What The Critics Say

"The devil is in the detail and Disney has definitely paid attention to that, while the animation is superb and the soundtrack is full of spoofs of played-out oldies, we seem to be going over familiar territory but that said it is fun and there are some very humorous moments that made me laugh out loud." Jaimie Leonarder SBS THE MOVIE SHOW "A snappy and inventive computer animated film whose clever storyline has something for everyone." Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat SPIRITUALITY AND HEALTH "Superbly fits the literary tastes of the country in which it's set and pretty much beats them at their own game. Not bad for an auteur from the colonies." Jules Brenner FILMCRITIC.COM "Kids will be delighted by the cute-as-a-button protagonist and a comedy/sci-fi plot that offers some pint-sized thrills without ever getting too scary." Dustin Putman THEMOVIEBOY.COM "Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the 3D version of "Chicken Little". The extra dimension and depth that the 3D version features will leave you clucky for "Chicken Little", the biggest little hero in town." Richard Surfield THE MOVIE PAGES "The movie is fun for all ages, and besides – who could resist this charming, insecure, heroic little clucker?" Mike McGranaghan AISLE SEAT "More than a loving, clever riff on a fable, Chicken Little is a grade-school primer on the language of movies with a capital M." Lisa Kennedy DENVER POST

The Inside Story The release of both "Chicken Little" and "Chicken Little" in 3-D marks an historic occassion for Walt Disney Pictures as this is their first ever fully computer-animated feature film. To create the 3D version Disney combined forces with effects powerhouse Industrial Light & Magic using new KODAK 3-D which when viewing required optical glasses similar to those used in the IMAX 3D experience. Yes, gone are those multi-coloured lenses used recently to view films such as "The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D" and "Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over". If you are planning on seeing the film in 3-D, remember it will cost a couple of bucks extra to purchase the glasses [which make a great souvenir] and that the 3-d version is exclusive in Australia to Greater Union, Birch Carroll & Coyle group. "Chicken Little" reunites Director Mark Dindal and Producer Randy Fullmer who were responsible for Disney’s 2000 animated comedy hit "The Emperor’s New Groove". While there is a lot of good-natured fun in "Chicken Little" there is a sombre note to the production which is dedicated to the memory of "Joe Grant, the late great Disney storyman/artist who passed away on May 6th, 2005, just one week shy of his 97th birthday. Grant, who began his association with the Disney Studios in 1933 and went on to write "Dumbo" and supervise the stories for "Fantasia", continued to inspire new talent since returning to the Studio in 1989. He continued to draw and create new story ideas up until the day before he died." Producer Randy Fullmer recalls, "Joe was influential in a number of our story meetings and seemed to have the youngest mind in the place. He would tell us that Walt’s legacy was not technology, but rather telling great stories with great characters. He encouraged us to be cutting edge and find whatever medium would do the bet job in telling our story. He was excited about computer-animation and believed that Walt would have embraced this new technology to tell his stories in new and exciting ways." The storyline for "Chicken Little first came from director Mark Dindal. "I was always really interested in the folk tales and fairy tales as a jumping off point because they’re simple stories that are very familiar. I always thought it would be fun to start asking questions like 'Why would that character do that?' It’s a crazy thing when you think about stories like 'Little Red Riding Hood'. The Wolf could eat the girl when he first meets her, but instead he takes this long detour and disguises himself as her grandmother. You can have a lot of fun when you start to think about the reasons why those characters make the choices they make. Suddenly those characters become more interesting and complex. At the same time that I was playing around with that concept, I had an idea about these misfit farm animals that get left behind when all the pretty animals go off to the county fair to be judged. And while they’re away, these aliens touch down to start a conquest of the planet. Suddenly these misfits are the only ones to stand in the way of them launching this attack and they’re called upon to save the world. As I was driving home from work one night, the two ideas merged together, and it solidified as Chicken Little", he explained. It would be five years before the combined talents of Dindal, head of story Mark Kennedy, screenwriters Steve Bencich, Ron J Friedman and Ron Anderson came up with the loveable story we seen on the big screen today. But did you know that Disney made a version of the Chicken Little story during WW2? It's true. In 1943, Disney produced an animated propaganda short called "Chicken Little" in which the Fox lures the unwitting chicken population to their doom. While there have been many instances of highly successful films created soley using CGI, it seems Disney, who were noted for their technical achievements, took their time in moving from the old 2-D format to what is now a common form of production. Back in 1990, "Chicken Little" Visual Effects Supervisor Steve Golberg returned to Disney. "The whole reason I came to Disney back in 1990 was because I always believed that if there was a chance of being able to take the artistic talent that existed here at the Studio and blend it with this new medium of CG, we’d be able to blow the doors off. No one had really done that level of combination before. I just remember thinking, these are the greatest painters in the world, the greatest animators in the world, the best effects artist in the industry. To me, the exciting thing about ‘Chicken Little’ is that for the first time we were able to put these amazing tools into the hands of the top artistic talents in the industry. The technology has reached a point where we really could