mark Dindal and produced by Randy Fullmer, from a screenplay writte ...
'' and directed by Dindal, but was removed from the project for being "too New York". When he was approached to provide the voice for Buck Cluck, Marshall claimed "I said I don't do voices. You want a chicken that talks like me, fine. So they hired me and they didn't fire me, and it was like a closure on animation.". Before Marshall was cast, James Earl Jones,
Bill Murray William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian, known for his deadpan delivery in roles ranging from studio comedies to independent dramas. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Bill Murra ...
,
Dan Aykroyd Daniel Edward Aykroyd ( ; born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Aykroyd was a writer and an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" cast on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Nigh ...
and Willem Dafoe were previously considered for the role of Buck Cluck. Australian comedian Mark Mitchell was hired to dub the voice of Buck Cluck for the Australian release of the film, as a decision by Disney to get a national celebrity to publicize the film.


Animation

To visualize this story, Disney selected 50 percent of its 2D animation staff to put them in a CGI animation team, and placed them through a rigorous eighteen-month training program with
George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker and philanthropist. He created the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founded Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairman ...
' Industrial Light and Magic, which included an introductory to Alias's
Maya Maya may refer to: Ethnic groups * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (East Africa), a p ...
that would serve as the main 3D animation software used on the project. This was due to Disney CEO
Michael Eisner Michael Dammann Eisner ( ; born March 7, 1942) is an American businessman and former chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Walt Disney Company from September 1984 to September 2005. Prior to Disney, Eisner was president of rival film ...
announcing that the studio would move to computer animation in response to a downturn caused by rising competition from
Pixar Pixar (), doing business as Pixar Animation Studios, is an American animation studio based in Emeryville, California, known for its critically and commercially successful computer-animated feature films. Pixar is a subsidiary of Walt Disney ...
and
DreamWorks Animation DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios or simply DreamWorks) is an American animation studio, owned by Comcast's NBCUniversal as part of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Studios, Inc, Universal Stud ...
computer animated features, as well as the unsatisfactory box office performances of ''The Emperor's New Groove'', ''Atlantis: The Lost Empire'', ''
Treasure Planet ''Treasure Planet'' is a 2002 American animated science fiction film, science fiction adventure film directed by John Musker and Ron Clements and written by Musker, Clements and Rob Edwards (screenwriter), Rob Edwards. Produced by Walt Disney ...
'' (2002), and '' Home on the Range'' (2004). As some of the animators had worked on ''
Dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...
'' (2000), which used live-action backgrounds, the animation team took inspiration for its staging, coloring, and theatrical lighting from Mary Blair's background designs featured in '' Alice in Wonderland'' (1951) and '' Peter Pan'' (1953). For the aesthetics in the background designs, the background layout artists sparingly use digital matte paintings to render out the naturalistic elements, including the trees and the baseball diamond, but they were retouched using
Adobe Photoshop Adobe Photoshop is a raster graphics editor developed and published by Adobe Inc., Adobe for Microsoft Windows, Windows and macOS. It was created in 1987 by Thomas Knoll, Thomas and John Knoll. It is the most used tool for professional digital ...
as background cards featured in the film. The lighting department would utilize the "Lumiere" software to enhance virtual lighting for the shading form and depth and geometric rendering for the characters' shadows, as well as use real lighting to create cucaloris. For the characters' designs and animation style, Dindal sought to capture the "roundness" as seen in the Disney animated works from the 1940s to 1950s, by which the characters' fluidity of motion was inspired from the
Goofy Goofy is a cartoon character created by the Walt Disney Company. He is a tall, Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic dog who typically wears a turtle neck and vest, with pants, shoes, white gloves, and a tall hat originally designed as a rumpled fe ...
cartoon '' How to Play Baseball'' (1942). Under visual effects supervisor Steve Goldberg who spearheaded the department, the Maya software included the software program "Shelf Control" that provided an outline of characters that can be viewed on-screen and provided a direct link to the controls for specific autonomy, as well as new electronic tablet screens were produced that allowed for the artists to draw digital sketches of the characters to rough out their movements, which was then transferred to the 3D characters. All of the characters were constructed using geometric polygons. For the title character, there were approximately fourteen to fifteen character designs before settling the design composed of an ovular egghead shape with oversized glasses. The final character was constructed of 5,600 polygons, 700 muscles, and more than 76,000 individual feathers, of which 55,000 are placed on his head. Following the casting of Braff, supervising animator Jason Ryan adapted Braff's facial features during recording sessions to better combine the dorkiness and adorability the filmmakers desired. "He's got this really appealing face and eye expressions," Ryan said, adding that he was amazed by Braff's natural vocal abilities. Next, the animators would utilize the software program "Chicken Wire", where digital wire deformers were provided for the animators to manipulate the basic geometric shapes to get their desired facial features. Lastly, a software development team constructed XGen, a computer software program for grooming fur, feathers, and generating leaves.


