Rock-A-Doodle
Tags: good versus evil, boring

Plot synopsis:
Chanticleer is a rooster, whose job is to wake the sun up every morning, but the Grand Duke of Owls, who hates sunshine, sabotages him to make it look like the sun comes up on its own without Chanticleer's crow. Detested by the farm animals as a result, he leaves the farm to look for work in the city. Afterward, perpetual darkness and rainfall threaten the farm with flooding.
Turning out to be a story read to Edmond, it seems that the flooding has found his family, and when his mother goes to help them stop it, he calls out to Chanticleer and is heard by the Grand Duke himself, who takes a dislike to Edmond's attempts to foil his plans. He turns him into a kitten to devour him, but he is saved at the last second by Patou, a bloodhound who struggles to learn on how to tie the knots on his shoes, from Chanticleer's farm. He is accompanied by Snipes, a claustrophobic magpie, and Peepers, an intellectual field mouse, as well as several animals from the farm, hoping to find Chanticleer and apologize to him for their behaviour. Edmond accompanies Patou, Snipes and Peepers to the city, while the rest of the animals remain at Edmond's house. En route, they are attacked by Hunch, the Duke's diminutive nephew, assigned by him to stop Edmond and the others from finding Chanticleer. They narrowly escape and enter the city.
Chanticleer has risen to fame in the city, thanks to his manager Pinkie Fox, employed by the Duke to keep the rooster in the city. At a show featuring an Elvis-type theme, he is introduced to Goldie Pheasant as a distraction in case Chanticleer's friends come to find him. Goldie soon grows genuinely attracted to Chanticleer, and realizes Pinkie's true intentions when he captures Edmond and the others trying to get a letter to Chanticleer.
Meanwhile, the Duke and his party stalk the farm animals at Edmond's house, who continually use a flashlight to drive them off as long as the batteries hold out. Realizing that she is in love with him, Goldie confesses to Chanticleer that his friends had come to see him, and Pinkie blackmails Chanticleer to attend his show or never see his friends again. Chanticleer goes on with the show, Hunch inadvertently frees Edmond and the others, and they help Chanticleer and Goldie make a grand escape in a helicopter, foiling Pinkie's plans and destroying his Cadillac at the same time. They return to the farm.
After their batteries run out, the denizens of the farm are nearly made a meal of by the Duke and his minions when they are driven off by the helicopter's spotlight. Chanticleer confronts the Duke, but realises he has forgotten how to crow. The Duke taunts him and tries to drown him, but Edmond refuses to lose hope and starts chanting Chanticleer's name in hopes to revive his spirit. The Duke grows tired of this and magically strangles Edmond to his assumed death. Patou starts to chant Chanticleer's name, followed by everyone else, and the Duke transforms himself into a massive, violent tornado to silence them. Chanticleer finally remembers how to crow, and begins to sing for the sun to emerge; his cries are heard and the sun rises, driving the Duke's minions away and shrinking him to a very minuscule size. Hunch barely recognizes his uncle, but uses this to exact revenge by chasing him with a fly swatter.
Edmond transforms back into his human form in front of the others, who realize he was telling the truth about being a little boy. As Peepers tries to wake him, he does so in his own room, with his mother watching over him after an accident where a tree collapsed into his room. The sun is shining outside and the floods have ended, but his family does not believe him about his adventures and he is told to get his rest. He picks up Chanticleer's book and thanks him for coming back, before he is magically transported into Chanticleer's world, where he witnesses the rooster singing to make the sun shine.

Review: The basic story of the rooster having to save his farm from eternal darkness and rain by crowing the sun up could have made for such a great movie.
If they really wanted to make this movie a musical, they needed to have some real full-length songs instead of those short musical snippets given to the villains.But by far, my biggest problem with this movie is that it's just not very good at storytelling.
And the movie would instantly have been better, I believe, if there had been a scene showing the moment where Goldie knew that she was in love with Chanticleer for real instead of just having narration.
As it was, it felt like Goldie was just tacked onto the movie so that Chanticleer could have a love interest.There's a good movie somewhere in Rock-a-Doodle.
However, for the reasons above (as well as others I don't care to bore you with), it just didn't live up to that potential, and turned out to be just another mediocre-to-bad kids' movie..
this film has imagination, it has color, it has a good story, it tells the tail of the King himself Elvis Arron Presley in a way.
Rock A Doodle is a fun loving story about the sun not coming up.
