Chicken Little (1943 film)

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Chicken Little
Chicken-little-movie-poster-1943.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Clyde Geronimi
Based on"Henny Penny"
Produced by Walt Disney
Starring Frank Graham
Narrated byFrank Graham
Music by Oliver Wallace
Animation byCharacter animators:
Ollie Johnston
Milt Kahl
Norman Tate
Ward Kimball
John Lounsbery
Effects animators:
Edwin Aardal
George Rowley
Andy Engman [1]
Color process Technicolor
Production
company
Distributed by RKO Radio Pictures
Release date
  • December 18, 1943 (1943-12-18) [2]
Running time
8 minutes
Country United States
LanguageEnglish

Chicken Little is a 1943 short film created by Walt Disney during World War II [3] and directed by Clyde Geronimi. The short was based on the European folk tale "Henny Penny", known in the United States as "Chicken Little". It is an anti-Nazi film showing the evils of mass hysteria. [4]

Contents

The folk tale was adapted by Disney again into a full-length film remake of the same name in 2005, with Zach Braff as the titular protagonist and directed by Mark Dindal.

Plot

The narrator introduces the audience to the locals at the local poultry farm: Cocky Locky, Henny Penny, Turkey Lurkey, Ducky Lucky, Goosey Poosie and the titular Chicken Little (a yo-yo wielding simpleton). As the day progresses, everyone is content with their lives knowing they are well protected. Unbeknownst to them however, hungry fox Foxy Loxy happened along intent on catching himself a chicken dinner, but he cannot hop in and help himself, on account of the high fence, locked gates and a well-armed farmer. Nevertheless Foxy Loxy is cunning, so taking advice from his psychology manual, he states: "Why should I just get one, when I could get 'em all?" He reads aloud a passage telling him that the best way to manipulate the whole flock is to begin with "the least intelligent". He soon identifies Chicken Little as such.

Next, Foxy Loxy finds a passage that instructs him to tell a big lie. He finds a wooden sign that advertises a fortune teller's business and breaks off a piece with a star painted on it. Chicken Little was milling about when Foxy Loxy disorients him with the suggestion of a thunderstorm before dropping the hunk of wood on his head. Then pretending to be "the voice of doom" Foxy Loxy convinces Chicken Little that the sky is falling and that he must run for his life. Chicken Little panics, going on to alarm the rest of the avians. He brings a crowd to where he believes a piece of the sky had hit him, but when the leader of the flock Cocky Locky inquires about the ordeal, he immediately proves the story to be false (much to Foxy Loxy's chagrin). Afterwards, the crowd disperses leaving Chicken Little humiliated.

Foxy Loxy is undeterred however, so refers to his book again to find something to deal with Cocky Locky. Soon enough he finds a passage that tells him to "undermine the faith of the masses in their leaders". He heads over to Henny Penny's, Turkey Lurkey's, and Ducky Lucky's and Goosey Poosie's circles of friends to plant rumors and doubts about Cocky Locky's intelligence and leadership. This starts another rush of panic among the avians as they spread the word. Eventually these rumors reach Cocky Locky, who now feels his authority threatened.

With Cocky Locky's leadership in question, Foxy Loxy makes his next move. He flatters Chicken Little, convincing him to stand up and challenge the Cocky Locky's right of leadership. Filled with confidence Chicken Little announces to a crowd that he is their new leader and states that he will save all their lives. Then Cocky Locky fires back, stating the sky is not falling. The two argue until Cocky Locky states, "if the sky is falling, why doesn't it hit me on the head?" From his hiding spot, Foxy Loxy uses a slingshot to shoot the wooden hunk back at Cocky Locky's head, knocking him out. This convinced the entire crowd that Chicken Little was right about the sky all along. When they ask him what they should do, Foxy Loxy suggests to "run to the cave". Believing this is the right thing to do, Chicken Little leads the panicked masses out of the farm, through the woods and into the cave (which is actually Foxy Loxy's den). Once everyone is inside, Foxy Loxy goes in after them and seals up the entrance.

While the narrator reassures the audience that everything will be alright, the cartoon closes with a now pot bellied Foxy Loxy picking his teeth and arranging the wishbones of the devoured birds in a row resembling a war cemetery. The narrator is shocked and insists that this is not how the story was supposed to end. Foxy Loxy responds in a fourth wall breaking moment by reminding the narrator not to believe everything he reads as he plays with Chicken Little's yo-yo and smokes a victory cigar while laying on top of the psychology book. [5]

Cast

Foxy Loxy and Mein Kampf

According to Disney historian David Gerstein in a comment on Andreas Deja's blog, the studio had the title of the book that Foxy Loxy reads changed from Hitler's Mein Kampf to the generic Psychology in a postwar reissue. [7]

Other appearances

Cocky Locky makes a cameo appearance in Mickey's Christmas Carol dancing at Fezzywig's party. Chicken Little makes a cameo appearance in the Toontown countryside in Who Framed Roger Rabbit .

Television

The postwar reissue of the short is featured in the Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color episode Man is His Own Worst Enemy, first airing on October 21, 1962. It is presented uncut, but instead of the original generic narrator, new unaltered narration is provided by Ludwig Von Drake.

Home media

The short was released on May 18, 2004, on Walt Disney Treasures: Walt Disney on the Front Lines [8] and on December 6, 2005, on Walt Disney Treasures: Disney Rarities - Celebrated Shorts: 1920s–1960s . [9]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Disney's "Chicken Little" Cartoon from 1943-Cartoon Research
  2. ↑ Chicken Little (film)-D23
  3. ↑ Foxy Loxy-Obscure Disney characters-Pictures-CBS News
  4. ↑ Thomas, Bob (1994). Walt Disney: an American original (1st ed.). New York, NY: Hyperion. p. 176. ISBN   0-7868-6027-8.
  5. ↑ FilmAffinity
  6. ↑ BCDB.com [ dead link ]
  7. ↑ Deja View: Chicken Little 1943
  8. ↑ "Walt Disney on the Front Lines DVD Review". DVD Dizzy. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  9. ↑ "Disney Rarities - Celebrated Shorts: 1920s - 1960s DVD Review". DVD Dizzy. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
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