Behind Disney's Chicken Little

I'm not playing reviewer, just interviewer. Recently I talked with Dan Lund, ex-Disney animator (as of the 2002 layoffs) who can remember seeing a very different film in pre-production. Once upon a time, the angst-ridden girl Chicken Little is taken to Camp Courage to quell her neuroses, and when wolves in sheep's clothing pass as counselors and threaten the camp, Chicken Little and her imperfect friends must overcome their weaknesses to save the day. Sweet, no?

After the event wrapped, Mark Austin voiced positive spirits:
"I think the movie turned out better than we all hoped. With story changes and executive notes late, late in the movie, there is a period of disjointedness as those changes are first given placeholders, and later are massaged into the final footage. This can be (and often is) hard to get right, since by its very nature it is 'an afterthought.' But as it turned out, with all the sacrifices in finished scenes and trimming and more trimming, the movie runs smoothly and keeps a good pace."

Perhaps. It's just a pity that a studio like this – one that entrusts talented designers and CG artists with a multi-million dollar project – cannot foster the same respect for solid storytelling. Still, it was great hearing the techniques of people at the top of their field, and with folks like that still hanging around, Disney is bound to come up with a home run of a film sometime soon.