Very Cool!!!

Powerful

Fresh and Exciting

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

I first watched this cartoon short when it was part of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, in an episode titled "Man Is His Own Worst Enemy." It was also my first time learning of the Chicken Little story. It was, honestly, a pretty sad story to watch, seeing Chicken Little and the rest of the bird family meeting an untimely fate in the hands of Foxy Loxy. Some of parts of the short was, though, pretty entertaining to see when Chicken Little and friends think the sky is falling, thereby, running around frantically. The characters were zany and the animation was great.Overall, it's not a bad story. It gives children a harsh reality that not every story has a happy ending and that life could be pretty complicated.Grade B-

I remember reading the 'Chicken Little' book as a child but this cartoon turns it on its head with one eye on the time it was made, 1943, during the Second World War.The sly and hungry Foxy Loxy reads from a text which describes how to lie and cheat your neighbours - in this case to persuade Chicken Little and others than the sky is falling, and so the world is about to end.It showcases the power of propaganda, panic and persuasion to achieve an aim (Foxy of course wants a hearty supper of chickens and ducks). Cocky Locky is the political leader who gets depicted as a fool, while Henny Penny and her cronies spread gossip and hysteria.A clever cartoon, perhaps too sophisticated for children, but enjoyable on some levels to a younger audience with a bit of forethought, a bit like 'Animal Farm'.

I saw this film many times growing up on, the "Wonderful World of Disney", And is now my favorite Disney film, It has a message that you need to use your brain in this life if you want to survive, and just who can you trust?, And the difficulty in not following the mob.I am angry with the new "disney people" for them making this new "Chicken Little" film .and this mentality that you must have a "Happy Ending" I did not know that it was made as a Propaganda film for World War II . But if you lived through Pol pot , Jim Jones , "The ice age is Coming!"or Piramid selling, you should know that this little "Big" Film will never lose its message, See it yourself.

There will be spoilers to one degree or another in here.During World War II, Disney produced a number of cartoons for general release that were propaganda aimed at fueling the war effort. While most of these were still humorous in tone as well as serious in message, two were notably different: Education For Death, the most grimly serious short produced by a Hollywood studio I've ever seen and this one, Chicken Little, in which the humor is sharply limited and the ending is most un-Disney in nature. Disney has been taken to task (often with justification) for taking fables, fairy tales and other old source material and making it far more sweet than it originally was. This was not done here-oh, boy, was that not done! Though there is no overt attempt to make this directly about Germany, the Nazis or Hitler, the context of the times makes it clear who the target is. The use of Hitler's concept of the "Big Lie" is a dead giveaway. Interestingly, the lack of obvious ties to the current enemy make this short less dated and it can readily be viewed as targeting any totalitarian state. There's nothing cute here and only a few laughs. The ending is a punch in the solar plexus. Look at what the fox does with the wishbones.This is available on the Disney Treasures On The Front Lines. The set as a whole is remarkable and is worth having for any number of items it contains. It is telling that, as good as this short is, there are easily a half-dozen other things on the set that are even better. Most highly recommended. Get it while you can.