Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

Rock-a-Doodle Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf June 6, 2018

In the 1980s, everything was golden for director Don Bluth. Sure, a few creative setbacks, compromises, and challenges were encountered by the animation helmer, but he enjoyed a string of box office successes and industry triumphs along the way. Commanding “An American Tail,” “The Land Before Time” (a picture that inspired 13 sequels), “The Secret of NIMH,” and the “Dragon’s Lair” saga, Bluth certainly found his particular corner of artistry and worked like crazy to maintain some momentum to a career that, at one point, threatened Disney’s animated film dominance. The 1990s, however, were not very kind to Bluth and his vision, with 1991’s “Rock-A-Doodle” providing a taste of disasters and disappointments to come. While Bluth has some vision for this loose adaption of a turn-of-the-century play by Edmond Rostand, the production quickly slips out of his control, showcasing rather extreme storytelling disruptions and choppy editing, which overwhelms was appears to have been a fully conceived animation adventure with interesting live-action elements at one point during its development.

As the king of a heavily populated farm, Chanticleer (voiced by Glen Campbell) is a rooster with a powerful voice, singing his heart out every morning to coax the sun into the sky and illuminate the land. Unhappy with such power is the Grand Duke of Owls (Christopher Plummer), who tries to expose Chanticleer’s illusions of power, keeping the bird distracted one morning while the sun arrives on its own. Defeated, Chanticleer takes off to find a new home, leaving Grand Duke to command the farm, bringing it into darkness. The villain even has the power to enter the real world, pulling farm boy Edmond (Toby Scott Ganger) into the storybook realm during a flood that threatens his household, transforming him into a cat to prevent his mission to call on Chanticleer and put an end to impending disaster by bringing out the long lost sun. Coming to Edmond’s aid is Patou the dog (Phil Harris, in his final film role), Peepers the mouse (Sandy Duncan), and Snipes the magpie (Eddie Deezen). The gang embarks on a quest to reach the big city with hopes of finding Chanticleer and destroying the Grand Duke, only to find the famous rooster a rock star servicing the needs of his manager, Pinky (Sorrell Brooke), and in love with Goldie (Ellen Greene), a distraction created by Pinky to keep the singer under control.

Let’s discuss the issue with Chanticleer’s power over the sun. The opening of “Rock-A-Doodle” explains the euphoria of the rooster’s morning ritual, where he wakes up in the night and sings the sun out of the darkness, giving light and life to all creatures on Earth. It’s up to this one bird to make it happen, and he does…until he doesn’t. One day, the Grand Duke arrives to torpedo the morning routine, successfully making sure Chanticleer is too distracted to tend to his duty. And yet, the sun still comes out, destroying the bird’s confidence, suddenly faced with the reality that his dancing and singing have no bearing on the arrival of the star, forcing him to leave the farm for big city life, trying to escape his humiliation. The rest of “Rock-A-Doodle” concerns Edmond’s quest to find Chanticleer, hoping that the character from his storybook is a real force of nature willing to save his family farm when a flood threatens to wash it away. It’s a mission that should be futile, right? After all, the movie has already established that Chanticleer is actually not in control of celestial events, clearing the way for the Grand Duke’s evil empire to take command of Earth. But no, the script is fully invested in Edmond’s concentration on Chanticleer’s gifts, depending on the rooster to right a potentially catastrophic wrong.

Plot wonkiness suggests some serious tinkering occurred during the “Rock-A-Doodle” editing phase, with what appears to be the film’s entire first act condensed into a ten-minute-long flurry of images and ideas that batter the viewer, with the production trying very hard to clarify a story that no longer makes sense. Narration from Patou is a patch job laboring to guide the audience through some tricky magical aspects of the tale, and the dog’s informational leadership is so prized, Bluth lays most of it over the opening musical number, intentionally muting the rockabilly explosion that’s meant to kickstart the feature. There’s also a half-realized live-action section of “Rock-A-Doodle” that’s meant to bring the Grand Duke into the real world, but that suggests characters from the boy’s book can hear human suffering and directly encourage it, which is a storytelling leap Bluth and his team are completely unable to address, simply trusting in the whimsy (and darkness) of the moment before moving on in a hurry.

There are many confusing elements to “Rock-A-Doodle,” and even with relaxed awareness of narrative pretzeling, the picture struggles to come together as a cohesive chase into the big city, where Edmond and his pals hunt for Chanticleer, who’s become an Elvis-like icon, complete with a Colonel Tom Parker-type in Pinky, who will stop at nothing to keep his golden goose performing, making a fortune for the pink Cadillac-riding manager. Of course, there’s no need for two villains in “Rock-A-Doodle,” but by this point in the feature, Bluth is throwing anything at the screen to see what sticks, and there’s a perverse pleasure in watching a recreation of Colonel Parker’s stranglehold on Elvis’s career acted out by anthropomorphized animals, complete with a movie career for the rooster he doesn’t want.

Rock-a-Doodle Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation for "Rock-A-Doodle" is perhaps a comfortable upgrade from the feature's DVD release, offering a slightly sharper, more filmic viewing experience to support Bluth's original vision. Technical limitations are displayed clearly, with dirt detected and some blurriness, which appears to be inherent to a movie that was rushed through production. Detail retains animation craft and busy backgrounds, while character expressions are lively. Colors are appealing without much in the way of age issues, coming through with bold primaries, finding emphasis on reds and yellows. Live-action sequences also retain a softer but bright palette, with more natural greenery and skintones. Delineation is acceptable.

Rock-a-Doodle Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix offers a compelling listening experience for "Rock-A-Doodle," finding soundtrack selections appealingly defined, with crisp percussion, rock guitars, and big vocals. Scoring efforts are also defined with decent instrumentation and position, supporting the action. Dialogue exchanges preserve performance idiosyncrasy, managing overlap and extreme reactions to peril without triggering distortion. Sound effects are comfortably pronounced, maintaining some order to screen chaos.

Rock-a-Doodle Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• A Theatrical Trailer (2:14, SD) is included.

Rock-a-Doodle Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There are pleasures to be found in "Rock-A-Doodle," most notably Bluth's animation. While technical issues are present, character design and movement is compelling, offering his unique vision to help season a traditional adventure story, giving it periodic life. The soundtrack is appealing as well, with Campbell offering Chanticleer a commanding stage presence, spinning bouncy songs with his musical gifts. There's a good movie buried somewhere underneath the final cut of "Rock-A-Doodle," with positives occasionally peeking through messy editorial stitches, hinting that Bluth certainly didn't go into production with a mangled screenplay. His vision remains, but one has to work extra hard to find it.