Release

The film was originally scheduled for release on July 1, 2005, but on December 7, 2004, its release date was pushed back to November 4, 2005, the release date that was originally slated for Disney/
Pixar Pixar (), doing business as Pixar Animation Studios, is an American animation studio based in Emeryville, California, known for its critically and commercially successful computer-animated feature films. Pixar is a subsidiary of Walt Disney ...
's '' Cars''. The release date change was also the day before
DreamWorks Animation DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios or simply DreamWorks) is an American animation studio, owned by Comcast's NBCUniversal as part of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Studios, Inc, Universal Stud ...
changed the release date of '' Shrek the Third'', from November 2006 to May 2007. ''Cars'' was later released on June 9, 2006. At the time of the release of ''Chicken Little'', the co-production deal between Disney and Pixar was set to expire with the release of ''Cars'' in 2006. The result of the contentious negotiations between Disney and Pixar was viewed to depend heavily on how ''Chicken Little'' performed at the box office. If successful, the film would have given Disney leverage in its negotiations for a new contract to distribute Pixar's films. A failure would have allowed Pixar to argue that Disney could not produce CGI films. On October 30, 2005, the film premiered at the El Capitan Theatre, with the cast and filmmakers as attendees, which was followed with a ballroom bash at the Hollywood and Highland Center. Along with its standard theatrical release, the film was the first Disney in-house release to be rendered in Disney Digital 3D, that was produced by
Industrial Light & Magic Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) is an American Film, motion picture visual effects, computer animation and stereo conversion digital studio founded by George Lucas on May 26, 1975. It is a division of the film production company Lucasfilm, which Lu ...
, and exhibited via Dolby Digital Cinema servers at approximately 100 selected theaters in twenty five top markets. To describe the process, Dindal remembers that it was a last minute decision, as it was suggested just 11 months before its release. For the 3D conversion, Dindal had a specific way he wanted the film to look: he wanted it to feel like a moving View-Master. As he puts it,


Marketing

The first trailer was released online in early 2004. It was also attached to the DVD release of '' Brother Bear''. Accompanied with the theatrical release, Disney Consumer Products released a series of plush items, toys, activity sets, keepsakes, and apparel.


Home media

''Chicken Little'' was first released on DVD on March 21, 2006, in a single disc edition. The DVD contained the film accompanied with deleted scenes, three alternate openings, a 6 part making-of featurette, an interactive game, a karaoke sing along, two music videos, and animation test footage of the female Chicken Little. The DVD sold over 2.7 million DVD units during its first week accumulating $48 million in consumer spending. Overall, consumer spending on its initial home video release grossed $142.6 million. The film was released for the first time on
Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
on March 20, 2007, and contained new features not included on the DVD. A 3D Blu-ray version was released on November 8, 2011. A VHS version was also released as a Disney Movie Club exclusive, presented in a rare fullscreen aspect ratio.


Reception


Box office

In its opening weekend, ''Chicken Little'' grossed $40 million and debuted at #1, being the first Disney animated film to do so since ''
Dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...
''. It also managed to claim #1 again in its second week of release, earning $31.7 million, beating
Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...
's sci-fi family film, '' Zathura''. The film grossed $135.4 million in North America, and $179 million in other countries, for a worldwide total of $314.4 million. This reversed the slump that the company had been facing since 2000, during which time it released several films that underperformed, most notably ''
Fantasia 2000 ''Fantasia 2000'' is a 1999 American animated musical anthology film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation. Produced by Roy E. Disney and Donald W. Ernst, it is the sequel to Disney's 1940 animated feature film '' Fantasia''. Like its p ...
'' (1999), '' Atlantis: The Lost Empire'' (2001), ''
Treasure Planet ''Treasure Planet'' is a 2002 American animated science fiction film, science fiction adventure film directed by John Musker and Ron Clements and written by Musker, Clements and Rob Edwards (screenwriter), Rob Edwards. Produced by Walt Disney ...
'' (2002), and '' Home on the Range'' (2004).


