[[quoteright:220:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/r-a-d.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:220:The only film in history to have a chicken lady, a rooster Elvis impersonator, and a BalefulPolymorph at the same time. [[DerangedAnimation And it just gets weirder from there...]]]]

Okay, stay with us here.

This is a very loose AdaptationExpansion of the tale of Chanticleer the rooster, who believed his crowing made the sun shine. It is also an equally loose adaptation of the play [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chantecler_(play) ''Chanticler'']] by the French writer Edmond Rostand (also known for ''Main/CyranoDeBergerac''), bearing little resemblance to it apart from some of the characters.

In this version, Chanticleer is an [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed affectionate caricature of Elvis Presley]]. After learning his singing doesn't have any effect on the weather, he runs away to seek his fortune as a rich rock star. Wouldn't you know it, Chanticleer ''does'' control the weather, so his friends run after him to try and convince him to come home and save the farm from flooding. [[hottip:* :It wasn't necessarily the ''WEATHER'' Chanticleer controlled, but rather [[spoiler:the sunrise. Without his crowing every morning, the sun would never rise.]] Fortunately, [[CelebrityIsOverrated Chanticleer is disillusioned with his fame and fortune and fandom]], and agrees to return to the farm and save the day.

Pretty straightforward as far as animated folktales go, right? Well, no. Because we didn't mention the [[BigBad Grand Duke]], an evil wizard owl who hates the sun and wants it to rain forever. Or, speaking of, the flood that started once Chanticleer left.

The disastrous box office failure of the film led to the bankruptcy of Creator/DonBluth's studio.

To be fair, although the film runs in the exact opposite direction of everything Don Bluth stood for (including purposefully toning down anything truly scary), the film at least includes the very pretty character and effects animation that Bluth is well known for -- as well as quite a ''lot'' of his characteristic weirdness. A few folks even have warm nostalgia for the utter randomness and weird characters. And after all, the whole movie is ''supposed'' to be [[DerangedAnimation a sick kid's fever dream...]]

A making-of featurette can be seen [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsXU2cYF_98 here.]]

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!!This movie shows examples of...

