"Now I know an everyday sunrise might not seem like such a big deal to some folks, but imagine for a moment if instead of rising up like this; one morning where you lived, she took a look around and decided to go back to sleep? It happened once to us! Let me tell you all about it."
— Patou
Rock-A-Doodle is a 1991 Don Bluth film and a very loose Adaptation Expansion 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 ''Chanticler''
by the French writer Edmond Rostand (also known for Cyrano de Bergerac), bearing little resemblance to it apart from some of the characters.
In this version, Chanticleer (voiced by Glen Campbell) is an affectionate caricature of Elvis Presley. After learning his singing doesn't raise the sun, he runs away to look for work in the city, and becomes a famous rock star. Wouldn't you know it, Chanticleer does raise the sun, so his friends run after him to try and convince him to come home and save the farm from the Grand Duke of Owls (Christopher Plummer), an evil wizard owl who hates the sun and wants it to rain forever. Fortunately, Chanticleer is disillusioned with his fame and fortune and fandom, and agrees to return to the farm and save the day—unless his manager Pinky the fox (Sorrell Booke), who is secretly in league with the Grand Duke, has anything to say about it.
The disastrous box office failure of the film led to the bankruptcy of Bluth's studio.
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 all just a sick kid's fever dream...note
A making-of featurette can be seen here.
This movie shows examples of...
- Absurdly-Long Limousine: Pinky Fox drives a large, pink limo with twelve wheels. Toward the end of the film, when Edmond, 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.
- Adaptational Heroism: 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 cat. In the movie, his counterpart Snipes is a Jerkass but is an ally of Chanticleer and not an outright villain.
- All Just a Dream: According to the Book Ends, the whole movie is supposedly kick-started by a story told to a sick kid by his mother before they dream the rest of the events up.
- Or Was It a Dream?: Well, the closing sequence that incorporates the live-action Edmond into the animated farm certainly doesn't think so.
- All Men Are Perverts:
- Subverted; when Edmond calls the animals trapped on the farm, Stuey the Pig hops on to a floating dress from making his way to the phone and accidentally fondles it; he quickly apologizes to the inanimate object.
- Played straight with Hunch, who becomes excited at the sight of Goldie's ensemble on the helicopter just before she smacks him away.
- Alternate Animal Affection: This movie has the Mouthy Bird variant, so birds can kiss like humans.
- Animorphism: Edmond is turned into a kitten by the Grand Duke because kittens are "easier to digest".
- Apathetic Citizens: Very little alarm is raised among the city dwellers over the cataclysmic flooding taking place in the countryside just miles outside of town. Justified in Pinky's case as he's in cahoots with the Duke.
- Aristocrats Are Evil: The villain is the Grand Duke of Owls who wants the night to last forever in order to eat the denizens of the farm.
- Art Initiates Life: When Edmond pokes the Grand Duke's picture in the storybook his mother is reading to him at the beginning, there is the sound of glass cracking. When the Grand Duke later shows up, his monocle is broken. At the end of the movie, Chanticleer comes out of the book and takes Edmond to the cartoon farm.
- Ascended Extra: In the Rostand play, the Grand Duke of Owls and Patou only appear briefly, although Patou does warn Chanticleer about the treacherous Blackbird. The Blackbird and the rival rooster who fights Chanticleer are the main antagonists in the play.
- Astronomic Zoom: Done in the opening, going from a view of the earth from orbit to Chanticleer's uvula in a matter of seconds.
- Avoid the Dreaded G Rating: Inverted as Don Bluth fought to keep the film G rated. The drink Goldie pours down Chanticleer's throat had to be changed from wine to soda. He also had to tone down some of the Grand Duke's misdeeds such as removing the scene where he cooks a baby skunk into a pie.
- Babies Ever After: In the final musical number, Chanticleer and Goldie's two chicks can be seen sitting on the fence.