allow those artists to work in a way that seemed relatively intuitive to them. There are some wonderful shots in the film that came about because the traditional animators basically broke the rules and pushed the software beyond where it was meant to go. They were doing what they needed to do to get the poses they wanted, and it was our job to support their performance and figure out how to render it. We didn’t want to throw limits at them. We worked really hard to make sure that whatever the character animators needed to do, they were able to achieve it." But that required a re-training programme for at least half the Disney team. "At the start of ‘Chicken Little,’ only about 50% of our animation team had worked in the CG medium," recalls Eamonn Butler who took on the role of animation supervisor. "It was very important to Mark and Randy that we pull talent from the traditional ranks, especially artists that they had worked with before on 'Emperor’s New Groove'. So we set out to train 50% of our crew. It took 18 months to do that. I ran eight full courses that I lovingly called 'boot camp'. It was a massive undertaking; more training than we’ve ever done at this Studio. The amazing thing was that we had almost a 100% success rate. This has turned out to be the best team I’ve ever worked with." Jason Ryan, a veteran CG animator and the supervising animator for the character of Chicken Little, says "This has been the most fun film I’ve ever worked on. There’s also some nice subtle performances too. I think this is a real breakthrough film for Disney and for the industry because our characters aren’t just puppets anymore. They have a real sense of believability." So what does Chicken Little, or at least the man who provides the voice for the CG character think of the film? "One of the things that’s really fun about the movie is that it’s about this little guy saving the world," says actor Zach Braff. "He’s this little outcast who no one really believed could do anything, and who everyone thinks is crazy." Braff adds, "There’s also a sweet message about being able to talk openly with your parents." And there's a whole lot more to the story as audiences old and young will discover in this whiz-bang, totally loveable, cute but at times zany tale of the biggest little kid in Oakey Oaks, "Chicken Little". Voice Cast & Crew Bytes "CHICKEN LITTLE 3D" stars the voices of .......
Zach Braff ["Manhattan Murder Mystery", "Endsville", "The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy" and "Garden State"]; Dan Molina ["All Dogs Go to Heaven" and "The Ape"]; Steve Zahn ["Happy Texas", "Riding in Cars with Boys", "Daddy Day Care", "Shattered Glass" and "Sahara"]; Joan Cusack ["Sixteen Candles", "Grosse Point Blank", "Runaway Bride", "High Fidelity" and "The School of Rock"]; Gary Marshall ["A League of Their Own", "Statistically Speaking", "It's a Shame About Ray" and "Orange County"]; Don Knotts ["The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again", "Cannonball Run II", "Big Bully" and "Pleasantville"]; Patrick Stewart ["Conspiracy Theory", "X-Men", "Star Trek: Nemesis" and "X-Men 2"]; Amy Sedaris ["Maid In Manhattan", "The School of Rock", "Bewitched" and "Romance & Cigarettes"]; Wallace Shawn ["Clueless", "The Curse of the Jade Scorpion", "The Haunted Mansion" and "Melinda and Melinda"]; Harry Shearer ["My Best Friends Wedding", "Godzilla", "The Truman Show" and "A Mighty Wind"] and Fred Willard ["Waiting for Guffman", "Best In Show", "A Mighty Wind", "American Pie 3" and "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy"] as Melvin the Alien Dad.
"CHICKEN LITTLE 3D" was .......
directed by Mark Dindal ["Cats Don't Dance" and "The Emperor's New Groove"]; art direction by by Dan Cooper ["Aladdin", "Runaway Brain", "Tarzan" and "Treasure Planet"] and Ian Gooding ["Aladdin", "Pocahontas", "Dinosaur", "Tarzan" and "Treasure Planet"]; edited by Dan Molina ["An American Tail", "The Land Before Time", "Cats Don't Dance" and "The Road To El Dorado"]; original music by John Debney ["Welcome to Mooseport", "Christmas With The Kranks", "The Pacifier", "Sin City" and "Cheaper by the Dozen 2"] produced by Randy Fullmer ["The Emperor's New Groove"]. What It's All About Chicken Little is in big, big trouble. He's just sent the town of Oakey Oaks into total panic causing chaos in the otherwise quiet town who's biggest claim to fame is its Acorns. Chicken Little believes the sky is falling. Not that he has any proof. Well a piece of blue sky was here only moments ago according to him and he should know, after all, it did hit him on the head. But hang on, could it have been a falling Acorn. Little's father, local town hero Buck Cluck is totally embarrassed. Perhaps one day the family will live it down. A year later and after another incident involving the fire sprinklers in the school gymnasium, Chicken Little is once again in big, big trouble. Called to the office of Principal Fetchit, Buck Cluck is once again apologizing for his pint-sized son. On the way home Little tells his Dad he's going to make good. He's going to take up Baseball, just like his town hero Dad. All season he fails to get a game, until the big final. The town hasn't had a winning team since the last time Buck Cluck scored the home run. Finally Little gets his chance. The team is struck by injury. They need a batter. Not one who can hit but one who can't! Little is ordered to take a walk. Don't swing son. But he does. Facing striking out he lines up the ball and gives it his best. It's a big hit. It's a winner! He's a hero! That should settle things down for a long while. But something is about to come back and haunt Chicken Little. That something will eventually bring great danger to the town of Oakey Oaks. The Verdict "There's no doubting it's a cute story and the animation is good but it needs the 3D to add a bit of oomph! I seen both versions of "Chicken Little" and observed audiences on both occassions. The 3D version is the winner hands down. "Chicken Little" is a lot of fun because of its rich characters and the fact that it parodies film which are easily recognizable. Sure, it may cost a couple of bucks extra for the glasses, but believe me it's worth it. Recommended viewing." Who's Voice Is That?