* AbsoluteCleavage: Goldie.
* AbsurdlyLongLimousine: Pinky Fox drives a large, pink limo with twelve wheels. Toward the end of the film, when Edmund, Patou, Peepers, and Snipes attempt to get Chanticleer back to their farm to stop the villainous owl, they actually all steal Pinky's limo before Peepers gets them all to escape using another vehicle they all stole: Pinky's helicopter.
* ActionGirl: Peepers.
* AdaptationalVillainy: Inverted with Snipes. In the original Rostand play, the blackbird was a villainous character who conspired with the predators of the night against the farm animals, along with the farm's [[CatsAreMean cat]]. In the movie, his counterpart Snipes is a {{Jerkass}}, but is an ally of Chanticleer and not an outright villain.
* {{Adorkable}}: Peepers, again.
* AllJustADream: According to the BookEnds, the whole movie is supposedly a story told to a sick kid by his mother.
** OrWasItADream: Well, the ({{Narm}}y) closing sequence that [[SpecialEffectsFailure awkwardly combines]] [[RogerRabbitEffect reality and animation]] certainly doesn't think so!
*** It's worth noting that Patoo's narration implies that the tale of Chanticleer, the kid's fever dream, ''and'' the live-action bits are '''all''' real. Maybe. Have we mentioned that there are moments in the script that are confusing?
* AlternateAnimalAffection: This movie has the "squashy beaks" variant, so birds can kiss like humans.
* {{Animorphism}}: The main storyline character is the kid from the BookEnds, who is turned into a kitten by the Grand Duke. Because FurriesAreEasierToDraw. And (thanks to his little-kid intonation) it sounds like he even calls himself a [[FurryFandom furry]].
** The weirdest thing about this whole plot element? It has absolutely no bearing whatsoever on the story; it's mentioned at the very beginning and end of the animated portion and in a few lines that sound like they were thrown in as an afterthought. This leads more evidence to the ThrowItIn nature of the live-action/animation sequences.
* AristocratsAreEvil: The villain is the ''Grand Duke'' of Owls.
* AscendedExtra: In the Rostand play, the Grand Duke and Patou only appear briefly, although Patou does warn Chanticler about the treacherous Blackbird. The Blackbird and the rival rooster who fights Chanticleer are the main antagonists in the play.
* AstronomicZoom: Done in the opening, going from a view of the earth from orbit to Chanticleer's uvula in a matter of seconds.
* AxCrazy: Hunch. He'd be frightening if he weren't so pathetically incompetant.
* BalefulPolymorph: The vulnerable nature of this was handwaved to be the reason why Edmund was transformed in the first place.
* BecomingTheMask: Goldie, a BrainlessBeauty of a chorus girl, is ordered by her boss Pinky (who is taking orders directly from the Duke), to act as a LoveInterest for Chanticleer, in order to keep him distracted and thus not crowing. As time goes by, however, she genuinely falls for him.
* BigBad: The Grand Duke of Owls
* BigBadDuumvirate: The Grand Duke and Pinky. When the writers agree that Pinky is the Duke's minion.
* BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler: How Peepers returns from her DisneyDeath in the climax, catching Edmund and the rest of her falling friends in ''Pinky's helicopter.'']]
* ButtMonkey: An [[http://oi52.tinypic.com/oky5uw.jpg unnamed owl]] is always maltreated by the Grand Duke.
** Hunch is also regularly abused, beaten, and inadvertently transformed into things you'd see in a fever dream.
* CallOnMe: Subverted; during the flood scene at the beginning, Edmund runs up to the window and tries to summon Chanticleer by [[SayMyName shouting out his name]], only for the Grand Duke to appear instead.
* CaptainObvious: Edmund, who, throughout the film, repeats everything several times.
* CarnivoreConfusion: If animals in the world the Grand Duke transports Edmond to all live in the city or at least in a human like way, how are carnivores supposed to get their meal? On another note, since when do owls eat pigs, chickens, or turkeys?
** Since always. Large owls such as the Great Horned Owl and the Eagle Owl (which is also called the Grand Duke, btw), will hunt and eat anything from rats and rabbits to piglets, cats, small dogs and even small sheep and fawns. This, of course, doesn't explain why the Duke and his owls are so friggin huge compared to the pig (which doesn't seem to be a piglet anyways) and the other farm animals.
** FurryConfusion: Actually, the weirdest part about all this is the fact that the city is inhabited by animal-people. So... what does this mean for Edmund and his human family?
* CoolAirship: Averted with Pinky's pink airship, which looks more like a flying caterpillar.