- Becoming the Mask: Goldie, a Brainless Beauty of a chorus girl, is ordered by her boss Pinky (who is taking orders directly from the Duke), to act as a Love Interest for Chanticleer, in order to keep him distracted and thus not crowing. As time goes by, however, she genuinely falls for him.
- Berserk Button: The Grand Duke hates Chanticleer with a passion. Just saying his name will have him gunning for you.
- Big Bad Duumvirate: The Grand Duke of Owls and Pinky, at least whenever the writers agree that Pinky is the Grand Duke's minion.
- Big Damn Heroes: As Edmond and the others fall from a tower, Peepers returns from her Disney Death and rescues them in Pinky's helicopter.
- Earlier in the movie, Patou rushes in and bites the Grand Duke on the leg right before he can eat Edmond.
- Big Eater: Snipes can easily gorge on a hunk of lasagna and a slice of pie, both of which are about as big as him.
- Blackmail:
- Pinky orders Goldie to cooperate with Chanticleer, "unless she wants to give up showbiz". Her shock of horror implies she had a far less meaningful life, or she just doesn't want to give up her fame.
- When Chanticleer learns that his boss Pinky has captured his friends, he refuses to work for him anymore, only for Pinky to threaten the lives of his friends.Chanticleer: That's blackmail!Pinky: That's showbiz.note
- Bland-Name Product: Edmond and the gang sailed through a flooded town which has a Dairy King restaurant, an obvious reference to Dairy Queen.note
- Bilingual Bonus: A subtle nod for French speakers in the villain's name. "Grand-duc" (translating as Great or Grand Duke) is, in fact, the French name for the Eurasian eagle-owl.
- Bound and Gagged: The farm animals are captured for blackmail... for about a minute, before The Grand Duke's nephew frees them on accident.
- Breath Weapon: The Duke's magic is cast by exhaling clouds with star and moon shapes inside them.
- Butt-Monkey:
- Hunch is also regularly abused, beaten, and inadvertently transformed into various objects.
- Call on Me: Subverted; during the flood scene at the beginning, Edmond runs up to the window and tries to summon Chanticleer by shouting out his name, only for the Grand Duke to appear instead.
- The Cameo: When the Grand Duke of Owls was facing Edmond in the real world, you can see a Woody Woodpecker comic book on the floor.
- Carnivore Confusion: The animals in the world the Grand Duke transports Edmond to are all anthropomorphic, raising questions of what the carnivores are supposed to eat.
- Cartoon Physics: Light beams have the same effect on the owls as a high-power firehose.
- Casting Gag: In the Japanese dub, Chanticleer is voiced by Tesshō Genda, who is the official Japanese dub voice of Foghorn Leghorn, another rooster.
- Cats Are Mean: Averted, surprisingly for a Bluth movie. Ironic in that the cat in the original story of Chanticleer was a villain.
- Clipped-Wing Angel: 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.
- Crisis Makes Perfect: When the Grand Duke's storm threatened to destroy the farm and his friends were in danger, Chanticleer is able to overcome his Heroic BSoD and gets his crow back.
- Demoted to Extra: In the Rostand play, the rival rooster who fights Chauntecleer is one of the play's main antagonists. Here, he only appears very briefly.
- Detail-Hogging Cover: The VHS cover, which featured the poster art.
- Disney Death:
- During the Car Chase, Peepers detaches the car from the trailer, but accidentally ends up on the trailer as it rolls away and crashes. Edmond won't give up hope, however, and drives back to the crash site to look for her. Sure enough, she turns out to have survived and pilots Pinky's helicopter to rescue the others.
- In the finale, the Duke strangles Edmond, and after his defeat, the animals mourn Edmond's apparent death. He only revives when he wakes up from his dream in the real world.
- The Dog Bites Back: 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.
- Drowning Pit: Snipes accidentally causes one of these when his claustrophobia kicks in while they're trapped in a toy box going through an aqueduct pipe. He tries to peck his way out of the box, but this only ends up flooding the toy box. Luckily, they get out of the aqueduct pipe and get the lid of the toy box open before anyone drowns.
