Chicken Little Review

Given that Disney have fallen behind the likes of the imperious Pixar and even DreamWorks in the animation stakes, it was only a matter of time before the Mouse House turned their attentions to a fully computer-animated feature. However a rather vague plot means that, while this movie looks great, it fails to match the high standards of its peers. Loosely based on the famous fable, the movie opens a year after Chicken Little (voiced by "Scrubs" star Zach Braff) caused havoc after claiming that he was hit by a piece of sky which had plummeted to Earth. Ridiculed left, right and centre for his faux pad and desperate to win his Dad's approval, the bird-brained hero tries his best to make amends and put the incident behind him. But when another piece of sky tumbles through his bedroom window, can Chicken Little convince his friends that he's telling the truth?

While there can be no denying that "Chicken Little" is very easy on the eye, it's not likely to cause Pixar and DreamWorks too many sleepless nights. Young viewers morealess take impressive visuals as a given these days and that's partly why those behind movies such as "Shrek" and "The Incredibles" spent so much time developing their characters and storyline. Unfortunately "Chicken Little" is too thin a fable to stretch out to feature length and it shows as the four writers at work here revert to an 'alien invasion' plot that wouldn't be out of place in a Bugs Bunny / Marvin The Martian cartoon.

The vocal cast - which includes Steve Zahn, Joan Cusack and Harry Shearer - are game and entertaining enough; it's just a shame that the material is too flimsy to support their enthusiasm.