* CoolCar: Pinky's Pink Cadillac.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Pinky.
* CowboyBebopAtHisComputer: The plot outline on the current DVD states that Chanticleer forgets to rise the sun because of "oversleeping". Either that, or "oversleeping" is slang term for "being in a fight with one of the villain's goons".
* DetailHoggingCover: Averted, the DVD cover seems to have rather cheap flatly colored drawings on a sparse background.
** Played straight with the VHS cover, which featured the poster art.
* DisneyDeath: [[spoiler: Peepers in the CarChase sequence, and Edmund in the finale.]]
* TheDogBitesBack: [[spoiler: At the end of the film, the Duke is reduced to a size even smaller than Hunch, who immediately pounces on the opportunity to take revenge on his uncle for all of his abuse.]]
* DrunkenMontage: Happens in one scene when the characters are trying to find Chanticleer.
* ElvisImpersonator: Well, an Elvis parody, anyway - right down to calling himself "The King."
* ElmuhFuddSyndwome: Edmund. It's so bad it is that sometimes you ''can't understand what he's saying''.
* EvilSorcerer: The Grand Duke.
* EvilUncle: "Uncle Dukie," the Grand Duke of Owls.
* {{Expy}}: Goldie's design is very reminiscent of Princess Daphne from the DragonsLair games if she were a mutant bird thing.
** Also her shiny, sparkling, revealing red dress makes her design similar to an anthropomorphic bird version of Jessica Rabbit.
* [[FatSweatySouthernerInAWhiteSuit Fat Southern Fox In Striped Pants]]: Pinky. He even plays golf and [[CigarChomper chomps cigars.]]
** The fact that he's voiced by [[DukesOfHazzard Boss Hogg]] himself dials this trope UpToEleven!
* FeatherFingers
* FixItInPost: Almost all of the songs are completely covered up by narration and dialog, leaving it as muffled quiet background noise. It was becasue it simply didn't make enough scenes for proper exposition and speech isn't clear, and the narration was added after test-screening the film.
* ForTheEvulz: The Duke doesn't seem to have much of a motive for making sure the sun never comes back other than hating the sun.
* FrothyMugsOfWater: Most obvious in the scene where Goldie, um, seduces Chanticleer on a giant swing. She appears to be pouring martini glasses full of what looks to be ''milk'' down his throat. [[{{Squick}} Ick.]] It's supposed to be soda, as you can see from a bottle of King Soda earlier in the scene, but it still looks like milk.
* FurryConfusion: Okay, so in the beginning the animals live on a farm. Then, after Edmund shows up, they all go to the city. But the city is not populated by humans, but instead by more {{Funny Animal}}s. A-bwauh?!?
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: When Hunch breaks into Pinky's aircraft while the good guys are trying to escape, he jumps down from the aircraft's entrance, hangs from a rope and, for a brief second, stares at Goldie's breasts before she slaps him away. Made funnier with Charles Nelson Reilly's signature "Hur hrrrmmm" laugh (and even funnier when one realizes that Reilly was gay).
** When Goldie sullenly complains that she's too good to be just a chorus girl, Pinky snidely suggests that she could "give up show biz." Whether she's appalled at the general idea or at the, ah, [[TheOldestProfession other]] implications of that suggestion, well...
* GoodAnimalsEvilAnimals: Owls are evil, all other animals (except frogs/toads and foxes) are good.
* HammeredIntoTheGround: During the climax, Chanticleer gets nailed to the ground by the Grand Duke's magic.
* HappilyEverAfter
* HeelFaceTurn: Goldie, as a result of BecomingTheMask. Thought she wasn't exactly evil to begin with, just rather easily manipulated by Pinky.
* {{Jerkass}}: Snipes the magpie. He gets better.
* KarmicTransformation: Edmund, a "scaredy-''cat''", gets turned into a ''cat'' by the Duke. This was actually so that the Duke could eat him for trying to call back Chanticleer ("Kittens are more digestible", apparently) but the point still stands.
* KickTheDog: The Duke threatens to kill and eat [[AbusiveParents his own nephew]] if Hunch fails to stop Edmund and his friends from reaching Chanticleer. And one of Pinky's toad bodyguards kicks a grill for no reason.
* LargeHam: The Duke and Hunch.
-->"But you see, we creatures of the night have worked very hard to make absoLYUUTEly sure that that... BIRD does not return! And you... you, with no regards for the feelings of others, have the NERVE to call him BACK here by NAME! And besides, I positively LOATHE rock 'n' ROLL!"
