5.6 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
After Chicken Little causes widespread panic — when he mistakes a falling acorn for a piece of the sky — the young chicken is determined to restore his reputation. But just as things are starting to go his way, a real piece of the sky lands on his head. Chicken Little and his band of misfit friends, Abby Mallard (aka Ugly Duckling), Runt of the Litter and Fish Out of Water, attempt to save the world without sending the town into a whole new panic.
Starring: Zach Braff, Garry Marshall, Don Knotts, Patrick Stewart, Amy SedarisFamily | 100% |
Animation | 85% |
Adventure | 64% |
Comedy | 50% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: LPCM 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
English SDH, French, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
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!
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 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 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 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.
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