This movie features memorable chickens like Free Range and Cooper, not to mention a variety of other species including gators. For those who like martial arts, you will see a lot of fighting, punching and kicking, not to mention sword play too. The nice thing is that it shows Cooper’s love for his mother, who is sick and can’t afford the medicine she needs to get well. After Cooper tries to buy it with what money he has, unsuccessfully, he begins to steal the medicine for his mother, robbing various pharmacies. He eventually admits it is wrong, but he blames the town for not caring about his mother and says he would do it again if he needed to.

The animation is good and, as mentioned, there are memorable characters, both good and evil, such as the Great Gobbler. Also, the pirate gators are good for a laugh or two. However, there are many fight scenes and one scene in which several characters beat up a character, although it is not graphic and you mostly see marks on him afterwards. There are also the scenes of stealing, and although it is not commended, it also doesn’t strongly make the point that it is wrong. A good opportunity to teach a lesson is missed here. We are awarding our Dove seal for Ages 12+ to the animated film, while recommending that parents guide their children and even talk about various scenes in the movie as they watch it. There is a bit of name-calling in it too.

The Dove Take:

The movie is big on martial arts and the idea of respecting one’s parents, but we do wish it would have had less fighting in it and more of the wonderful mother/son scenes.