- Drunken Montage: Happens in one scene when the characters are trying to find Chanticleer.
- Elvis Impersonator: Well, an Elvis parody, anyway - right down to calling himself "The King."
- Elmuh Fudd Syndwome: Edmond speaks in this manner due to his age.
- Evil Is Petty: Downplayed by the Duke. He does point out that he's upset that Edmond broke his monocle, but it's not the real reason he was going to eat him.
- Fat Southern Fox In Striped Pants: Pinky. He even plays golf and chomps cigars. The fact that he's voiced by Sorrell Booke (Boss Hogg) himself dials this trope up!
- The '50s: A newspaper even gives the date as 1959.
- Fix It in Post: Almost all of the songs are completely covered up by narration and dialog, leaving it as muffled quiet background noise. It was because it simply didn't make enough scenes for proper exposition gand speech isn't clear, and the narration was added after test-screening the film.
- Forced Transformation: Edmond's transformation into a kitten. Edmond, a "scaredy-cat"note , 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 it's quite ironic.
- Foregone Conclusion: We already know ahead of time Goldie will pull a Heel–Face Turn, thanks to the narration."Fortunately for us, Goldie was a lot smarter than she sounded, and a lot nicer too. She just didn't know it yet."
- Foreshadowing: Right before Grand Duke of Owls transforms Edmond into a kitten, Patou, as the narrator, states that "Edmond was about to have the most amazing adventure he'd ever dreamed of." To the film's credit, it was pretty intense for a young child.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: If one pauses during a shot of the pages to Edmond's Chanticleer book, they'll see the text on the pages does not in any way correspond with what's actually happening in-story. That is to say, it has nothing to do with Chanticleer shamefully leaving the farm, and the Grand Duke watching nearby. The text also mentions an unknown character named Briflaut.
- Frothy Mugs of Water: Most obvious in the scene where Goldie seduces Chanticleer on a giant swing. She appears to be pouring martini glasses full of soda down his throat.
- Furry Confusion:
- In the beginning, the animals live on a farm. Then, after Edmond shows up, they all go to the city. But the city is not populated by humans, but instead by more Funny Animals. Considering Edmond's mother thinks Chanticleer is fictional, it's possible they happen in two completely different universes.
- Right after being turned into a cat, Edmond is afraid of Patou (a dog), licks himself and almost tries to eat Peepers (a mouse). Then hangs a lampshade on it by saying, in a grossed out voice, "I almost ate a mouse! I must be crazy!" (He also comments on licking himself!)
- The entire plot is kicked off by a strange rooster (sent by the Duke) sneaking onto the farm to pick a fight with Chanticleer and distract him from raising the sun. Their battle consists of a very realistic cockfight, their arms turn into feathered wings, and the stranger is even wearing metal gaffs.
- Game of Chicken: While being chased by Pinky and his goons, Edmond turns the car he and the animals are in around, on direct course with Pinky's golf cart. Pinky turns off not because he's scared, but because the heroes were in his Cadilac.
- Good Animals, Evil Animals: Owls are evil, all other animals (except frogs/toads and foxes) are good.
- Gosh Dang It to Heck!: "Aah, this is flipping garbage!" Snipes says.
- Hammered into the Ground: During the climax, Chanticleer gets nailed to the ground by the Grand Duke's magic taking the form of a mallet.
- Heel–Face Turn: Goldie, as a result of Becoming the Mask. Thought she wasn't exactly evil to begin with, just rather easily manipulated by Pinky.
- Hellish Pupils: The Grand Duke's pupils become silted just before going One-Winged Angel.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Edmond in the finale nearly dies when he tries to save Chanticleer.
- High-Class Glass: The Grand Duke of Owls had a monocle at first, but Edmnond somehow broke it when he touched the Duke's picture.Duke: These are expensive, little brat.
