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[Anthony]

Things are sounding better and better for the Chicken every day, with preview audiences apparently being very positive about the film and almost everyone on the internet now eagerly anticipating the release.

In what could have been a fairly suicidal marketing move, Disney have put the first three minutes online as a special trailer:

High-Def (80Mb) | High (43Mb) | Medium (21Mb)

Luckily for Disney, it looks very nice indeed...  I'll let you all discuss what you think of the film yourselves (for once, lol)...  :wink:

[Nikkibelle18]

I haven't been very keen on Chicken since the start, to be quite honest. And even after watching this... it still doesn't quite appeal to me

Nice animation, I liked the references in the beginning, but... I'll only go watch it if someone offers me a ticket, LOL. Just my opinion though

[Kinou]

Well i had the chance to attend a sort of World Premiere of the movie this sunday in Paris (it was a premiere reserved for Disney Company's french employees) and i have mixed feelings about it:

The good points:

+ The design rocks, the backgrounds, the architecture of the town, the little details in Little's house full of eggs references, warm colors...
+ the character design very reminiscent of Disney's comics (Scrooge, Donald...) with anthromorphical characters.
+ The little gags are funny, some scenes hilarious (the references to modern pop songs via the pig's character are cleverly presented following the situation of the action.)
+ Chicken Little's father is the best character in the movie, the one we can the most feel attached to, well developped and to keep with the Disney's tradition, he lost his wife. Chicken Little is cute but i didn't care much for him. Fish in Water stole many scenes without even speaking (cool!) and i regret that we don't get to see more of the Porcupine character (very reminiscent of one of the Happy Tree Friends)
+ Some funny tributes and cameos of Indiana Jones, Signs...
+ The ending is HILARIOUS, a spoof of Hollywood way of making movies "inspiring by a true story". Great moment!

The negative points:
- This is a TERRIBLY not original movie! Disney did not revolutions the world of 3D animation with this chick, another movie comedy with cute and cuddly characters with modern jokes and pop references. Dreamworks and BlueSky did it a long time ago.
- The animation is not perfect, it's clear that this is a first time for Disney, some movements are not naturals at all (like when the pig fall or Chicken Little run). Very far from the perfection of a Shrek2 or the Incredibles.
- Flat rhythm, the movie is not exciting, we follow the story without great scenes to remember (except for the spoof at the end) like we can quote Dash's chase in the Incredibles, A Whole New World in aladdin or the Final scene of Wallace and Gromit. 1 hour after i saw the movie, i didn't have great memories of it! Very forgettable.
- TOO MUCH modern references and gags linked to contemporary culture (Spice Girls, cellphones...), i don't think this movie will become a timeless classic like previous Disney or Pixar movies.
- The two orignal songs (not sung by the characters but by an external voice like Tarzan or Brother Bear) are not great, very forgettable as well.
-The Disney's spoofs: All but funny, the openings (that we all seen on internet) parody was lame, a waste of time if you ask me, the movie could largely begin directly with the scene where Chicken Little scream that the sky is falling. And there is another one later in the movie about Disney's songs... Autoderision is good, but not in that case, it seems that they did that because it is fashion to spit on the classics thanks to mister SHrek. I hope they won't go that way for Rapunzel.

Final thoughts: Well, for a first try, it is not so bad but far from what we can expect from Disney. No revolutions here, just an original story with "déjà vu" gags and modern spoofs. The animation is far from being perfect. But it is not a bad movie compared to the recent shitty Valiant, not as funny as Kuzco or touching as Lilo and Stitch, not as good as old times movies, we don't know where to put Chicken Little. With the Enormous marketing campaign, i fear the movie will have a bad word o' mouths and with a rude conccurence (Harry Potter, Narnia, King Kong...), i predcit it will not be a great success, especially after the 2 recent old school success of Corpse Bride and Wallace & Gromit (which i prefer to Chick'Lil).

[Anthony]

Cheers for the review, Kinou!  Unfortunately it seems my fears about the Chicken have come true - too many pop culture references, not enough Disney magic!  

I'm still looking forward to it, but I noticed a cardboard prop advert for it in a cinema the other day saying it's released in **February 2006**, which is a bit stupid...  :roll:  I suppose Disney UK want all eyes to be on Narnia this Christmas, and know Chicken Little probably wouldn't stand a chance against the lion.  :wink:

[Kristof]

Just go and see it and have fun, like we did, and boy, we did have fun!