“With friends you can accomplish anything!” This is the over-riding message in the animated film Hatched: Chicks Gone Wild.
Young chicks Cluck Norris, Chickpea and Tiny SchwarzHENegger are determined to show everyone that chickens really can fly. When their tiny alien pal, Magic, is in danger however, this young feathered trio will join the efforts of their animal neighbours – including Charlie Horse, Angelina Poultrie, Meryl Cheep and more – in order to save their home and their friend from the “fowlest” of villains.
Coming in at 71 minutes this is an extremely easy movie to watch. The pace does not let up and the script is littered with wise-cracks and jokes for adults as well as children.
This is my first encounter with the Hatched series of films and probably my last. While it is very cute and funny, it does not break new ground. The story and situations are formula-like. The characters are stereotypical and react in predictable ways.
This, I imagine, is to make the story easily accessible for very young children. Older children will expect more and probably be ultimately disappointed, as I was.
The animation itself was well done, although I found the pastel colour scheme monotonous after a while.
The voices are appropriate and match the characters they are portraying. My favourite character was the fat rat. His voice and image reminded me of Lou Costello from the comedy duo, Abbott and Costello.
Having not seen the other films in the series, I had (and still do not have) any idea who the character Magic was. Yes, he (or she) is an alien in a car, but what is an alien doing in a farmyard and what exactly was his/her magic powers? I couldn’t work it out.
So, overall, if you want to keep your toddler amused for 71 minutes (while you have a glass of wine), sit them in front on the TV, pop in the disc and let them watch Hatched: Chicks Gone Wild.
Reviewed by Barry Hill
Twitter: @kinesguy
Rating out of 10: 5
Hatched: Chicks Gone Wild will be released on DVD on 22 June 2016.
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