When the Sky Fell: The Turbulent Legacy of Chicken Little (Ep. 332)

The Jim Hill Media Podcast Network

Jim Hill Media Podcast Network

Places & Travel, Society & Culture, Tv & Film

4.7 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 11 November 2025

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Jim Hill and Drew Taylor salute Veterans Day and talk about Xavier “X” Atencio, the new Disney Editions book celebrating the Imagineer behind the Haunted Mansion’s “Grim Grinning Ghosts.” Then, Drew and Jim dive into the weekend box office — from Predator: Badlands breaking franchise records to the upcoming Zootopia 2 — before Jim goes solo to finish his deep-dive on the 20th anniversary of Chicken Little: Disney’s first CG feature and the film that changed everything at the studio. HIGHLIGHTS Disney Legend spotlight: The new Xavier X. Atencio biography reveals rare sketches, wartime cartoons, and Haunted Mansion concept art — including the one-eyed cat that almost was. Box office breakdown: Predator: Badlands lifts Disney past $4 billion for 2025, while Zootopia 2’s early projections could redeem TRON: Ares’ underperformance. Streaming watch: Netflix’s In Your Dreams wins praise from Collider and The Hollywood Reporter; Star Wars: Visions Vol. 3 drops on Disney+. The forgotten fowl: Why Chicken Little struggled in 2005 — from corporate pressure and story changes to a release window crushed by Goblet of Fire. Animation turning point: How Pixar’s arrival, John Lasseter’s leadership, and Ratatouille’s success permanently shifted Disney away from hand-drawn animation. Hosts Jim Hill — X/Twitter: @JimHillMedia | Instagram: @JimHillMedia | Website: jimhillmedia.com Drew Taylor — X/Twitter: @DrewTailored | Instagram: @drewtailored | Website: drewtaylor.work Patreon Support Fine Tooning and the entire Jim Hill Media Podcast Network at patreon.com/jimhillmedia Follow Us Facebook: @JimHillMediaNews | YouTube: @jimhillmedia | TikTok: @jimhillmedia Producer Credits Edited by Dave Grey Produced by Eric Hersey — Strong Minded Agency Sponsor This episode is brought to you by UnlockedMagic.com — where Disney and Universal fans can save up to 12% on park tickets and after-hours events like Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party and Jollywood Nights. Powered by the same trusted team behind DVC Rental Store and DVC Resale Market. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome back to fine tuning with Drew Taylor, your one-stop shop when it comes to animation news and commentary.
0:06.1	I'm entertainment writer Jim Hill and Mr. Taylor, whose writings on the industry you can regularly read over on the rap and whose music's on the Mission Impossible movies, you can still listen to on Light the fuse, the official Mission Impossible podcast.
0:23.7	He and I are recording this week's show on Monday, November 10th, which is the day before Veterans Day. I want to take a
0:29.5	second here to acknowledge all of you who spent time in uniform. I want to thank you for
0:33.8	your service. Mind you, Drew, I realize that a lot of people who joined the military did not have it as easy as I did in the U.S. Army back in the mid-1980s.
0:47.9	I've told you about my time in uniform, right?
0:50.4	You were a glorified, kind of an kind of an army archer type character. You were
0:58.8	out there reviewing movies. You were doing, right? You know, and also, important to point out here,
1:07.7	I wound up being stationed 20 minutes away from my childhood home at Fort Devons, Massachusetts.
1:13.6	I mean, I would literally drive home on weekends and do laundry.
1:17.6	And as Drew mentioned, I showed up at the basement newspaper and they didn't have a job for me.
1:22.6	So they're like, all right, you're everything entertainment, right?
1:25.6	And so same job. You know, what?
1:29.0	Dear Lord, that's 40 years ago.
1:32.3	And seriously, folks, this was your tax dollar work, at least once a week.
1:35.8	I would climb into a military vehicle, which true, had emblazoned on the side in a white
1:42.2	stencil for official government use only.
1:45.7	And then, you know, I'd go to the movies or I go to a museum or Riverside, that big theme park out in the middle of Western Massachusetts.
1:56.5	And then I would come back to the Fort Devons Dispatch and write a review.
2:01.8	And now, again, want to stress that not everybody who wore a uniform had a similar experience.
2:08.7	And I was reminded of this because if you remember last week's show, Drew mentioned that he just got his copy of Xavier Exotentio, that great new book from Disney
2:21.5	editions, which is the subtitle tells us, takes a detailed look at the legacy of an artist
	...

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