Meanwhile in the real world, a flood is brewing and a little boy named Edmand tries to call Chanticlear, but got the Duke Owl. He turns the young boy into a cat and joins up with a dog, bird and mouse to go find Chanticlear and beat the darkness and find the sun.
"There was a plot-hole," "This movie was cheesy," "The animation sucked." How can you NOT love a Rooster posing as Elvis?
In the live-action prologue, a little boy named Edmond learns that the crowing of Chanticleer the rooster did not make the sun rise, as everyone thought.
I've been told by a lot of people that this movie is the first of the mediocre entries (except Anastasia) in the early/late 90s that caused Don Bluth's career to go downhill, but as for me, I think I actually found this along with The Pebble and the Penguin to be very decent.
I think that the best character throughout the whole movie is the Grand Duke of Owls himself voiced by Christoper Plummer (who previously voiced Henri the pigeon in An American Tail) since he was so intimidating and very threatening which makes him one of the best non-Disney villains ever.The songs were forgettable.
The first song in the beginning was surprisingly good, but some of them were forgettable due to their uninspired lyrics.There were several inconsistencies like the Grand Duke's breath contains magical powers and the rooster can sing while bringing the sun with his cock-a-doodling voice.
Plot of "Rock-a-Doodle": A rooster named Chanticleer crows every morning to make the sun come up, only one day the sun rises without him and he leaves the farm in disgrace (this part is based on an obscure play by Edmund Forster).
A real-life boy, who lives with his real-life family amongst the cartoon animals, knows Chanticleer can bring the sun back and sets out to find him.
This is the sad effect this movie had on my life, and I deeply regret it.Besides that, it is sort of notable for Glen Campbell's role as Chanticleer/The King and for containing Phil Harris's last role, but anyone over the age of 8 will probably find it extremely tedious and annoying.
It made me dance, it made me fell afraid, it helped me learn why i should know how to work the VCR, Even though i remember almost nothing about it, it still haunts my dreams once in a while, and now i simply must tell all you parents out there, this is a great movie for kids, although maybe not kids under 5, i was around 4 when i saw it, and i remember being Terrified, but i also remember that i couldn't get enough of that music.
You can be a parody of the old Elvis musicals, you can be an adventure with some animals lost in a strange city, you can be a fantasy with an evil wizard who wants an eternal night, you can be a dumb little kids' movie with some stupid kid dancing with cartoon animals.
You know, for over a year after I saw this for the first time, I pretty much convinced myself that this movie was actually good, and no, it isn't.
The animations are very nice, the Grand Duke sometimes looking like something out of an 80's Bluth film and the good guy songs are nice to listen to (Which is why it's a shame Phil Harris talks over most of them) but all in all, this is a movie that's enjoyable simply because of how bad it is.
Maybe if Pinky had been the main villain and the animals were looking for Chanticleer for a, well, less selfish reason than saving their own hides, we could have still gotten a great entertaining movie with a much better message of acceptance.
It certainly worked when I first saw it, and I remember watching it several times (maybe cause of the songs which were like filtered but enjoyable Elvis-type tunes, or some of the designs with the characters like the evil owls).
It's about a little boy who gets transformed into a cat- his storybook, which comes to life, is about a rooster on a farm who can't do his patented COCKADOODLE call- and soon he's swept up in a quest to bring Chaunticlair back from his fall into a career as an Elvis star.It's not really too amazing, and it's probably even cliché by the standards of any animation let alone Bluth's.
But there's enough invention and fun and quirks to make it worthwhile as a children's film, if not as an overall family flick (adults will most likely enjoy the final performance of Phil Harris, the voice of Baloo).
However, the animals discover that this was a mistake, because the sun stops coming up and rain, which causes a flood, begins instead.Somewhere along the way, cartoons and Disney became almost synonymous.
Personally, I think it is just as good as any Disney film of the era, and you have to love the voice casting of Glen Campbell.If it hasn't already been done, someone ought to release a retrospective blu-ray set of Bluth's golden years..
the animals didnt think that would have hurt him so badly and they go to find him, since without the rooster, the sun wont come up and the evil birds of the night, OwLs, take over the farm and cause chaos all over!!
(breathe)  so, after the storyline takes over, and we watch the birds and farm friends all combine as one unit to save the rooster, we like the averageness the film possesses.
but rock a doodle was worth more, and the kids seem to like the singing and the characters, since they are talking animals!
