Chicken Little

Directed by Mark Dindal, Chicken Little follows Zach Braff’s title character as he struggles to convince his fellow townspeople that their community is under attack by aliens. It’s amusing, family-friendly subject matter that’s employed to periodically watchable yet mostly underwhelming effect by Dindal, as the filmmaker, armed Steve Bencich, Ron J. Friedman, and Ron Anderson’s screenplay, delivers a progressively frenetic endeavor that fares best in its comparatively low-key and subdued first half – with the watchable vibe elevated by the strong voice performances and a smattering of legitimately compelling sequences. (There is, in terms of the latter, a terrific scene wherein Chicken Little successfully hits a home run during a little league game.) And while the picture boasts appealing, cartoonish visuals, Chicken Little ultimately progresses into a larger-than-life and over-the-top third act that ensures it fizzles out to a fairly disastrous effect – which is a shame, really, given that the movie is otherwise entertaining enough and suffused with appealing attributes.

** out of ****