Chicken Little. Animated Classic?

[AwallaceUNC]

Thank you MickeyMousePal! Chicken Little is NOT, I reapeat NOT an "Animated Classic". I admit that it's a good story, but according to some peoples defenition of Classic, this story will probably not be remembered by most.

This isn't even a matter of opinion. "Animated Classic" is a Disney-selected canon. Disney puts it in the list; therefore it is one. You can challenge the decision by saying it doesn't <i>deserve</i> to be one (and you can make the same argument about the package films, not to mention every movie since 1956), but that doesn't change the fact that it <i>is</i> one.

-Aaron

[Aladdin from Agrabah]

1. Read Escapay's post again.

We all understand that Disney uses the word "classic" just as a banner. But TheSequelofDisney's question was not about how Disney uses it, it was about what we think about it being a classic. It's not a dictionary here, we make a discussion and we don't give a **** about what Disney thinks. You guys sometimes seem to be so unwilling to argue about Disney's decisions... Have you ever applied for a job there? They need persons who don't have their own opinion and just follow what the boss says.

[memnv]

I think it is a classic, just a different kind of animation

[MickeyMousePal]

Okay, Chicken Little isn't a Animated Classic becuase it wasn't hand drawn it was computer graphics.

Also Disney said it was the 1st CGI film so it wasn't consider a animated classic

Lastly I know that Chicken Little was a great film but as far classic go it didn't have a really musical numbers like The Lion King or The Little Mermaid.

I know Chicken Little had songs but they weren't original songs.

[Luke]

Okay, Chicken Little isn't a Animated Classic becuase it wasn't hand drawn it was computer graphics.

Also Disney said it was the 1st CGI film so it wasn't consider a animated classic

Lastly I know that Chicken Little was a great film but as far classic go it didn't have a really musical numbers like The Lion King or The Little Mermaid.

I know Chicken Little had songs but they weren't original songs.

1) <i>The Lion King</i> used computer graphics, as have most Disney films from the mid-'80s on.

2) Disney has labeled <i>Chicken Little</i> one of their animated classics in Europe.

3) Plenty of Disney films have lacked musical numbers. That has never been a requirement. And <i>Chicken Little</i> <i>did</i> have at least one original song - that Barenaked Ladies one. Characters didn't sing it in the movie itself, but I don't remember that happening in <i>Atlantis</i> or <i>The Rescuers Down Under</i>, among other films.

I can't believe how hard it is for some people to separate the concept of "Disney's animated classics" from "classic film" and yet how easy it is for these same people to draw a line and say <i>Chicken Little</i> is completely different from the others because it used computers to a different degree than the past number of films. If people fault Hollywood for having an unhealthy love of CGI, then I think the converse is true for people here who are extremely opposed to CGI films altogether. There's clearly room for both and neither is inherently evil.

The thread in its current design does seem like a multiple-choice test where there is a right answer. A different poll asking "Do you think <i>Chicken Little</i> is a classic film?" would have different results and I can guarantee you the majority of people here would say no. I would be among them as I feel <i>Chicken Little</i> is one of the weaker films from Disney Feature Animation in a while.

[MickeyMousePal]

Luke, okay Chicken Little is CGI all the way...other Disney Animated films in the 1980's - 2000's.

Also Chicken Little didn't have original songs or original score songs I know some Disney Animated films don't have songs but at least their not already heard before.

[TheSequelOfDisney]

Dinosaur was produced by The Secret Lab, not WDFA, therefore it is not on the Animated Classics list.

Well, BrandonH, why did D.B. Sweeny, on the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Platinum Edition DVD, say that Dinosaur was made from the WDFA? If you have the DVD, put in disc 2, then go to The Dwarfs' Mine, Disney Through The Decades, and go to A New Century. If you listlen closely, it says that Dinosaur was made by WDFA.

[Escapay]

Dinosaur was produced by The Secret Lab, not WDFA, therefore it is not on the Animated Classics list.