It once again features anthropomorphic animals acting out the plot, with lots of gorgeous animation, nonsensical songs, bratty child characters and extremely jumpy storytelling.Chanticleer is a rooster living on a farm, and his job is to bring out the sun every morning with his crow.
Unfortunately the Grand Duke of Owls prefers the night and tricks the other farm animals to see Chanticleer as a fraud and chase him away.
But then the long night settles in and suddenly it's the mission of the animals and one little human boy named Edmond to find their missing friend and bring back the sun.
Chanticleer has become Elvis, the Duke's magical powers are expressed through his breath, Edmond starts out as a live-action character but is turned into a kitten, et cetera, et cetera.And nothing really connects with anything.
I cringed in terror during each and every single second of this crapola film.Just when you think the movie couldn't get any worse, there's that atrocious song and dance number at the end.
Why did Don Bluth insist on combining live action with animation (the only time it truly worked was in the excellent "Who Framed Roger Rabbit")?
And what was the point of involving that little kid in the story to begin with?"Rock-A-Doodle" is probably one of the worst movies in general I've ever had the misfortune of seeing.
We all know from Disney classics such as Robin Hood and the Jungle Book, that Phil Harris is very talented at singing and acting, and he was put to good use here as Patou,("you're rocking the boat") although his narration did get distracting after a while, as the story is admittedly too heavily reliant on the narration.
However, Chistopher Plummer was wonderful as the voice of the Duke,("if I kill my nephew, would it be murder or charity?") who wasn't only the best character, but one of the better Bluth villains, he was really evil in some scenes, like when you first meet him.
As for the movie's plot line, I now find it somewhat hokey that some farm animals have to bring a rooster back to the farm to stop malevolent owls from taking over.
Rock-a-doodle is one of the many poorly conceived animated films from ex-Disney animator Don Bluth, who was known through the 80s and 90s for making boring kiddie animated movies.
This movie was different from Bluth's previous films, animation wise.
As for plot and dialogue, this is pretty terrible.Chaunticlare the rooster (voiced by Glenn Campbell) sings the sun up every morning, but after he is attacked by an evil owl named the Duke (Christopher Plummer), he is ridiculed and leaves the farm for the city.
Now Edmund, and a few barnyard animals, led by Patou, the hound dog (Phil Harris), are headed off to the city to find Chaunticlare and make him crow again to make the sun come up.This whole movie just doesn't make sense.
Come to think of it, ALL of Don Bluth's movies have had good animation.
Not such a good animated feature in my opinion, but I'm sure many kids would like it.
This time, I didn't enjoy it so much, but that wasn't surprising.Chanticleer is a musical rooster who sings early every morning on the farm.
The animals on the farm now realize that Chanticleer really is needed for the sun to rise, so several of them, including Edmond (a young boy who has been turned into a cat by an evil owl), set out to find the singing rooster in the city, before the flood gets so high that everyone drowns!
So, I can understand why this movie is so highly criticised, but those who have seen it as adults and don't like it should remember its audience.In my opinion, "Rock-A-Doodle" is one unmemorable peace of animation, with a rather bland plot.
For that reason, I do recommend this Don Bluth movie for kids who are into animated adventures.
Before I get into this film, I'd just like to comment on the last few minutes, when little Edmund enters into his fantasy world of singing daisies, talking birds and day-glo skies for the first time (can I take some of what he's having)?
Seriously, Don Bluth should be ashamed of himself for the whole mess, and after watching how bad the effects are at the end it's almost impossible to remember the rest of the movie.
But I'll try.So here we go: A young boy turned into a cat by a wicked Owl, must venture into the the city with his animal friends and locate an escapee rooster from the farm whose crow every morning helped the sun rise.
LOL These same people who love American Tail and the Land Before Time are actually criticizing a film WITH THE EXACT SAME TYPE OF ANIMATION!?
I have sat through BAD voice-acting, (early dubbed anime, anyone!?) horrible songs, terrible characters, awful, FLAT animation, the whole lot....and Rock-a-Doodle shines like a gem next to these.
Rock-A-Doodle is exceptionally GOOD at being a film that feels like a dream.
I love being treated as an adult and actually having to use my brain.....during a KID'S film.If you're tired of that same-old-same-old protective Disney bubble that doesn't really let you think outside the box and want something really interesting and out of the ordinary, PLEASE give this movie a look.
The solution they come up with is that the events of most of the movie were just a dream, but because of the power of little Edmond's belief in Chanticleer, their worlds merge in a great cosmic polymerization.
