Chicken Little (2005)

From tiny acorns, great oak trees grow. And mountains are made of molehills. Everyone knows the story of Chicken Little, the skittish little hen who, in the world of ancient fables, sits down to lunch and thinks the sky is falling when she's hit on the head by an acorn. In most versions, Chicken Little (or Chicken Licken or Henny Penny, as she's also called) sets off to warn the king that the sky is falling, picking up one friend after another along the way. When they get to Foxy Loxy, that crafty old predator ends up eating each of Chicken Little's friends, all because of her foolishness. The moral? Don't believe everything you hear. There are other funny moments throughout the film and some humorous sight gags, but the main characters just aren't lovable or distinctive enough. They seem generic, and that's a shame, because the concept itself seemed decent, and the animation, while it doesn't knock your socks off, is certainly competent. But the characters and a few other things make this one more appealing to the kids than to the whole family. Kids will enjoy the songs that are interspersed, but to adults it will seem like an animal American Idol, and just as self-conscious. There are also way too many long emotional moments and reactions, and too many contrived feel-good scenes. But the kids will like it. Except for one questionable song where Chicken Little's friends do karaoke to the Spice Girls singing "If you wanna be my lover . . .," it's innocuous G-rated fun! By Olivia Taylor XX