On the Big Board |
Position |
Staff |
In Brief |
30/85 |
Kim Hollis |
A lot better than it was given credit for being. Especially fun in 3-D. |
32/166 |
David Mumpower |
Charming, fancy free exploration of what it means to be an original in a world of copycats. Seeing it in 3-D is the ONLY way to go. |
From the Boy Who Cried Wolf to the Greek Goddess Cassandra to Chicken Little, fiction throughout time has had a number of characters with proclivities to predict disaster. While in Cassandra's case the disasters always came true (but it was her curse that no one would ever believe her); for the Boy Who Cried Wolf, his pronouncement that a wolf was attacking only truly happened after he had hoodwinked the townspeople with his story so many times that nobody believed him when it became reality.
Then there's Chicken Little, who got hysterical over nothing. Ardent in her belief that "the sky is falling," her overreaction eventually causes so much hysteria among her friends that they trust a natural enemy and almost get themselves eaten.
It is this children's tale that provides the backdrop for the Disney movie Chicken Little, an all-CGI production that is being handled by the same team that did the hilarious Emperor's New Groove. All of the characters in the story will cross over to the film, from Ducky Lucky to Loosey Goosey to the dastardly Foxy Loxy. The movie will be set after the hysteria of the first story takes place, making Chicken Little a bit of an outcast. She heads off to a camp, where she encounters a number of other animals who face challenges just as she does. But when Chicken Little uncovers a plot by the camp counselors, she has to break through her past troubles to prove that her beliefs are not just paranoia so that the evil plans can be stopped in their tracks.
Thus far, Sean Hayes is tapped to star in one of the supporting roles, but reports are that the story is being completely reworked due to displeasure with the project from studio higher ups. However, this sort of activity does seem to be rather common with Disney animated projects recently as the push to be profitable is rather intense. Currently scheduled for release in 2005, Chicken Little will also contend with the possibility that CGI animation will become blase to the audiences, particularly with the number of such projects in the pipeline. If any studio is well-equipped to handle the pressure, it is certainly Disney, which always has the advantage of name brand trust. (Kim Hollis/BOP)
April 12, 2004 Zach Braff of Scrubs is now onboard as the lead voice, and there's a brand new trailer available for perusal. (Kim Hollis/BOP)
Vital statistics for Chicken Little |
Main Cast |
Zach Braff, Joan Cusack, Steve Zahn |
Supporting Cast |
Amy Sedaris, Don Knotts, Katie Finneran, Garry Marshall, Harry Shearer, Patrick Stewart, Wallace Shawn, Fred Willard, Catherine O'Hara, Adam West, Enrico Colantoni, Patrick Warburton |
Director |
Mark Dindal |
Screenwriter |
Mark Dindal |
Distributor |
Walt Disney Pictures |
Trailer |
Click Here for Trailer
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Official Site |
http://www.disney.com/chickenlittle |
Rating |
G |
Running Time |
80 minutes |
Awards |
Awards page for Chicken Little
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Talent in red has entry in The Big Picture |
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Comparison films for Chicken Little |
Title |
Date |
Opening |
Adjusted Opening |
Screens |
PSA |
Adj PSA |
Total BO |
Adjusted Total |
Mult |
Finding Nemo |
5/30/03 | 70.25 |
70.25 |
3374 |
20821.00 |
20821.0 |
339.71 |
339.71 |
4.84 |
Monsters, Inc. |
11/2/01 | 63.48 |
67.75 |
3237 |
19611.00 |
20131.6 |
255.87 |
273.09 |
4.03 |
Toy Story 2 |
11/24/99 | 57.39 |
68.39 |
3236 |
17735.00 |
20248.6 |
245.82 |
292.94 |
3.05 |
Ice Age |
3/15/02 | 46.30 |
48.13 |
3316 |
13966.00 |
13966.0 |
176.39 |
183.39 |
3.81 |
Shrek |
5/18/01 | 42.35 |
45.20 |
3587 |
11805.00 |
12118.4 |
267.65 |
285.66 |
6.32 |
Bug's Life, A |
11/25/98 | 32.83 |
42.20 |
2686 |
12223.00 |
15115.9 |
162.79 |
209.29 |
3.56 |
Toy Story |
11/24/95 | 29.14 |
40.39 |
2457 |
11860.00 |
15813.3 |
191.78 |
265.84 |
4.90 |
Antz |
10/2/98 | 17.20 |
22.11 |
2449 |
7023.00 |
8685.2 |
90.71 |
116.62 |
5.27 |
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