Well, BrandonH, why did D.B. Sweeny, on the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Platinum Edition DVD, say that Dinosaur was made from the WDFA? If you have the DVD, put in disc 2, then go to The Dwarfs' Mine, Disney Through The Decades, and go to A New Century. If you listlen closely, it says that Dinosaur was made by WDFA.

By then Secret Lab was dismantled, I think. Also, it'd make more sense for people who had no idea what "The Secret Lab" was to hear "Dinosaur was made by Walt Disney Feature Animation" as opposed to "Dinosaur was made by The Secret Lab".

Also Chicken Little didn't have original songs or original score songs

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot???

Pals, Luke just said that Chicken Little had an original song, the one by Barenaked Ladies, called "One Little Slip". Also, there was an entirely original score by John Debney.

If you meant in the sense of the Disney musicals, then yes, CL didn't have any original songs. But they definitely had an original score.

Have you ever applied for a job there? They need persons who don't have their own opinion and just follow what the boss says.

I've got a summer job at the Mouse House, though it's at the theme parks and not with their animation division. But even so, you're very wrong about the thought that they only hire people without opinions and simply follow orders. Creative thinking is encouraged, as is voicing our opinions to our bosses as to some improvements we can make to enhance the guests' experience within the parks. We may come off as smiling drones, but we do have minds of our own and know when it's right to speak up to a boss with an opinion or an idea that can help improve the parks.

Anyway, back to the general discussion about "Is Chicken Little an animated classic?" (note the lowercase). I'm sure in time it can be seen as such. After all, Fantasia was received rather poorly in its initial run. I'm not saying that Chicken Little is as great as Fantasia. I'm just saying that perhaps it hasn't gotten its full appreciation. Perhaps in 20 years people will lament "I wish CGI animation was as good as the days of Chicken Little", much like how a few years ago we were wishing for a great 2D film like "Beauty and the Beast" to show up again.

Besides, "classic" (note the lowercase) is simply a matter of taste and opinion. I think that Chicken Little is a wonderful film, though it's not a classic yet in the "artistic merit" sense that we view other classics in (stuff like Gone with the Wind, Citizen Kane, Sunset Boulevard, To Kill A Mockingbird, Chinatown, Raging Bull, Schindler's List...). But is it an Animated Classic (note the uppercase)? Yes, and no one can really dispute that unless Disney says, "Okay, now we're gonna call these films Disney Animated Post-Its", and then we'd have to say that Chicken Little is an Animated Post-It.

I'd like to say "Case closed, period!" but I'm sure there are more opinions to be voiced.

Escapay

[Anders M Olsson]

Not even the Disney people themselves seem to be in complete agreement over this topic.

As I have pointed out before, the esteemed Dave Smith ("The ultimate authority on all things Disney") does NOT put Chicken Little on the same list as the 44 animated features. Instead, he has a separate list of (currently) nine computer animated features, where Chicken Little fits in very nicely indeed.

[TheSequelOfDisney]

Not even the Disney people themselves seem to be in complete agreement over this topic.

As I have pointed out before, the esteemed Dave Smith ("The ultimate authority on all things Disney") does NOT put Chicken Little on the same list as the 44 animated features. Instead, he has a separate list of (currently) nine computer animated features, where Chicken Little fits in very nicely indeed.

Anders M Olsson, what movies are on that list that Dave Smith has for the computer animated features?

[Anders M Olsson]

Anders M Olsson, what movies are on that list that Dave Smith has for the computer animated features?

You can see for yourself if you follow the link in my previous post and download the supplement to Dave Smith's book Disney A to Z.

But in case you don't have a PDF-reader, here's the list:

1. Toy Story (1995)
2. A Bug's Life (1998)
3. Toy Story 2 (1999)
4. Dinosaur (2000)
5. Monsters, Inc. (2001)
6. Finding Nemo (2003)
7. The Incredibles (2004)
8. Chicken Little (2005)
9. Cars (2006)

[Prince Eric]

Unfortunately, Chicken Little is a Disney animated classic. The label is self-inflicted by Disney, so technically it is one.

Is the title indicative of quality? Hardly. If it was, a movie that belongs in the trash heap wouldn't be able to boast the name.