* LethalJokeCharacter: Hunch has a Swiss army knife with everything in it. This would make it seem like the heroes are doomed to death, but Hunch is as dim-witted as he is aggressive, coming to the Grand Duke's disadvantage.
* LightIsGood / DarkIsEvil
* LimitBreak: Chanticleer's crowing at the climax of the movie.
* MindScrew: Oh yeah, most of it unintentional.
* MinionWithAnFInEvil: Hunch, who attempts to kill Edmond's group ''twice'', but only helps them get further along in their mission. The first time, he "sucked em' into an adequate pipe" which only lead them to the city and the second time he tried killing them while they were tied up, but he only let them loose.
** Lampshaded by Patoo's narration, pointing out that Hunch was "more of a [[IncrediblyLamePun hoot]] than he was horrible, but still he was a nuisance."
* MinorInjuryOverreaction: Goldie's reaction to losing her high heels while climbing a ladder
--> Aaaaah! My SHOOOOOOOOOOOOEEEEESSS!!!
** Hilariously, Goldie's shoes reappear on her feet a couple shots later, and keep disappearing and reappearing throughout the final scenes.
** How about The Duke singing about how Patoo bit his leg? Complete with one of his henchmen standing behind him making the sad face.
*** To be fair Patoo got a pretty good chunk in the bite, which had to hurt, and likely would have broken the leg had the Duke not managed to shake him off. Still [[LargeHam hammy]] though.
*** It was bad enough that he had to have the wound dressed for most of the movie, and the movie had to take place over a minimum of three or four days.
* MissedHimByThatMuch: Once Edmund and the gang arrive in the city, there is ''a whole montage'' of them just barely missing glimpses of Chanticleer. Once again, Patoo lampshades this in the narration.
* MrExposition: Patoo the dog doubles as the narrator, who explains. Every. Single. Thing. That. Goes. On. In the movie. Except for the ''really'' weird things, which you'd think would have demanded further explanation.
* NiceHat: Edmond's raccoon-fur hat. Although coupled with his long-sleeved baggy sweatshirt it makes him look like a {{Palette Swap}}ped [[WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail Fievel]] sometimes.
* TheNightThatNeverEnds: Brought on by Chanticleer not being around to raise the sun, except for that one time where it did come up without him.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Goldie's voice calls to mind that of MarilynMonroe.
* NoNameGiven: The Duke's owl henchmen (besides Hunch), the rabbit that warns Stewie the pig as the flashlight is going out, and all of the other farm animals that stay at Edmond's house and nearly get eaten by the Duke.
** [[AllThereInTheManual According to]] ''The Animated Movie Guide'', the rabbit's name is Minnie.
* NonmammalianHair: Chanticleer and Goldie.
* NonMammalMammaries: Goldie.
* OneForSorrowTwoForJoy: Snipes the magpie.
* OneWingedAngel : Near the end, the Grand Duke regurgitates magic all over himself and becomes a giant tornado demon.
** ClippedWingAngel: [[spoiler:After Chanticleer does his thing at the climax, the Grand Duke is shrunk to barely a couple inches high, even smaller than his own nephew, who then chases him off trying to eat him.]]
* OwlBeDamned: The Grand Duke and his minions.
* PettingZooPeople with a NonMammalMammaries chaser: Thanks to Creator/DonBluth's ''bizarre'' idea of attempting to mimic Jessica Rabbit's sex appeal.
* PlummetPerspective: "MY SHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOES!!!"
* PlotHole: The sun rising once (and only once) without Chanticleer is never explained. Then there's the ending, which seems to imply that the whole thing was a fever-dream. No, wait, it was real. No, wait... aw, forget it. Roll credits.
** The opening narration seems to imply the sun woke up, took a look around, and then went back to sleep... which still doesn't explain the situation since Chanticleer was supposed to ''raise'' the sun, implying that the sun shouldn't have risen at all unless he crowed...
*** You're presumably supposed to assume that since the Duke has magical powers and arranged the whole thing, he was also able to make the sun rise temporarily to fool everyone. Why they don't notice the sun going back down as Chanticleer leaves is another question.
*** The way this troper understands it is the sun is like an electric alarm clock. It has a little battery with a couple hours of emergency power but needs an outside source of energy (in this case, Chanticleer's crowing) to continually function. The sun rising without the crow and then going down that one time is it using up its reserve power. When Chanticleer gives that '''''big''''' crow at the end, it supercharges the sun, causing it to rise to mid-day levels almost immediately.
* ThePowerOfRock
