Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Chicken Little Blu-ray Movie Review

Wonderful family fun gets the Blus.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman January 22, 2008

All I need is a chance.

Disney's Chicken Little is a movie that is one part drama, two parts action, three parts comedy, and all heart. This is a very touching and poignant movie at times that suddenly becomes a laugh-out-loud comedy romp replete with some fun action sequences and a heartwarming finale sure to please audiences of all ages. Most people probably know the story of the "chicken little." It's an old fable about the importance of steadfastness in your beliefs, not giving into the pressure of others, and standing tall in the face of adversity. The moral of the story is perfectly recreated here with some wonderful plot contrivances and twists thrown into the mix for modern audiences.

Disney hit 'Chicken Little' out of the park!

"The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" pronounces Chicken Little (Zach Braff, Garden State) one day in the middle of town. While he believes it to be true, the townsfolk humiliate the miniscule Chicken, and even his father doubts his story, believing only an acorn fell on his son's head. The mishap becomes a phenomenon and Chicken Little becomes the subject of websites, collectible dinner plates, and even a Hollywood film. Chicken overhears his principal deriding him one day and decides he must overcome the stigma of the falling sky incident and his humiliation by doing something great. His father was a champion baseball player, and Chicken decides to join the team himself, much to the chagrin of his discouraging father. When Chicken wins the pennant for his team, all is seemingly forgotten until a piece of the sky really does fall into Chicken's bedroom, and he and his eccentric group of outcast friends must once and for all prove Chicken's story to be true and save the town--and maybe the world--from destruction by forces more powerful than even the great Chicken Little can stop by himself.

2005's Chicken Little is yet another winner from Disney. This is an important film from the storied studio as well, marking their first solo effort into the realm of feature length CGI based animated films. In typical Disney fashion, we get an instantly lovable group of characters, each of whom brings to the table not only their own brand of off-the-wall humor but also a unique talent to help Chicken along the way. The makers of the film also throw movie lovers a bone as the movie is replete with humorous and fitting references to classic movies, many coming from the character of Runt. With wonderful voice acting and direction, beautiful scenery, a well constructed and fast paced plot, and a cast of unforgettable characters, Chicken Little proves itself to be a magical and timeless animated film for this generation.

Chicken Little Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

It should come as no surprise that this 1080p, 1.78:1, all digitally rendered image is a stunner on Blu-ray. I was most impressed by the digital designers behind this movie. They left no stone unturned, creating a wholly realistic digital world complete with fine attention to detail in every scene. This Blu-ray release really lets the creative genius behind the film shine. We see everything as it was meant to be seen, bit for bit, and those with larger displays will be treated to a level of depth and clarity rarely seen in film. It doesn't match the level of sheer perfection as seen in newer computer generated releases like Ratatouille or Meet the Robinsons, but it comes awfully close. Colors are beautiful and bright, literally jumping off the screen and creating a pleasant, three-dimensional look that is astonishing to behold. As a completely digital transfer from the original, there is no loss of information here and the result is a splendid image on Blu-ray. This one is reference material all the way.

Chicken Little Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Chicken Little is presented on Blu-ray with a 16-bit PCM uncompressed soundtrack that sounds really good but falls short of perfection. Early on in the film I felt that bass levels were underwhelming and virtually absent in some scenes, such as the brief Indiana Jones parody. To be fair, the filmmakers discuss this in the commentary track, explaining that they wanted the music to take precedence over the sound effects. The volume on the whole, from whispering dialogue to frenetic action sequences, sounded thinner that I was expecting at times. The track certainly picks up and the final action sequence sounds very good with an excellent and constant presence from the rear channels. Separation across the front is excellent and sounds flow naturally around the room. I was most impressed with the use of popular music in the film. From Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive to the Spice Girl's Wannabe to R.E.M.'s It's the End of the World As We Know It (and I Feel Fine) all the music sounded fantastic. I've heard all of these songs numerous times over the years, and none of them have sounded crisper or more lifelike than they did on this soundtrack. Make no mistake, Chicken Little sounds very good on Blu-ray, but I've heard better.

Chicken Little Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Chicken Little on Blu-ray includes a nice offering of extra material. First up is a feature commentary track with director Mark Dindal, producer Randy Fuller, and visual effects supervisor Steve Goldberg. These participants really love the movie they have created and are honest in their analysis. They discuss the very lengthy, several year process of getting this movie into theaters, various anecdotes pertaining to background activity throughout the movie, voice casting and acting, and which scenes worked and which didn't with test audiences. All in all, this is a good commentary track. Filmmaker Q&A is a cool little feature that allows viewers to ask questions to the filmmakers as the movie progresses. The questions are listed on the bottom of the screen and suggested questions appear at the top of the screen. When a question is selected, the movie stops and the answer is played. When the filmmakers are finished answering, the movie resumes. This is a feature I hope we see more of in the future, and it will work much better as a profile 1.1 PiP feature. Movie Showcase offers viewers the opportunity to jump to one of three scenes that best showcase the audio and video superiority of Blu-ray. Alien Invasion Game is very reminiscent of the old Space Invaders game. One or two players control characters from the movie, hurling items at the alien ships to destroy them. It's fun but nothing you'll play all day.

Moving along, eight deleted scenes (480p, 23:15) with optional introductions are available. Music and More offers two music videos: Shake Your Tail Feather (480p, 3:05) by the Cheetah Girls and One Little Slip (480p, 2:54) by the Barenaked Ladies. The former is also available in a karaoke and a singalong version. Hatching Chicken Little: The Making of the Movie (480p, 18:05) is a five part feature that goes behind-the-scenes as viewers are taken on the journey into the process of making a computer animated film. Finally, two "easter eggs" are included: Runt of the Litter (480p, 1:07) and Foxy Loxy (480p, 0:57). I'm not sure how these qualify as "easter eggs" if they are plainly listed in the menu, but they are cute little features nonetheless.

Chicken Little Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Chicken Little is a fantastic little movie that is touching, cute, funny, and exciting all at once. Each character is sympathetic, fun, and very easy to root for. Everyone will be able to find a character they can relate to in this film. Its compact 81 minute runtime goes by much too quickly but then again at that length, this one lends itself particularly well to repeat viewings. Kids will want to watch it over and over, and I wouldn't mind sitting down with them to screen this one again either. While the video and audio quality left only a little bit to be desired, they are by no means bad. Both prove to be fine presentations that I would rate as well above average. The supplements are just fine. If you are a fan of moving stories with good action, excellent animation, and a good morality tale underneath, you'll love Chicken Little. Recommended.