[Aladdin from Agrabah]

1. Toy Story (1995)
2. A Bug's Life (1998)
3. Toy Story 2 (1999)
4. Dinosaur (2000)
5. Monsters, Inc. (2001)
6. Finding Nemo (2003)
7. The Incredibles (2004)
8. Chicken Little (2005)
9. Cars (2006)

Now THIS makes sense. Although I don't consider the Pixar movies as Disney.

[Timon/Pumbaa fan]

Is the title indicative of quality? Hardly. If it was, a movie that belongs in the trash heap wouldn't be able to boast the name.

Opinion!

It thought it was better than Finding Nemo and The Little Mermaid.

[Karushifa]

Well, this seems to be turning into yet another circular argument over whether Chicken Little is a work of genius or of over-marketed putrescence. To paraphrase Shakespeare, such a thread would be as usual all full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

You are NEVER going to get everyone to agree whether a particular movie is good or not, especially when people do nothing but take blows at movies that they thought were overrated but yet were not the subject of the thread to begin with (I mean, seriously guys, what did Finding Nemo ever do to you? I like it but don't think it's the best thing ever, but it's been bashed around here as unfairly as some people are claiming Chicken Little to have been...GEEZ, let it go already!).

Let's face it. EVERY animated movie is going to have a devout following who consider it a classic. Even the severely maligned The Black Cauldron has its good share of supporters. And there's nothing wrong with discussing what we do and don't like about particular movies. But if all we do is say, "well, this movie is WAAAAY better that those movies that YOU like", then what's the point?

[Escapay]

To paraphrase Shakespeare, such a thread would be as usual all full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
And all our yesterdays something something something

Out out brief candle
Life is a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage
Something something, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Gotta love the Scottish King...

Even the severely maligned The Black Cauldron has its good share of supporters.

**Raises hand**

Escapay

[creid]

Not that I am not fortune teller, but I expect Disney is going to release other CGI animated movies so why would they not put it into the animated classics?

I find it hard to think of Chicken Little as a classic but it is a marketing thing.

[castleinthesky]

I know Disney classifies it as "animated classic", but here are some reasons I believe it should not be:

1. Since when has Disney known what they were doing? Giving Chicken Little that title is only for marketing purposes.

2. Dinosaur should have been an animated classic if Chicken Little is. Wait you may say "Well Dinosaur was not fully animated" or "Not fully by Disney". But yet it was fully by Disney, just not by the feature animation department. But when did Disney set the standards for a movie to become a classic? I never saw a list of requirments, and what Disney sector a movie had to be made at.

3. Chicken Little is fully CGI, unlike any other animated classic. I would be more happy if both Dinosaur, Chicken Little, and the Pixar films started a new "CGI animated classic" list or something similar.

However in my opinion, Chicken Little is the worst animated classic, but lets not get into that, because that would stray from the topic at hand.

[Luke]

2. Dinosaur should have been an animated classic if Chicken Little is. Wait you may say "Well Dinosaur was not fully animated" or "Not fully by Disney". But yet it was fully by Disney, just not by the feature animation department. But when did Disney set the standards for a movie to become a classic? I never saw a list of requirments, and what Disney sector a movie had to be made at.

Without the feature animation requirement, then <i>A Goofy Movie</i>, <i>DuckTales: The Movie - Treasure of the Lost Lamp</i>, <i>Teacher's Pet</i>, <i>The Tigger Movie</i>, <i>Piglet's Big Movie</i>, <i>Pooh's Heffalump Movie</i>, <i>Doug's 1st Movie</i>, and <i>Recess: School's Out</i> have to assume the "Animated Classic" moniker too.

[Karushifa]

If I had my way, no movie (Disney or otherwise) would be considered a "classic" until a certain amount of time had passed, say 10 years at least. Disney is not the only one that irritates me; the "American Movie Classics" channel, which used to just show older movies, has been showing stuff from 2002 or so recently.

I mean, they gotta draw the line somewhere. See what people think of Chicken Little ten years from now, and proceed from there. Of course, Disney would probably call it a "classic" anyway, but a least in a nostalgic sense by then.