Chicken Little (2005)

36% of critics liked it
(159 reviews)
56% of users liked it
(444,112 ratings)

An old fable gets a high-tech update in this computer-animated comedy from Walt Disney Pictures. Chicken Little (voice of Zach Braff) is an earnest young fowl living in the town of Oakley Oaks who one day starts a panic when a falling acorn drops on his head, and he warns everyone that the sky has… More An old fable gets a high-tech update in this computer-animated comedy from Walt Disney Pictures. Chicken Little (voice of Zach Braff) is an earnest young fowl living in the town of Oakley Oaks who one day starts a panic when a falling acorn drops on his head, and he warns everyone that the sky has started to collapse. Chicken Little was wrong, of course, much to the embarrassment of his father, Buck Cluck (voice of Garry Marshall), and now the young chicken is struggling to live down the incident. While his best friends Abby Mallard (voice of Joan Cusack), Runt of the Litter (voice of Steve Zahn), and Fish out of Water stand by him, the school's star athlete Foxy Loxy (voice of Amy Sedaris) never passes up an opportunity to make fun of the diminutive chicken. As a result, Chicken Little tends to keep his more recent discoveries to himself, but what's a bird to do when he uncovers pseudo-scientific evidence that suggests the sky really is starting to fall, in large hexagonal chunks? Chicken Little was directed by Mark Dindal, who previously helmed The Emperor's New Groove for Disney. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: G, 1 hr. 22 min.
Directed By: Mark Dindal
Written By: Steve Bencich, Ron J. Friedman
Genres: Action & Adventure, Animation, Kids & Family, Comedy

In Theaters: Nov 4, 2005 Wide
On DVD: Mar 21, 2006
Studio: Buena Vista Pictures

Critic Reviews

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader
Animation fans will find this worth the wait, though apparently there's no story-generating software that can tap into the dark recesses of a child's psyche as cannily as Uncle Walt once did.
Ben Kenigsberg, Village Voice
By the time the sky really does start 'falling' -- courtesy of an alien invasion -- Chicken Little's frantic efforts to stay farm fresh have started to wear on the nerves.
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
I don't care if it's 2-D, 3-D, CGI or hand drawn, it all goes back to the story.
Peter Howell, Toronto Star
This film's procession of dumb clucks and yuks manages to bring the roof down on occasion, if only through sheer manic exertion.
Stephen Hunter, Washington Post
The animators are - - you almost no longer have to say this - - fabulous and full of mischief, weaving enough ironic amusements into the story for the longer of tooth.
Christopher Kelly, San Jose Mercury News
Chicken Little is much too glib to make us feel what its characters are experiencing; the filmmakers would much rather explode their animated sets and vaporize their talking creatures.
Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy
By a comfortable margin the worst feature to come out of the Disney Studios since they invented the American feature-length cartoon in 1937.
Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion
Heavy with the sweat of a studio straining to snatch the kids back by throwing digi-crayons, potty jokes, and disco tunes at the lens
Felix Vasquez Jr., Cinema Crazed
A bland byproduct of too many cooks in the kitchen, with not enough ideas on how to bring their different sub-plots together into a cohesive entertaining film for kids.
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com
Tasteful vocal performances, by a talented cast including Zach Braff, Garry Marshall and Steve Zahn, can't relieve Disney's first inhouse all-computer generated animation movie from its music video trappings and inadequate storyline.
Cynthia Fuchs, Common Sense Media
Cute, colorful, and mostly lively. Fun for grade-schoolers and up.
Garth Franklin, Dark Horizons
Easy, quick and utterly forgettable.
James Plath, Movie Metropolis
Decent animation and some humorous moments, but it disappoints because of unappealing characters, a lack of real emotional depth, and too much reliance on contrived feel-good moments.
Anton Bitel, Eye for Film
the cinematic equivalent of a battery-farmed egg: not exactly rotten, but surrounded by dozens of others just like it in appearance, shape and taste.
Harry Haun, Film Journal International
A friendly, if decidedly featherweight, feature.
Carolyn Arends, Christianity Today
It lacks a good, old-fashioned story -- the fourth dimension every 3-D feature needs to be a classic.
Jonathan Kiefer, Sacramento News & Review
Post-Pixar Disney's "Digital 3-D" concept doesn't seem to include any reservations about 2-D character development.
Forrest Hartman, Reno Gazette-Journal
A cute movie that -- with a G rating -- is suitable for even the smallest children.
Andrea Chase, Killer Movie Reviews
fiendishly clever and imaginatively realized in candy-sweet colors
Olly Richards, Empire Magazine
Beyond a cheeky, twisty bit of genre-tinkering, there's more here for the under-tens than over-, but it's still charming, amusing and energetic enough to win you over.

Read all 20 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Lucas M

Talent cast and good story, Chicken Little flaw with a poor screenplay that don't save this first CGI picture non-Pixar of Disney. Rotten.
Alexander D

Good
Bethany M

Childhood favourite and a definite classic!
Brad W

I loved this as a kid, but now its stupid. Dumb story, animation, and voice acting. On the posotive this movie is funny and the characters are fun.
Michael E

the animation and comedy in this movie is great and fantastic to watch
Bently L

It was a bad idea for Disney to make a computer-animted film without the masterminds at Pixar. The animation was not all that great, the story was dumb, and there were some funny jokes but they weren't hilarious or gut-busting. If you look to your left, dear reader, you can… More
It was a bad idea for Disney to make a computer-animted film without the masterminds at Pixar. The animation was not all that great, the story was dumb, and there were some funny jokes but they weren't hilarious or gut-busting. If you look to your left, dear reader, you can see the film poster which shows Chicken Little from behind. Thats the perfect example. This movie is SO BUTT UGLY!!! Despite my negativity, the Fish out of Water character did deliver some laughs.
Richard C

C
Dead A

Another okay movie. The baby alien was cute ^_^
Jeremy S

A Little Celebration Of Mediocrity. Chicken Little has a beginning, a middle and an end, that's about it. Following the story of a little chicken that needs a chance, much in the same way the movie needs a chance.
KJ P

I enjoyed this ridiculous kids movie quite a bit! The end is definately near, and even though they don't do anything about it, it's still fun!
danny d

completely average. although its not a bad flick, i still see this as a down point for disney because they are so consistently above average. i laughed a few times and my kids love it, but the story was much weaker than disney usually puts out.
Lady D

A great slant on the tale we all knew as kids. Chicken Little himself is quite adorable, and he has some great quirky sidekicks. There were a couple of bits that were a little too ?War of the Worlds? to me, (a film I?m not very fond of), but this was a very enjoyable family movie… More
A great slant on the tale we all knew as kids. Chicken Little himself is quite adorable, and he has some great quirky sidekicks. There were a couple of bits that were a little too ?War of the Worlds? to me, (a film I?m not very fond of), but this was a very enjoyable family movie with a great quirky ending.
Matthew C

Funny stuff!
Jennifer X

so bad it's sickening.
Rachel F

Very cute little film. Quite a few funny moments.
Leigh R

This was pretty darn cute. I thought that it was going to be lame, but the humor is actually directed for adults and it wasn't cheesy at all.
Jose Z

to be the first Disney computer animated movie withput Pixar, I think the get it done pretty good, the story is good and I like the voices
Keith A

An funny and thrilling non-Pixar feature from Disney.
Dean M

Not really funny and excitement to me.
James A

Mediocre at best.