* PunchClockVillain: It is implied by the way Hunch walks to the Duke with a smile that says "Finally!" whenever the Duke says "Come to Uncle" that he just wants his uncle's attention. The reason why he looks so happy when he thinks he's about to kill the good guys is most likely because he knows if he gets the job done right, his [[EvilUncle Uncle Dukey]] will love him. Murray, Pinky's assistant, may also count, although we don't see much of him.
* RealityWarper: The Duke's magic seems to have this effect.
* TheRenaissanceAgeOfAnimation
* RidiculouslyCuteCritter: Just how old is that kid supposed to be?
** Hilariously, the trailers for the movie ''dubbed the kid's voice over with another actor'', correctly assuming that hearing him talk would not be an incentive to see the film. They kept it in the actual movie, sadly.
* RogerRabbitEffect: The transitions between the Live-Action and Animated segments. The effects are pretty embarrassing in the wake of ''Roger Rabbit'' though.
* SayMyName: "CHANTICLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER!!!"
* ShoutOut: When Edmund and co. are floating down the river on the way to the city, Hunch and the owls prepare to attack, while Hunch is humming [[PublicDomainSoundtrack "Ride of]] [[Film/ApocalypseNow the Valkyries".]]
** Edmond is named after the French writer Edmond Rostand, who wrote the play that the movie is (very) loosely adapted from.
* SissyVillain: The Grand Duke, voiced by [[GentlemanSnarker Christopher Plummer]], enjoys baking and embroidery, and is a phone cord twiddler. Poor guy wasn't allowed to do anything ''really'' evil after the concerned parents in the preview audiences got through with him.
** Hunch is even worse though. Oh, and BewareTheNiceOnes- the bakers/phone cord twiddlers are the true psychopaths.
* SmugSnake: The Duke.
* SpeciesSurname: "Grand Duc" is the French name for the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_eagle_owl eagle owl]]. Compare the photo on that page to the Duke's character design.
* SpellMyNameWithAThe: The Grand Duke of Owls or sometimes just "The Duke".
* SwissArmyWeapon: Hunch has one of these with nearly every common item you could think of in it.
* ThatRemindsMeOfASong: Everyone will sing about pretty much anything going on. A group of bouncers sing about how they're bouncing groupies. The owls sing about how they hate the sun. The owls sing about how they're eating the farm animals or how farm animals are running out of batteries.
* ThirdPersonPerson: Sometimes the Duke talks like this, such as "But that is not why '''The Duke''' is going to eat you.", and "'''The Duke''' gives you one last chance!".
* ThisWasHisTrueForm: [[spoiler:When Edmund "dies," he returns to his live-action human form.]]
* ToothyBird: Since there are so many birds in this movie, of course some of them are bound to show their pearly whites at at least one point in the movie.
* TheUnseen: Murray (Pinky's chauffeur/valet), until the chase, where he becomes a OneSceneWonder.
* UntoUsASonAndDaughterAreBorn: At the end, you can see Chanticleer and Goldie's son and daughter ''very'' briefly. Look for them sitting on the first rung of a fence during the finale.
** BabiesEverAfter
* VerbalTic: Hunch has a bizarre fondness for words that end in the "-ation" suffix, particularly when he's excited.
* VillainSong: The Duke and his owls get three -- ''"Never Let Him Crow/We Hate the Sun"'', ''"No Batteries!"'' and ''"The Owl's Picnic"''.
** "[[{{Narm}} TWIDDLY-DEE, TWIDDLY-DEE]]"
* WeaksauceWeakness: The owls hate the light. Any kind of light at all. Even a measly ''flashlight'' is enough to chase the Grand Duke away.
* WhatsHeGotThatIAintGot: While complaining to Pinky about her jealousy of Chanticleer, Goldie says this line verbatim.
* [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes Why Did It Have To Be Closed Spaces?:]] Snipes is horribly claustrophobic.
* WouldHurtAChild: The Duke frequently threatens to kill and/or eat Edmund, who can't be much older than six (and that's being ''generous''). Oh, and [[spoiler:he actually strangles the poor kid nearly to death in the climax.]]
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