The vintage short is set in a fenced-in barnyard, populated, according to a narrator, by various social groups. Henny Penny and her group of gossips talk disparagingly of people they don't like. Turkey Lurkey presides over "the smart set,'' would-be intellectuals who spend their time drinking tea and exchanging political theories. Goosey Poosey and his band of barflies drink their days away, while the fun-loving Jitterbirds -- "a pretty featherbrained crowd,'' in the opinion of the narrator -- are too busy dancing to pay attention to what's happening in the world around them.
Would-be poultry poacher Foxy Loxy has been looking for a chance to get a chicken dinner, but he can't get past the high wall that protects the birds. Undaunted, he consults a psychology text that advises him that if he wants "to influence the masses, aim first at the least intelligent,'' in this case, dim-witted yo-yo champ Chicken Little.
"Originally, the studio planned to show Foxy Loxy reading Adolf Hitler's book 'Mein Kampf' to make sure no one missed the point, but it was decided to downplay the obvious Nazi imagery,'' notes narrator Leonard Maltin in his introduction to the short in the "Walt Disney on the Front Lines: The War Years'' DVD set.
"If you tell 'em a lie, don't tell a little one, tell 'em a big one,'' Foxy Loxy reads. So he pretends to be the Voice of Doom, conjuring up a fake storm and dropping a phony "piece of the sky'' -- a chunk of wood that's been painted blue -- on Chicken Little's empty head. Although Cocky Locky, the chicken community's leader, tells everyone that it's nothing to worry about, Foxy Loxy murmurs nasty rumors about Cocky Locky's reputation through holes in the fence, and a "whispering campaign'' begins.
The story comes to a grisly finale that demonstrates just how easily evil can triumph, if given half a chance. No wonder Maltin warns that "'Chicken Little' is one Disney cartoon that parents might want to see for themselves before deciding if it's appropriate for their kids.''
