One of the most surprising and delightful elements of “Chicken Little” is the music.
Academy Award® nominee John Debney (“The Passion of the Christ”) worked closely with the filmmakers to compose a dynamic score combining shades of Americana, 1950s sci-fi films, and mostly 1970s vintage hits. Newly recorded versions of hit tunes from the latter decade as well as some performances by the original recording artists add to the fun and excitement.
Producer Fullmer explains, “Rather than have a real overriding intellectual theory about how the music would hang together, Mark and I collaborated with Chris Montan (Disney’s president of music), and Tom MacDougall (vice president, music) to pick the best song that we could come up with to fit each moment. We both love melody and good lyrics, and it just sort of happens that a lot of really great songs came from around the ’70s. Our film includes such well-known tunes from that era as ‘We Are The Champions,’ ‘I Will Survive,’ ‘Stayin’ Alive,’ ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ by Diana Ross, and ‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,’ to name a few. Several songs from other decades like ‘Stir It Up,’ ‘It’s The End Of The World As We Know It,’ ‘Lollipop,’ and ‘Wannabe’ also made it into the film because they just seemed to express the right musical flavor.”
The filmmakers turned to the popular group Barenaked Ladies to create a new song entitled “One Little Slip,” to musicalize the plight of Chicken Little early in the film as he tries to come to grips with his notorious past. Accompanied by a lively montage of activities, this catchy song whimsically captures some of the lead character’s efforts to improve his image and put the past behind him.
“We’ve always been big fans of Barenaked Ladies,” says Dindal. “They have the same sensibilities that we do and they’re a lot of fun. They locked right in on the theme we were looking for and brought a lot of energy to the scene with their music. I wanted the song to have a positive feel about this little guy being up against the world and not wanting to quit. It’s his anthem, but it’s also talking about what his struggle is. Barenaked Ladies got it just right and really added to the movie.”
Acclaimed recording artist John Ondrasik (lead singersongwriter from the group Five for Fighting) lends his voice to “All I Know,” a new recording of the Jimmy Webb tune made popular in 1973 by Art Garfunkel. His performance of this pop favorite accents a poignant moment as Chicken Little struggles to gain the respect and support of his father. Fullmer notes, “There’s a purity and clarity to John’s voice, and his version of this song felt so right for the movie. He completely connected with the idea of Chicken Little’s struggle with his father and what that must be like. He got it emotionally. And when we heard his recording, we all teared up.
For the film’s newly recorded rendition of the Allee Willis-Danny Sembello song “Stir It Up,” the filmmakers paired up Grammy Award-winning veteran performer Patti LaBelle (who sang a version of the song for the 1984 blockbuster film, “Beverly Hills Cop”) with English teen singing sensation Joss Stone. The result stirs up the film and emerges as one of the musical highlights.
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