One of the cutest cartoon characters ever created appears in Chicken Little, Walt Disney’s first fully computer-animated feature film. You can’t help cheering for this small chick as he tries to improve his self image, win his father’s respect -- and finally, save the world from an alien invasion.  

“My character is the ultimate underdog,” Zach Braff (Garden State), who lends his voice to Chicken Little, explains. “He’s just tiny and really driven, and nothing ever goes right for him. Everyone can relate to being the underdog and feeling like everyone’s against you. He’s just trying to prove himself. I think a lot of kids especially will know the feeling of being an outcast.”

Chicken Little alarms the entire town of Oakey Oaks with his warning that the sky is falling. However, it turns out what hit him on the head was probably an acorn. Because of this mistake, the little guy is made fun of constantly – and even his own father (voiced by Garry Marshall), a former baseball player, is ashamed of him. When Chicken Little joins a baseball team in order to win over his dad, a big surprise is in store. He hits the winning run and things start looking up for him. 

Just as he’s basking in all this glory with his best friends -- Abby Mallard (Joan Cusack), Fish Out of Water (Dan Molina) and Runt of the Litter (Steve Zahn) -- a space ship appears, and he must warn the town again. But will anyone believe him?

The look of the film is quite special, probably because of a new technology called, of all things, “Chicken Wire,” which prevents the characters from looking like puppets by bringing more elasticity to the facial expressions.

Jason Ryan, the supervising animator for the character of Chicken Little, calls this the most fun film he’s ever worked on. “I think this is a real breakthrough film for Disney and for the industry because our characters aren’t just puppets anymore. They have a real sense of believability.” 

Because of its colorful characters and zippy animation, Chicken Little will probably gain many fans in the toddler set. However, the film doesn’t contain enough jokes for older viewers, and some of the characters’ voices don’t come across well. Garry Marshall’s voice is too identifiable to accept when coming out of Buck Cluck’s (Chicken Little’s father) beak -- and Steve Zahn is often barely understandable when speaking Runt of the Litter’s dialogue.

Still, who can resist that darling Chicken Little?  As Braff declares, “You know the movie’s good when you’re an adult and you’re on the edge of your seat rooting for a little chicken to make it around the bases of a baseball field.”

DVD bonus items include Backstage Disney’s revealing “Hatching Chicken Little: The Making of the Movie,” a fun “Where’s Fish?” trivia game, a sprightly karaoke sing-along, humorous deleted scenes (did you know Chicken Little was originally drawn as a girl?), and two music videos -- one featuring BNL and the other starring The Cheetah Girls.   

(Released by Walt Disney Home Entertainment and rated “G” as suitable for all audiences. Bonus material not rated.)