- Informed Flaw: According to Peepers, Edmond is supposedly either a "fraidy cat" or a "scaredy cat" (she uses both), yet throughout the film he's never shown letting his fear get the best of him, if he's ever shown to be afraid at all. Yet, Edmond's Journey to the Center of the Mind is depicted as him finally overcoming his Fatal Flaw of fear... even though he never let his fear control him before.
- Interspecies Romance: Chanticleer (a rooster) ends up in a relationship with Goldie (a golden pheasant). They have a pair of chicks in the end, which the two species are actually genetically close enough to do.
- I Will Show You X!:The Duke: I'll give you, Chanticleer!
- Just Plane Wrong: Patou actually sends the helicopter into a barrel roll and flies it upside down before righting it back upwards. It's also referred to in dialogue at one point as a Sikorsky; the real Sikorsky never made any twin-rotor helicopters like that, and if anything the helicopter in question bears more of a resemblance to Boeing's Chinook.
- Karmic Transformation: The Grand Duke is shrunken to smaller than the mouse and is immediately chased by Hunch for his abuse towards him.
- Kick the Dog: The Grand Duke threatens to kill and eat his own nephew if Hunch fails to stop Edmond and his friends from reaching Chanticleer.
- Kiddie Kid: Edmond appears to be around 8-9 years old, but talks like he is 4.
- Laborious Laces: Patou the dog always has trouble tying his shoes. Edmond teaches him how to tie them.
- Large Ham: The Grand Duke of Owls 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!"
- Lethal Joke Character: 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, and the knife seldom gives him what he needs.
- Lonely at the Top: Discussed. When Pinky notices that "the King" is awfully depressed for a famous rooster who can have the world, Chantecleer explains he's feeling lonely. An amused Pinky can't believe someone with "twenty-thousand people screaming [his] name" could ever be "lonely", or miss former friends who laughed him out of town. Still, Chantecleer's homesickness is real enough that he has to convince Goldie to use her charm to keep him in the city.
- Losing a Shoe in the Struggle: Goldie loses her shoes while climbing the tower to Pinky's helicopter. The shoes clonk the bad guys who are chasing after them.
- Manipulative Bastard: Pinky is a corrupt, exploitative manager who takes a Heroic BSoD Chanticleer and makes him a star while gaslighting him to think no one at the farm misses him. Pinky also blackmails Goldie into making sure Chanticleer has no reason to leave, manhandling her when she breaks the script and confesses.
- Minion with an F in Evil: 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" (actually an aqueduct 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 Patou's narration, pointing out that Hunch was "more of a hoot than he was horrible, but still he was a nuisance."
- Missed Him by That Much: Once Edmond and the gang arrive in the city, there is a whole montage of them just barely missing glimpses of Chanticleer. Patou lampshades this in the narration.
- Mr. Exposition: Patou the dog doubles as the narrator, who seems to explain everything that goes on in the movie.
- Mundane Solution: When Hunch fears going blind in the brightly lit city, the Duke simply drops a pair of sunglasses to him.
- My God, What Have I Done?: The entire farm's reaction when they realize that, yes, Chanticleer's crowing really does bring up the sun, and by laughing him off the farm they royally screwed up.Edmond: Then the story's true. You all laughed at him, and he ran away!Patou: You're right, son. We've done wrong, and that's why we're searching for the city. We've got to find Chanti, and apologize.First chick: So he'll forgive us.Second chick: Come home.All four chicks: And raise the sun.
- Said almost verbatim by Goldie after she sells out Edmond and the others to Pinky.
- Neon City: When the villain sends his Plucky Comic Relief nephew Hunch to thwart the heroes from contacting Chanticleer, Hunch is truculent, mentioning that the bright lights of the city will make him blind. The villain casually issues Hunch a pair of sunglasses. Truly, the big city is much brighter and busier than the rustic farmlands where the story originates. In fact, the heroes only found Chanticleer by noticing a huge neon likeness of him as an Elvis expy adorning Pinkie's nightclub.
