Toon Talk: Chicken Little DVD
Page 2 of 3
(c) Disney
Among the many other annoyances (like, how come all the characters wear the exact same clothes throughout the entire film, even in the flashback sequence that is supposed to take place a year before?), the most curious is the character of Runt of the Litter. Throughout the film, we see this porcine middle school outcast displaying all the signs (owning a “Streisand collection�?, humming “I Will Survive�?) that, in a live action film (like, say, Clueless or Mean Girls), would be none too subtle shorthand that the character is gay. While this would not be the first gay teen in films (Sal Mineo’s Plato in Rebel Without a Cause has that distinction), it certainly would have been the first animated one. But by the end, in a classic example of the Frasier syndrome, the filmmakers, having gotten all the mileage out of this stereotype that they could, have Runt swooning over the newly “girly-fied�? Foxy Loxy … who then joins him in singing Elton John’s “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart�?. Maybe it’s just a phase …
|
CHICKEN POP PIE From the Men in Black-style DVD cover to the now ubiquitous “toons dancing to a pop ditty�?, Chicken Little is filled to the brim with all the pop cultural ingredients required of the modern computer animated comedy (thanks, DreamWorks). To wit, a handy-dandy guide to all the pop references stuffed into Chicken Little like a Thanksgiving turkey - can you spot them all?
|
Considering all the hoopla upon its release, it is surprising the dearth of bonus features on the new Chicken Little DVD. Taking into account the inclusion of the “Fast Play�? feature and lack of a feature audio commentary, the meager collection of bonus features further strengthens the similarities to a direct to video release.
The Deleted Scenes do offer something unusual for an animated feature - actual animation. Usually presented in storyboard form, the presence here of so much completed or nearly completed sequences hints at the fact that the filmmakers were not quite sure what to do with the story well into production.
(c) Disney
No less then three Alternate Openings were attempted before they settled on the final version, which itself left something to be desired. The first attempt, which is seen briefly in the actual film, opens on the classic Disney image of a storybook. Narrated by the late great Don Knotts, this version utilized the retro “limited�? animation style of the 60s to recount the back-story (note the familiar sailor suit on Ducky Lucky) and captures the heart of the story sorely missing in the final film. Opening #2 focused on the strained father/son relationship and includes footage seen in the teaser trailer (otherwise absent from this disc) and final film. Both of these versions also stress how, while his classmates grew up around him, Chicken Little remained the same size, a good idea to illicit sympathy for him that was, alas, curiously dropped.
The third and final optional opening was developed early in production when Chicken Little was not a neurotic boy but an over-imaginative girl (there is not much difference in the appearance of the character save for a Minnie Mouse-style hair bow). Former Disney boss Michael Eisner was the one who suggested the gender switch, reasoning that the problem of being small was more of a problem for boys …