Critical response

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, reports that of surveyed critics gave positive reviews; the average score is . The critical consensus states: "Disney expends more effort in the technical presentation than in crafting an original storyline."
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, gave the film an average score of 48 based on 32 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audiences polled by
CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...
gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale. James Berardinelli, writing his review for ''ReelViews'', gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four stating that "It is bogged down by many of the problems that have plagued Disney's recent traditional animated features: anonymous voice work, poor plot structure, and the mistaken belief that the Disney brand will elevate anything to a "must-see" level for viewers starved for family-friendly fare." On the syndicated television program '' Ebert & Roeper'', critics Richard Roeper and
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
gave the film "Two Thumbs Down" with the former saying "I don't care whether the film is 2-D, 3-D, CGI, or hand-drawn, it all goes back to the story." In his print review featured in the ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...
'', Roger Ebert stated the problem was the story and wrote, "As a general rule, if a movie is not about baseball or space aliens, and you have to use them, anyway, you should have started with a better premise." Ebert concluded his review with, "The movie did make me smile. It didn't make me laugh, and it didn't involve my emotions, or the higher regions of my intellect, for that matter. It's a perfectly acceptable feature cartoon for kids up to a certain age, but it doesn't have the universal appeal of some of the best recent animation." Writing in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', film critic A.O. Scott stated the film is "a hectic, uninspired pastiche of catchphrases and clichés, with very little wit, inspiration or originality to bring its frantically moving images to genuine life." ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' film reviewer Lisa Schwarzbaum, who graded the film a C, wrote that the "banality of the acorns dropped in this particular endeavor, another in a new breed of mass-market comedy that substitutes self-reference for original wit and pop songs for emotional content." However, Ty Burr of ''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
'' gave the film a positive review saying the film was "shiny and peppy, with some solid laughs and dandy vocal performances". Olly Richards of ''
Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...
'' gave the film a three out of five stars, saying, "Beyond a cheeky, twisty bit of genre-tinkering, there's more here for the under-tens than over-, but it's still charming, amusing and energetic enough to win you over." Angel Cohn of ''
TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...
'' gave the film three stars alluding the film that would "delight younger children with its bright colors and constant chaos, while adults are likely to be charmed by the witty banter, subtle one-liners, and a sweet father-son relationship." Peter Rainer, writing in ''
The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles both in Electronic publishing, electronic format and a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 ...
'', graded the film with an A− applauding that the "visuals are irrepressibly witty and so is the script, which morphs from the classic fable into a spoof on '' War of the Worlds''. I prefer this version to Spielberg's." '' Plugged In'' wrote, "A postscript for parents: A single "mistake" defines Chicken Little, and he spends "the rest of his life" trying to live it down. As he puts it, "One moment destroyed my life." Later, another single moment—his home run—redefines him as a hero to his friends and his dad, who says, "I guess that puts the whole 'sky is falling' incident behind us once and for all." Insecure (and observant) young viewers may latch on to this kind of oversimplification and use it as license to magnify the significance of their own bumblings, whatever they might be." Common Sense Media gave the film a three out of five stars, writing, "Cute, sometimes-frantic movie has peril, potential scares." In 2020, Dindal expressed regret over the final version of the film:


Accolades

At the 2005 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards, this film won the award for Worst Animated Film. At the 33rd Annie Awards, it received four nominations for Best Animated Feature, Best Animated Effects, Best Character Design, and Best Production Design, losing all to '' Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit''. At the 2006 Kids' Choice Awards, it was nominated for Favorite Animated Movie, but lost to ''
Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
''.


Soundtrack

The soundtrack album contains an original score composed and produced by John Debney, who had previously worked with Dindal on ''
The Emperor's New Groove ''The Emperor's New Groove'' is a 2000 American animated fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Mark Dindal and produced by Randy Fullmer, from a screenplay writte ...
'' (2000), with music by a wide range of artists, some musical veterans, such as
Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American Rhythm and blues, R&B singer and actress. She has been referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godmother of Soul". LaBelle began ...
and
Diana Ross Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...
, as well as others. Uniquely for a Disney animated film, several of the songs are covers of classic popular songs, such as
Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...
's " Don't Go Breaking My Heart",
Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer-songwriter and musician renowned for her extensive contributions to popular music. She wrote or co-wrote 118 songs that charted on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billbo ...
's " It's Too Late", and the
Spice Girls The Spice Girls are an English girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Mel B ("Scary Spice"), Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"), Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"), Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"), and Victoria Beckham ("Posh Spice"). They have sold over 10 ...
' signature hit " Wannabe". However, the film does include one original song, "One Little Slip" by Barenaked Ladies. The soundtrack was released on November 1, 2005, by
Walt Disney Records Walt Disney Records is an American record label owned by the Disney Music Group. The label releases soundtrack albums from the Walt Disney Company's Walt Disney Studios (division), motion picture studios, television shows, Disney Experiences, them ...
.