- Nice Day, Deadly Night: The Funny Animal characters in Rock-A-Doodle can go about their business every day because the rooster Chanticleer's crowing summons the sun every morning. That is, until the villain's Evil Plan creates a Break the Cutie moment for The Hero, who ends up sidelined by The Dragon. Under the Duke's sustained nightfall, the small farm animals become easy prey for the Grand Duke and his mooks.
- The Night That Never Ends: Brought on by Chanticleer not being around to raise the sun, except for that one time where it did come up without him.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Goldie's voice calls to mind that of Marilyn Monroe, albeit with a New York accent. (Ellen Greene used the same voice for Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors.)
- No Ending: Played with; the story has definitely reached its conclusion, and everybody goes on to live Happily Ever After, but the film still fades to credits while Chanticleer is still singing his song, leading to a rather abrupt segue from everybody's happy reunion on the farm.
- No Name Given: The Duke's owl henchmen (besides Hunch), the rabbit that warns Stuey 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. According to The Animated Movie Guide (as well as the movie's credits), the rabbit's name is Minnie.note
- Not My Driver: An odd variation. When Edmond and his friends fall from a water tower, they're caught in a helicopter belonging to one of Pinky's minions. Pinky witnesses this and ecstatically orders for the minion to bring them back - only for him to realize that said minion is right behind him. Cut to Peepers in the helicopter cockpit, wondering to herself: "Murray? Who's Murray?"
- Not Using the "Z" Word: While Chanticleer becomes an Elvis impersonator, he is simply referred to as "King", with Elvis's name not being used.
- Oblivious Transformation: Edmond is completely unaware that he's been turned into a cat until he catches sight of his paws.
- Edmond: Jeepers! I'm all Furry!
- Oh, Crap!: Pinky warns Goldie that a "bad kitty" will take away Chanticleer. When she meets Edmond and hears his plea to bring the rooster back to the farm, she realizes this kid is the "bad kitty" and has this reaction before driving him out.
- One-Winged Angel : Near the end, the Grand Duke regurgitates magic all over himself and becomes a giant tornado demon.
- Perpetual Storm: After the Grand Duke of Owls' minions drive Chanticleer away from the farm, he utilized his evil magical powers to conjure up a storm over the entire farmland, and it continues to brew until Chanticleer is finally brought back to the farm and he is able to crow again, thus awaking the sun and foiling the Grand Duke's storm. During this time, the storm even makes headlines: "MYSTERIOUS RAIN SPREADING" and "SUN DON'T SHINE FOR FARMERS". It was All Just a Dream, though.
- Plot Hole: 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...
- Practically Different Generations: Little Edmond has two older brothers in their late teens. Much to Edmond's frustration, they get to help their father work to protect the farm from the storm and flood, while Edmond has to stay inside and go to bed.
- Punch-Clock Villain: It is implied by the way Hunch walks to the Grand Duke of Owls 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 Uncle Dukey will love him. Murray, Pinky's assistant, may also count, although we don't see much of him.
- Random Events Plot: The plot almost runs on stream of conscious logic. Although it may (or may not) be All Just a Dream, so there's your explanation.
- Reused Character Design:
- Goldie's design is very reminiscent of Princess Daphne from the Dragon's Lair games if she were a mutant bird thing.
- Edmond's design is at least partially based on Fievel of An American Tail, another young, fur-covered boy with a big hat and oversized sleeves from one of Bluth's movies.
- Rising Water, Rising Tension: The opening scenes has young Edmond being read a bedtime story by his mother, while his father and older brothers struggle to sustain a barrier of sandbags against floodwaters that threaten to inundate the family farm. Persistent rains aren't helping; a break in the storm clouds is needed desperately.
- Roger Rabbit Effect: The transitions between the Live-Action and Animated segments.
- Sapient Eat Sapient: The owls all seem to delight in taking the time to properly inform their prey that they're going to be eaten. The Grand Duke goes so far as to transform Edmond into a kitten, and explain it's to make him "more digestible."
