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'Chicken Little': Catch some falling sky

The sky has been falling lately for the Disney animation unit, which cannot seem to create a hit feature.

Maybe that is what gave them the idea to build a movie around that cute, pint-sized alarmist, Chicken Little.

Buena Vista Pictures 'Chicken Little' B The verdict: Disney cribs from Pixar with a hip, pop culture joke-filled fable about a poultry alarmist. Director: Mark Dindal Starring: Zach Braff, Garry Marshall, Joan Cusack, Steve Zahn, Don Knotts Run time: 81 minutes Release date: Nov. 4, 2005 Rating: G See showtimes On the web Official movie site View the trailer    Trailers require Quicktime Rate 'Chicken Little'   Go see it   Make it a matinee   Wait to rent   Don't bother Voter Limit: Once per Hour View Poll Results

To do so, the studio takes a few pages from the playbook of its recent business associate, Pixar Animation, turning the classic fable of false warning into a hip, pop culture-filled tale of alien invasion and Hollywood subversion.

Chicken Little may not be an instant classic like Beauty and the Beast or The Lion King — which it pointedly kids in its opening moments — but at least it is the best kid-and-adult-friendly full-length cartoon from Disney since 2002's Lilo and Stitch.

There were plenty of ways to go with this slim story, but director Mark Dindal and his screenwriters decided to ask the question, "What if the sky were really falling?"

The result is a comic take on War of the Worlds — by way of King Kong, M. Night Shyamalan's Signs and E.T., all mixed to a Motown beat. And for those who insist on a message with their entertainment, there are morals about the importance of communication and mutual trust between parent and offspring.

The title character, a bespectacled, resourceful lad becomes the laughing stock of his town of Oakey Oaks when he pushes the panic button over what he believes to be a plummeting piece of sky.

His gaffe gets immortalized on film and proclaimed on bumper stickers. No wonder he is wary of speaking up when he really does see an extraterrestrial invasion.

Voice talent helps the fun, from Zach (Garden State) Braff's sincere title character to Garry Marshall as his befuddled dad, the always welcome Joan Cusack as Abby Mallard, aka The Ugly Duckling, and particularly Steve Zahn as the Runt of the Litter, a porker with a weakness for golden oldie lyrics.

Together they help Disney break into the computer animation derby.