Zach Braff Dan Molina Steve Zahn Joan Cusack Mark Mitchell Don Knotts Patrick Stewart Amy Sedaris Wallace Shawn Harry Shearer Fred Willard Catherine O'Hara Patrick Warburton Mark Walton Mark Dindal Joe Whyte Sean Elmore Evan Dunn Matthew Josten Kelly Hoover Adam West Will Finn Dara McGarry Mark Kennedy

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Chicken Little Fish Out of Water Runt of the Litter Abby Mallard Buck Cluck Mayor Turkey Lurkey Mr Woolensworth Foxy Loxy Principal Fetchit Dog Announcer Melvin - Alien Dad Tina - Alien Mom Alien Cop Goosey Loosey Morkubine Porcupine/Coach Rodriguez/Acorn Mascot/Umpire Kirby - Alien Kid Kirby - Alien Kid Kirby - Alien Kid Mama Runt Ace [Hollywood Chicken Little] Hollywood Fish Hollywood Abby Hollywood Runt

The Crew Directed by Mark Dindal Produced by Randy Fullmer Original Music by John Debney Film Editing by Dan Molina Casting by Matthew Jon Beck & Jen Rudin Production Design by David Womersley Art Direction by Dan Cooper & Ian Gooding Run Time 81 minutes Rated PG [AUST] Copyright ©2006 - Buena Vista International - All Rights Reserved Copyright Protected © 2006 - Impact Internet Services - All Rights Reserved