- Say My Name: Edmond, thinking of the parallels between the storm mentioned in the book and outside his family's house, believes that summoning Chanticleer will bring back the sun, so he yells out his name through the window. All this actually does is cause the Grand Duke of Owls to break into his bedroom."CHANTICLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER!!!"
- Self-Imposed Exile: Chanticleer gets in a tussle with another rooster, and neglects to crow up the morning sun. When the sun rises without his prompt, the farm animals laugh him into exile. He turns up much later in the city as an Elvis expy.
- Shapeshifting Excludes Clothing: The scene where The Duke, the evil owl, turns the live-action human boy Edmond into a cartoon kitten by way of a magic spell. (This particular scene pairs this trope with that of Toon Transformation and Forced Transformation).
- Shaping Your Attacks: The Grand Duke of Owls creates a mallet with his magic to drive Chanticleer into the ground, and a pair of hands that nearly strangle Edmond to death.
- Shipper with an Agenda: Pinky had Goldie seduce Chanticleer in order to keep him from returning to the farm (which would deny him a valuable source of income and be detrimental to the Duke's plans.
- Shout-Out:
- When Edmond and co. are floating down the river on the way to the city, Hunch and the owls prepare to attack, while Hunch is humming "Ride of the Valkyries". Similar to Apocalypse Now.
- Edmond is named after the French writer Edmond Rostand, who wrote the play that the movie is (very) loosely adapted from.
- In the deleted "Skunk Pie" scene, the design of the skunk that the Grand Duke is about to bake into a pie has more than a passing resemblance to Flower from Bambi.
- Shut Up, Hannibal!: The farm animals give a non-verbal but still effective one after The Grand Duke and the owls’ taunting Villain Song about the batteries in their flashlight running low. Right after the song’s over, they manage to turn on the flashlight, which makes the owls scatter like roaches.
- Sissy Villain:
- The Grand Duke, voiced by 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. Well, until the climax anyway, where he almost strangles Edmond to death using his magic, to the point where it looked like Edmond had died, and attempts to drown Chanticleer with a waterspout.
- Hunch is even worse though. Oh, and Beware the Nice Ones- the bakers/phone cord twiddlers are the true psychopaths.
- Somewhere, an Ornithologist Is Crying: Owls hate the rain as much as any barn animal. Among other reasons, they are not aquatic birds; their feathers get soaked, rendering them incapable of flight, like most birds of prey. They also prefer things dark and dry, so the slightest snap of a twig or crunch of leaves can alert their fantastic hearing to far-away prey.
- Spanner in the Works: Hunch may be a Harmless Villain but his interference has caused the heroes a few problems, most notably when he caused their helicopter to crash when they were attempting to land.
- Speech Impediment: Averted with Peepers. She has a lisp, but it doesn't prevent her from being understood, nor from being the generally smartest, bravest, and most competent member of the group. She isn't even shamed when Snipes tries to make fun of her for it, as she considers her lisp something that makes her more special, not less.
- Species Surname: "Grand Duc" is the French name for the eagle owl. Compare the photo on that page to the Duke's character design.
- Spell My Name with a "The": The Grand Duke of Owls or sometimes just "The Duke".
- Stay in the Kitchen: Snipes' view of Peepers, much to her annoyance.Snipes: Girls! They think they know everything. Why don't you run along home, be a mouse-wife, make cheese?
Peepers: Snipes, you think you're ssso sssuperior! - Sunglasses at Night: Hunch wears a pair in the city, otherwise he'd go blind with so many bright lights.
- Swiss-Army Weapon: Hunch has one of these with nearly every common item you could think of in it.
- That Reminds Me of a Song: 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.
- Third-Person Person: Sometimes the Grand Duke of Owls 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!".
- This Was His True Form: When Edmond "dies," he returns to his live-action human form.
- Toothy Bird: 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.
- The Unseen: Murray (Pinky's chauffeur/valet), until the chase scene.
