Chicken Little

Chicken Little, as parents who have read the short story aloud to their tots will know, was a bit like the Boy Who Cried Wolf – except Chicken predicted the sky was falling. That’s the basis for this amiable if forgettable family animated adventure – only here Chicken Little (as voiced by Scrubs star Braff) is a glasses-wearing geeky bird with ruffled feathers who’s a disappointment to his sports hero dad even before he tells the entire town of Oakley Oaks that a chunk of sky has landed on his head. Of course, Chicken Little can’t prove it, but when another piece drops down, his nerdy pals are there to back him up and it soon becomes clear it’s not actually sky falling at all, but the first sign of an alien invasion.
Hmmmm. With nods to Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds (scenes that may scare smaller kids if they haven’t nodded off during the slow first half), a character in love with disco (Little’s porky pal Runt), and a few pokes at Hollywood (Little’s story is made into a blockbuster movie), this has a few moments that will make grown-ups smile but may be lost on kids. But they’re likely to be persuaded by some bright animation and the movie’s perky little star, who’s possibly the cutest chick in animation since Tweety Pie. (When the movie was released in the UK, there was a fast-food tie-in with McDonald’s – one can only hope you didn’t get a free Little figure with every McChicken sandwich, as that’s just too disturbing…)