Video games

''Chicken Little'' spawned two video games. The first, '' Chicken Little'', is an
action-adventure game An action-adventure game is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Definition An action adventure game can be defined as a game with a mix of elements from an action ...
released for
Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand that consists of four main home video game console lines, as well as application software, applications (games), the streaming media, streaming service Xbox Cloud Gaming, and online services such as the Xbox networ ...
on October 18, 2005, by Buena Vista Games. Two days later it was released for
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...
,
GameCube The is a PowerPC-based home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, in Europe on May 3, 2002, and in Australia on May 17, 2002. It is the suc ...
and
Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, and to international markets that June. It was later released in mainland China in 2004, under the name iQue Game Boy Advanc ...
(October 20, 2005), and later
Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
(November 2, 2005). ''Chicken Little'' for Game Boy Advance was developed by A2M, while BVG's recently acquired development studio, Avalanche Software, developed the game for the consoles. The second video game, '' Disney's Chicken Little: Ace in Action'', is a multi-platform video game, for the Wii,
Nintendo DS The is a foldable handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens worki ...
,
Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
, and
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...
inspired by the "superhero movie within the movie" finale of the film. It features Ace, the superhero alter ego of Chicken Little, and the Hollywood versions of his misfit band of friends: Runt, Abby, and Fish-Out-of-Water. Chicken Little appears as a summon in the video game ''
Kingdom Hearts II ''Kingdom Hearts II'' is a 2005 action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix in collaboration with Disney Interactive Studios, Buena Vista Games for the PlayStation 2 video game console. The game is a sequel to ''Kingdom Hear ...
''. ''Kingdom Hearts II'' debuted before the film's release in Japan, with the character's inclusion serving as a promotion for the then-upcoming movie.


Cancelled franchise

Disneytoon Studios originally planned to make a direct-to-video sequel to'' Chicken Little'', tentatively titled ''Chicken Little 2: The Ugly Duckling Story''. Directed by Klay Hall, the story would have involved Chicken Little getting into a love triangle between Abby Mallard and a beautiful newcomer, Raffaela, a French sheep. Being at a great disadvantage, Abby would go to great lengths to give herself a makeover. According to Tod Carter, a story artist on the film, early screenings of the story reel were very well-received, prompting Disney to consider increasing the production budget to match the quality of the story. Soon after 2006, when
John Lasseter John Alan Lasseter ( ; born January 12, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and animator. He was previously the chief creative officer of Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Animation Studios, and Disneytoon Studios, a ...
became
Walt Disney Animation Studios Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS), sometimes shortened to Disney Animation, is an American animation studio that produces animated feature films and short films for the Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a s ...
' new chief creative officer, he cancelled all sequels that were in development at Disneytoon, including ''Chicken Little 2'', ''
Meet the Robinsons ''Meet the Robinsons'' is a 2007 American animated science-fiction comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is based on the 1990 children's book ''A Day with Wilbur Robinson'' by William Jo ...
2: First Date'' and a sequel to '' The Aristocats'', and ordered the studio to shift its focus towards spin-off films and original productions. According to Carter, this was a reaction to the sales figures for current projects and the overall market, adding: "The executives didn't feel that the original film had a wide enough market to draw upon to support the sequel." Walt Disney Television Animation was also developing an animated series based on the film for
Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...
. The project was passed in favor of ''
Phineas and Ferb ''Phineas and Ferb'' is an American animated series, animated Musical film, musical-television comedy, comedy television series created by Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh for Disney Channel and Disney XD. The series originally aired on t ...
'' according to Dan Povenmire. An animation test for the series was found in 2024.


See also

* List of films featuring fictional films


Notes


References


External links

* * ''Chicken Little'
production notes
at The Walt Disney Company Nordic * * * {{Authority control 2005 children's films 2005 computer-animated films 2005 fantasy films 2005 films 2005 3D films 2005 American animated films 2000s children's animated films 2000s English-language films 2000s science fiction comedy films 2000s coming-of-age films 2000s disaster films 3D animated films Films about alien invasions American 3D films American children's animated comic science fiction films American children's animated science fantasy films American coming-of-age films American computer-animated films American disaster films Animated coming-of-age films Animated films about chickens Animated films about ducks Animated films about fish Animated films about foxes Animated films about friendship Animated films about pigs Animated films about talking animals Animated films about father–son relationships Animated films set in the 2000s * Films directed by Mark Dindal Films produced by Randy Fullmer Films scored by John Debney Films set in 2005 Walt Disney Animation Studios films Films about chickens Disney animated films based on fairy tales English-language science fantasy films English-language science fiction comedy films Films with screenplays by Steve Bencich Films with screenplays by Ron J. Friedman