- Uptown Girl: Chanticleer and Goldie's relationship, aka Chantigoldie. Averted at the end when Goldie sports farm girl clothing.
- Unto Us a Son and Daughter Are Born: 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.
- Verbal Tic: Hunch has a bizarre fondness for words that end in the "-ation" suffix, particularly when he's excited.
- Viewers Are Morons: Pateau's narration seems to explain everything, including plot points the characters already talked to death and scenes the viewer is watching at that very moment and thus can deduce for themselves. Apparently test audiences were confused on what was going on in test screenings, so they added Pateau's narration to make everything as clear as possible.
- Vile Villain, Laughable Lackey: The Grand Duke is a serious villain, using weather machine clouds to blot out the sun and flood the valley, and he's got magic on top of that. His diminutive but eager nephew Hunch is nowhere near as threatening, as even Patou narrates: "He's more a hoot than horrible..."
- Villainous Breakdown: Pinky undergoes one when he sees that Edmond and the gang have escaped with Chanticleer, his primary cash cow, if you will.Pinky: The King! He's gone! And I'm RUINED! (Sobs pathetically)
- Villain Song: The Duke and his owls get three — "Never Let Him Crow/We Hate the Sun", "No Batteries!" and "The Owl's Picnic".
- Visual Pun: During the "Treasure Hunting Fever" number, the audience is wearing literal "penguin suits" (usually a slang term for tuxedos / dinner jackets).
- Weakened by the Light: Flashlights and camera bulbs are enough to drive off the Grand Duke and his owls, while sunlight strips the Grand Duke of his magic and reduces him to a squab.
- Weaksauce Weakness: The owls hate the light. Any kind of light at all. Even a flashlight is enough to chase the Grand Duke of Owls away. Which, of course, is why the Grand Duke spends the whole movie attempting to make sure Chanticleer is not in a position to raise the sun, the ultimate source of light.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: "Uncle Dukie" to Hunch, very much so. See Punch-Clock Villain, above.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: The rooster that the Duke sends to distract Chanticleer is never seen or mentioned again after the opening scene.
- What's He Got That I Ain't Got?!: While complaining to Pinky about her jealousy of Chanticleer, Goldie says this line verbatim.
- Who's Laughing Now?: Hunch gets this reaction the moment he realizes that he finally has the upper hand against his uncle.
- Why Did It Have To Be Closed Spaces?: Snipes is horribly claustrophobic. Naturally, our heroes find this out at the worst possible time.
- Why Don't Ya Just Shoot Him?: The Grand Duke's goal is to make sure Chanticleer can never raise the sun, so the owls can live in eternal darkness. He chooses to pursue this goal by arranging for Chanticleer to be driven from the farm and become a rock star in the city. It would've been easier to try to kill Chanticleer instead. The Grand Duke wises up in the climax and tries to kill Chanticleer by first hammering him into the ground and then attempting to drown him with a waterspout.
- Would Hurt a Child: The Duke frequently threatens to kill and/or eat Edmond, who can't be much older than six (and that's being generous). Oh, and he actually strangles the poor kid nearly to death in the climax.
- Wraparound Background: Chanticleer and Goldie are sitting on a stationary motorcycle, filming a movie for Pinky's studio. The camera is on their right, while some scenery is painted on a bolt of fabric that loops around two large rollers on their left. There isn't that much fabric involved, so this "scenery" is bound to loop around many times during the filming sequence. Pinky has hired an insect actor to buzz around Chanticleer and Goldie, as if this will somehow disguise the fact that the same shrubbery has passed in and out of frame repeatedly.
- Xanatos Gambit: The Grand Duke's plan that drove Chanticleer from the farm. He dispatched an evil rooster to the farm before dawn to stop Chanticleer from crowing. Even if Chanticleer won the fight (which he did), the scuffle would distract Chanticleer from crowing long enough for the sun to start coming up without him, shattering his confidence and turning his friends against him.
