It's been a year since Chicken Little caused uproar by claiming that the sky was falling. Ridiculed and mistrusted by everyone in the town of Oakey Oaks, he'd do anything to regain his father's trust. So he doesn't like to mention it when another piece of the sky clonks him on the head. But soon enough he'll have to tell the truth because the falling sky is just the beginning of an alien invasion that will threaten everyone. But can one little chicken and his misfit friends do anything to thwart it?

Though the backgrounds aren't photo realistic, there are a sufficient number of shades and textures for them to feel consistent with the world of the film. The town gives the impression of being made out of toys, so all the surfaces have a slightly plasticky quality. The spaceship is a joy of computer-generated imagery that relies on certain sci-fi staples. It's the traditional flying saucer shape, while the interior is what we've come to expect from recent science fiction movies. It's dark and shadowy, lit by eerie greens and purples. It has a utilitarian look about it and a menagerie in suspended animation. And of course it has gadgets by the bucket load, most of which Fish plays with.

Director Mark Dindal's comic timing is strong whether dealing with visual or verbal gags. All have snap to them and they are so fast paced that you'll probably still be laughing at the last one when the next comes along. There are some schmaltzy moments during the film, but these are happily kept to a minimum. When it comes to the alien invasion, the director takes his cue from the B-movie disaster flicks of the 50s, while referencing more recent pictures such as "Signs", "Independence Day" (Right down to the use of REM's "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)) and "War of the Worlds". He even slips in a "King Kong" joke for added topicality. There's plenty of slapstick for the kids to enjoy, especially during a nasty game of dodgeball (popular versus unpopular kids) that has enormous pig Runt taking a lot of pain while Fish Out of Water body-pops his way out of danger. Then there's Chicken Little's trip to school that turns into a Herculean task as he misses the bus, gets stuck to some gun, runs into a buffalo, loses his trousers, gets shut in his locker and has to get into the school gym via rocket propulsion.

A lot of the humour is just plain silly, with the writers extending the rhyming couplet names to include Morcubine Porcupine, the coolest kid in school who is characterised by his deep-voiced one-word answers. The citizens miss out on seeing the aliens initially because Turkey Lurkey stops to pick up a penny and Chicken Little's disgrace is made complete when a film about it is announced. There are plenty of one-liners that are essentially there for the mums and dads in the audience. Why would a child find it funny when Runt's mother shouts ""Don't make mommy take away your Streisand collection.", or when he cries "Curse these genetically tiny legs!" when scarpering from the spaceship. The writers play with our expectations where the aliens are concerned and derive a lot of comedy from them, leading to some distinctly Looney Tunes-style gags. Though there are a few scary moments when Chicken and his friends are pursued by angry aliens in exo-suits.

John Debney approaches the score as if it were that of a big budget action movie rather than a kids cartoon. So there's oodles of disaster movie brass and "Carmina Burana" choral vocals. In a nod to the 50s B-movie origins of the film, he uses the bizarre-sounding theremin for the alien-related shenanigans. For the sentimental bits he uses piano-based melodies that push all the right buttons. Triumphal brass also comes into play when required. The rest of the soundtrack relies heavily on disco tunes like "I Will Survive" and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" for laughs. Barenaked Ladies provide Chicken Little's signature tune with "One Little Slip" and the film has the best use of "It's the End of the World as We Know It" since "Independence Day". What we could have done without though is The Cheetah Girls version of "Shake a Tail Feather", which is irritatingly bland.