Contrary to popular belief, "Chicken Little" is not the first computer animated Disney movie without the involvement of Pixar. The first one was "Dinosaur," which I never saw, but the general consensus is that it was only so-so. "Chicken Little" is Disney's second attempt at a computer animated film without Pixar, and although I liked it quite a bit, I think Disney needs to consider renegotiating with Pixar.
I actually wasn't a big fan of Pixar until recently. I couldn't get into "Toy Story," "Toy Story 2," or "A Bug's Life." Don't get me wrong, I thought the animation was phenomenal in those films, Pixar is the best in the business when it comes to animation, but the stories weren't all that great to me. It wasn't until "Monsters, Inc." that I liked their stories, though. I LOVED "Monsters, Inc.," and I also really liked "Finding Nemo" and "The Incredibles." Their stories improved, and so did the animation. Every Pixar movie has excellent animation, but each release is dramatically improved over the last. The animation in "Chicken Little" is really good, but it isn't close to the quality of Pixar's more recent films. The animation looks like stuff Pixar was doing years ago.
The choice of Zach Braff as the voice of "Chicken Little" is a great one. Braff is the writer, director, and star of "Garden State," and he's the star of the TV show, "Scrubs." I like his work a lot, and his voice acting in this movie is excellent. He's joined by Joan Cusack, Don Knotts, Garry Marshall, Steve Zahn, and others. There are a few voice cameos, and I have to mention one of them. Adam West's unmistakable voice makes an appearance, and he's an excellent choice for that character.
"Chicken Little" was directed by Mark Dindal, who also directed "The Emperor's New Groove," a movie I like a lot. The writers were Steve Bencich & Ron J. Friedman (they were among the many writers of Disney's "Brother Bear") and Robert L. Baird and Dan Gerson (they were among the many writers of "Monsters, Inc."). The movie has some very funny moments, and some moments that are surprisingly unusual (but not in a bad way), and I enjoyed it.
I have no idea how much money "Chicken Little" will make this weekend, but I can guarantee you that Disney and Pixar are keeping a close eye on the box office receipts. Regardless of how much money it makes, I think Disney would be foolish to continue making computer animated films without Pixar. I liked "Chicken Little," but I can't help but think that the movie would be even better if it was made by Pixar.
Scale of 1-10: 8