Rock-a-Doodle

Rock-a-Doodle
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDon Bluth
Screenplay byDavid N. Weiss
Story by
Based onChantecler
by Edmond Rostand
Produced by
  • Don Bluth
  • Gary Goldman
  • John Pomeroy
Starring
CinematographyRobert Paynter
Edited by
  • Lisa Dorney
  • Dan Molina
  • Fiona Trayler
Music byRobert Folk
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 2 August 1991 (1991-08-02) (United Kingdom)
  • 23 August 1991 (1991-08-23) (Ireland)
  • 3 April 1992 (1992-04-03) (United States)
Running time
74 minutes
Countries
  • Ireland
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$18 million
Box office$11.6 million[1]

Rock-a-Doodle is a 1991 independent[2] live-action/animated musical comedy film produced by Sullivan Bluth Studios Ireland Limited and Goldcrest Films.[3] Loosely based on Edmond Rostand's 1910 comedy play Chantecler,[4] Rock-a-Doodle was directed by Don Bluth and written by David N. Weiss. The film features the voices of Glen Campbell, Christopher Plummer, Phil Harris (in his final film role), Charles Nelson Reilly, Sorrell Booke, Sandy Duncan, Eddie Deezen, Ellen Greene, and Toby Scott Ganger (in his film debut).

The film tells the story of an anthropomorphic rooster named Chanticleer, who lives on a farm and crows every morning to raise the sun. However, he leaves his farm to become a singer in the city after being tricked by the Grand Duke of Owls, whose kind hates sunshine, into thinking that his crow does not actually raise the sun. Without Chanticleer, rain continues to pour non-stop, causing a massive flood all over the country. The Duke and his henchmen take over in the darkness, and plan to eat all of the barnyard animals. Chanticleer's friends from the farm, along with Edmond, a young human boy who was transformed into a kitten by the Duke, take off on a mission to get Chanticleer to bring back the sun and save the country before it is too late.

Rock-a-Doodle was released in the United Kingdom on 2 August 1991 and in the United States and Canada on 3 April 1992. The film received mostly negative reviews and was a box-office failure, grossing $11 million on a budget of $18 million. Nevertheless, it would achieve greater success on home video and obtained popularity among many 1990s children.[5][6]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference bomojo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "HOW THE SECRET OF NIMH PROVED DON BLUTH COULD BEAT DISNEY - Nerdist". Archived from the original on 16 December 2022. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  3. ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 201–202. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  4. ^ Gritten, David (6 April 1992). "Rock-a-Doodle's Bluth Is Crowing Animatedly". The Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 13 November 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference homevidsales was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Hopkins, Evan; Khan, Fawzia; Iacobucci, Jordan (6 May 2024). "25 Animated Films '90s Kids Loved (But Totally Forgot About)". CBR.