Chicken Little

I needed 90 minutes or so of a Disney animation to clean the Hostel out of my head. So, the family made some popcorn, grabbed some sodas and plopped in the DVD. Mission accomplished.

Chicken Little's story gets a modern update in this adaptation. Not only is Little's reputation on the line with his "the sky is falling" schtick, he must save the world from an alien invasion that is right out of the Spielberg/Cruise snooze-fest War Of The Worlds. Little and his friends save the world, and improve the Chicken's relationship with his Dad in the process.

The animation was just OK, and the story wasn't that great, truth be told. But, there were lots of things I did like about Chicken Little. The music was awesome, with tunes from Patti LaBelle and Joss Stone ("Stir It Up"), the Barenaked Ladies ("One Little Slip"), and R.E.M. ("It`s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)." And Chicken Little himself sings a cool rendition of Queen's "We Are the Champions." A subliminal plot theme involved how children face and overcome grief and trauma, in this case the death of Little's mother. And (as mentioned before) how children overcome communication barriers that pop up sometimes with parents.

Overall, Chicken Little is a C-plus movie. But, hanging out with my family eating popcorn turned it into a A-minus. Add the bonus of washing out Hostel, and it's a hit.