Chicken Little Review

A cute update of the children’s story from the Brother Bear writing team and the director of The Emperor’s New Groove pits animal outcasts against an alien invasion.

Disney, who invented the animated celebrity voice subgenre, loads on a baker’s dozen recognizable voices in the cast, and whatever charms the feature has lean heavily on these personalities. However, it’s often impossible to disconnect the voice from the star providing it, and adults may be distracted trying to play Name That Voice every time a new character arrives. In contrast, Pixar’s CGI animation features stress story development along with the gags, resulting in more solid projects.

Many of the gags here are funny, the special effects are wonderful, and the facial expressions are very well done. Some of the characters look like animated puppets rather than three dimensional cartoon characters, which is not necessarily a defect, but can be disconcerting in some scenes.