The Little Red Hen: A Lesson in Farmyard Grumpiness

Is it worth your time?

Honestly, you probably know the story already. It's the one where the hen does everything and everyone else is a total deadbeat. If you have kids or just want to feel slightly judged by a cartoon bird, it's worth a watch. If you're looking for something with a bit more complexity, like the grit you might find in Day Nurse, you might find this one a bit too simple.

The pacing is snappy, mostly because the movie has one job: make you feel bad for the lazy pig and the dog. It succeeds. The animation has that charming, slightly jittery feel that reminds me a lot of the old-school stuff you’d see in The Firefly.

The vibe is... tense?

There's something genuinely unsettling about how much effort the hen puts into everything. She’s kneading that dough with a level of intensity that feels almost personal. When she finally eats the bread alone, it feels less like a moral lesson and more like she’s exacting revenge.

The other animals? Total slackers. They just lounge around, looking bored, which makes me think they’d fit right in with the characters from Ladies Must Live. They don't even try to hide their laziness. It’s kind of refreshing, actually.

• The sound of the wheat being cut is strangely satisfying.
• The hen’s beak animation is a little twitchy in the second act.
• Nobody helps. Seriously. Not even a little bit.
• That final shot of the bread cooling on the windowsill? Pure misery for the neighbors.

I caught myself wondering if the dog ever felt bad, but the movie doesn't care. It moves on. It doesn't need to explain the psychology of a pig who won't help harvest grain. Sometimes, a movie just needs to be about a bird who is sick and tired of everyone's nonsense.

It’s not as chaotic as the energy in The Spirit of Notre Dame, but it gets the point across. If you ever feel like you're the only one doing the dishes in your house, this is your cinematic anthem. 🐔🍞