This film is one of the most undeservedly underrated of the good old Bluth movies, I think.
Okay, then they wouldn't have hated the sun so much, but having owls wanting to eat pigs doesn't make any more sense!2) Story logic: Everyone believes Chanticleer makes the sun rise every morning, but then they see it come up without him, so they think he's a fraud.
I saw this movie when I was 7, and was confused by that.3) Okay, so the sun can't come up and it's always night; why does that make it rain and flood as well?4) The live-action scenes are shot so terribly!
Seriously, they look like a bad home movie.5) Edmond can't act, but if you think about it; his entire storyline is really unnecessary.
You could just cut him out, cut out all the live-action stuff, told the whole movie as just a straight cartoon, and still have the same story.6) With all respect to Phil Harris and his long resume of animated voice work, I think he's one of the most annoying narrators in film history.
Just imagine if one day the sun just didn't come up, but went back down." Then he just KEEPS ON TALKING, sometimes over very dramatic scenes.Patou: (narrating) If Edmond wanted to bring Chanticleer back to raise the sun, the Duke was going to have something to say about it.
Just let us enjoy the movie!!7) The climax: after going on this "amazing adventure," it all comes down to a stupid climax of convincing Chanticleer to crow, but he doesn't feel like it.
I've got to say the Duke's voice acting is great and greatly animated as well as Chanticleer's singing scenes.
Coming after such great movies like The Secret of Nimh, American Tail and The Land Before Time it's baffling how Don Bluth could make something like Rock-A-Doodle.
The film has things going for it, like some of the voice cast is pretty good, and the animation is nice but the story...
Well the story is there's a rooster named Chanticleer (voiced and sung by country singer Glen Campbell) who's job is to crow every morning to bring the sun up.
He's cast out as a charlatan by his fellow farm animals and leaves for the nearby city.It turns out this was a story that was being read to a small boy named Edmund.
One of Chanticleer's old friends, Patou the dog (voiced by the late Phil Harris) saves Edmund and is joined by other animals from the farm.
Like if Chanticleer was really responsible for raising the sun, why did it come up that one time?
This causes the animals to try and boost Chanticleer's confidence until he finally crows and brings up the sun, sending the owls flying and turning the Duke into a midget for whatever reason.
Apart from some good animation and a decent cast this film isn't really for those looking for the high quality of Don Bluth's other movies..
Rock-a-doodle is one of those films that could have been several times better than the end result.The story is somewhat passable, but it's full of plot holes, like the fact that the sun rose without Chanticleer, it sets almost immediately, and then it turns out he's needed for the sun to rise.
Edmund, our main hero may be cute, but he is just plain annoying, the Owls can't go five freaking minuets without singing, etc.The plot of the film is that this rooster named Chanticleer, (voiced by Glenn Cambell) has a job that is to wake up the sun by crowing.
After Edmund is rescued by a Dog named Patoo, Edmund and a bunch of the other animals go to find Chanticleer, because apparently his crowing DID bring the sun up, (plot hole alert) Thats all Im going to say about the story, while its not bad, it kind of drags after a while.
Well this film went everywhere wrong and more.The film follows the story of a rooster named Chanticleer voiced by Glen Campbell whose crowing makes the sun come up.
This film not only jumps around without warning but the story of Edmonds farm is never resolved yet it spends more time on Edmond then on Chanticleer.
I don't know what Don Bluth was thinking when he made this silly, nonsensical animated musical about a singing rooster, but I know what I'm thinking: "Why?" ROCK-A-DOODLE isn't as depressing or dreary as Bluth's previous ALL DOGS GO TO HEAVEN, but it's not much better.The film tells the story of Chanticleer, a barnyard rooster with a golden voice whose crooning -- sorry, crowing -- makes the sun rise every day.
Then it starts to rain, and before long, all the animals are terrorized by both floods and the evil Grand Duke of Owls, who, it turns out, actually set up the whole thing simply because he dislikes the sun.
If the animals can bring Chanticleer back to the farm, the sun will once again rise and the floods will stop.
This subplot feels like it was tacked onto the story, hence one gets the feeling that it came out of nowhere.There are also two live-action/animation sequences in the movie, but unlike WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT, they come across as very patchy and unconvincing--the real-life surroundings don't mesh well with the drawings, and it looks especially bad at the song and dance finale when the kid actor playing Edmond, Toby Scott-Granger, is brought back to the cartoon world.