A Scientist at the Movies Reviews by Greg Paris

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Title: Chicken Little

Date Viewed: 10/5/05

Details:

Voice talent: Zach Braff

Garry Marshall

Don Knotts

Patrick Stewart

Amy Sedaris

Steve Zahn

Joan Cusack

Wallace Shawn

Harry Shearer

Fred Willard

Catherine O'Hara

Adam West

Director: Mark Dindal

Score: +

The Review: Walt Disney's first (and likely only) disco-themed science fiction feature animation.

You can just imagine the scriptwriters cloistered in their smoke-filled room -- although, since this is California, it was probably a Malibu beach house with veggie crudites – saying: Is there any mythology we haven't exploited yet? How about Mother Goose tales? What's the gimmick for Chicken Little? Can we put a sci-fi spin on this? And what sort of music have we never ever used in animation? (Little say why...) And there you have it: Chicken Little as a young geek, a single parent family with a Dad who doesn't quite know what to believe, some equally geeky school friends, and the infamous oak tree which is actually... Well, no spoiler warnings here.

Filled with visual riffs on War of the Worlds, Princess Bride, Saturday Night Fever, and more, there is adequate visual amusement for the adults in the audience. Not quite up to the standard of previous Pixar collaborations -- either with respect to quality of animation or plot design -- but pretty good nonetheless. Decent voice casting.

(7-Jan-06)

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