Disney’s Chicken Little
Who knew the end of the world had so much variety?
Published: October 17, 2005
It's over. The juggernaut that was the Pixar/Disney box office behemoth is no more, as the parties involved have decided to go their own way. Aside from direct-to-video sequeled releases, though, Disney hasn't had much on the animation front going besides the Pixar-animated CG movie releases.
Of course, now that one of the bigger cash cows is gone, it's up to Disney to get back to doing things themselves, and the first product of that is Chicken Little, which is, in a word, decidedly cute. Hell, I won't kid you, it's friggin' adorable, and it's with little trepidation that I venture the game is certainly on par with said cuteness.
Buena Vista Games clearly knows a good developer when they see one. After witnessing a trio of honest-to-goodness quality children's titles being pumped out (with a lucrative Nickelodeon license in tow, no less) of Salt Lake City from developer Avalanche in the form of THQ's Tak games, BVG quickly snapped them up and got them working on Disney-related projects. A wise move indeed.
While it means no more Tak games for THQ (and we're just as sure no sequels to 25 To Life) - at least not from Avalanche, it does mean a nice shift in the development pool towards leveraging the Disney animators with give developers every bit as talented. Chicken Little is a joy to play.
It's not a particularly amazing platformer (in fact, CL's little hops can cause some problems for those used to bigger leaping leading characters), but the key is it's not just a platformer and though it changes gameplay styles faster than a ADD-sticken seven year-old a week overdue on his meds, the charm of the characters and ample use of cutscenes from the movie sell the experience.
After all, once you've been labeled a spaz and a quasi-liar by your peers for claiming the sky is falling, you really have no choice but to fall back on the cuteness factor. Luckily, CL is just so adorable (thanks largely in part to Scrubs star Zach Braff voicing the little tyke), that you genuinely want him to redeem himself. Of course, school bullies, a doting father and CL's knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time conspire to stop this from happening.
He's not alone, though. Tag-along buddies Fish-out-of-water (a literal fish walking around with a deep sea diver's mask filled with water), Runt of the Litter (a sheepish, overtly plump pig) and Abby Mallard (a buck-toothed duck-to-be) are nearly always there to help CL out (and offer their own parts of the game), but in the end, it comes down to the pint-sized chicken himself to get into and out of situations.
The game helps with this, of course; the requisite hop n' bop platforming sections of the game see to that, delivering two sizeable levels that at least have the appearance of being open-ended (they're actually fairly linear, but the sections where you can't go are nearly always fenced off with, well, fences rather than the dreaded invisible wall), but it's near the end of the second level where it becomes obvious that things aren't going to stay hop n' bop for long.
After collecting enough coins to buy a bottle of soda, he shakes it up, and blasts off, transforming what was just moments ago a purely terrestrial platforming level into an on-rails flying segment. It lasts only a few seconds, but it's also rather impressive that the level was designed with both sections in mind, yet never really looked like it was made for one or the other.
Nearly as soon as you've settled into the controls and gameplay, everything gets switched up. A race through the halls of the school while lockers topple turns to a game of dodgeball then a chase back through the halls of the school amidst all the felled lockers in a matter of minutes. It's a nice way to keep things mixed up, and it actually helps pull away the focus from the platforming sections, which are fun enough, but a handful of problems keep them from feeling just right.
Of course, now that one of the bigger cash cows is gone, it's up to Disney to get back to doing things themselves, and the first product of that is Chicken Little, which is, in a word, decidedly cute. Hell, I won't kid you, it's friggin' adorable, and it's with little trepidation that I venture the game is certainly on par with said cuteness.
Buena Vista Games clearly knows a good developer when they see one. After witnessing a trio of honest-to-goodness quality children's titles being pumped out (with a lucrative Nickelodeon license in tow, no less) of Salt Lake City from developer Avalanche in the form of THQ's Tak games, BVG quickly snapped them up and got them working on Disney-related projects. A wise move indeed.
While it means no more Tak games for THQ (and we're just as sure no sequels to 25 To Life) - at least not from Avalanche, it does mean a nice shift in the development pool towards leveraging the Disney animators with give developers every bit as talented. Chicken Little is a joy to play.
It's not a particularly amazing platformer (in fact, CL's little hops can cause some problems for those used to bigger leaping leading characters), but the key is it's not just a platformer and though it changes gameplay styles faster than a ADD-sticken seven year-old a week overdue on his meds, the charm of the characters and ample use of cutscenes from the movie sell the experience.
After all, once you've been labeled a spaz and a quasi-liar by your peers for claiming the sky is falling, you really have no choice but to fall back on the cuteness factor. Luckily, CL is just so adorable (thanks largely in part to Scrubs star Zach Braff voicing the little tyke), that you genuinely want him to redeem himself. Of course, school bullies, a doting father and CL's knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time conspire to stop this from happening.
He's not alone, though. Tag-along buddies Fish-out-of-water (a literal fish walking around with a deep sea diver's mask filled with water), Runt of the Litter (a sheepish, overtly plump pig) and Abby Mallard (a buck-toothed duck-to-be) are nearly always there to help CL out (and offer their own parts of the game), but in the end, it comes down to the pint-sized chicken himself to get into and out of situations.
The game helps with this, of course; the requisite hop n' bop platforming sections of the game see to that, delivering two sizeable levels that at least have the appearance of being open-ended (they're actually fairly linear, but the sections where you can't go are nearly always fenced off with, well, fences rather than the dreaded invisible wall), but it's near the end of the second level where it becomes obvious that things aren't going to stay hop n' bop for long.
After collecting enough coins to buy a bottle of soda, he shakes it up, and blasts off, transforming what was just moments ago a purely terrestrial platforming level into an on-rails flying segment. It lasts only a few seconds, but it's also rather impressive that the level was designed with both sections in mind, yet never really looked like it was made for one or the other.
Nearly as soon as you've settled into the controls and gameplay, everything gets switched up. A race through the halls of the school while lockers topple turns to a game of dodgeball then a chase back through the halls of the school amidst all the felled lockers in a matter of minutes. It's a nice way to keep things mixed up, and it actually helps pull away the focus from the platforming sections, which are fun enough, but a handful of problems keep them from feeling just right.
