# Is Disney's Chicken Little character a ripoff of Warner Brothers' Egghead, Jr.? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 21, 2005, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disneys-chicken-little-character-a-ripoff-of-warner-brothers-egghead-jr/322795 "2005-09-21T22:57:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disneys-chicken-little-character-a-ripoff-of-warner-brothers-egghead-jr/322795/1 "2005-09-21T22:57:55Z")
Remember Foghorn Leghorn’s foil (or one of them), [Egghead, Jr.](http://www.tultw.com/pics/eggjr0025.jpg)? Is it just me, or does the [Chicken Little](http://entimg.msn.com/i/300/mov/ChickenLittle_300x298.jpg) character from the upcoming Disney feature a blatant visual ripoff of this Warner Brothers character? ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disneys-chicken-little-character-a-ripoff-of-warner-brothers-egghead-jr/322795/2 "2005-09-21T23:26:49Z")
Yep. Every bit as much as the Simba character from _The Lion King_ was a rip-off of [the ‘Simba’ soft drink](http://www.sodamuseum.bigstep.com/item.jhtml?UCIDs=768018%7C768989&PRID=1421773) from the 1970s. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disneys-chicken-little-character-a-ripoff-of-warner-brothers-egghead-jr/322795/3 "2005-09-22T00:17:09Z")
There is some similarity in that both characters are fowl and wear glasses, but seeing as the film is inspired by a public domain folktale, the character appears to have more in common with that now-familiar character than the copyrighted genius chick. It all comes down to lawyers. If Warner Bros. sues Disney over the similarity, then it’s up to the courts. Regarding _The Lion King_, although many have pointed out the similarity of that film to _Kimba the White Lion_, the Japanese producers never sued. Although it’s true that animators steal from other animators all the time, be it gags or character traits. _The Simpsons_ put it best (as they often do): Animation is based on plagarism. ---
**Author:** ![chefjef](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e480ec/32.png) [@chefjef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chefjef)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2005, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disneys-chicken-little-character-a-ripoff-of-warner-brothers-egghead-jr/322795/4 "2005-09-23T12:24:19Z")
Given that they’re animated characters, couldn’t one find similarites between a number of different ducks, mice, dogs, chickens??? Regardless, I think this Chicken Little movie looks hysterical…saw a great trailer for it during Lost this week. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2005, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disneys-chicken-little-character-a-ripoff-of-warner-brothers-egghead-jr/322795/5 "2005-09-23T15:15:30Z")
I think it’s a total ripoff. When I saw the trailer for _Chicken Little[_, I instantly knew I had seen the character before. It’s not just the look of the character, either; it’s also the mannerisms. ---
**Author:** ![Hodge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2005, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disneys-chicken-little-character-a-ripoff-of-warner-brothers-egghead-jr/322795/6 "2005-09-23T15:38:03Z")
> [@tracer](#): > > Yep. > > Every bit as much as the Simba character from _The Lion King_ was a rip-off of [the ‘Simba’ soft drink](http://www.sodamuseum.bigstep.com/item.jhtml?UCIDs=768018%7C768989&PRID=1421773) from the 1970s. :rolleyes: Nope, not Simba, _Kimba_. In view of Disney’s past behaviour ([From the Master, himself](http://straightdope.com/classics/a991224.html)), this certainly smells like a ripoff, to me. ---
**Author:** ![Borborygmi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/borborygmi/32/217_2.png) [@Borborygmi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Borborygmi)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2005, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disneys-chicken-little-character-a-ripoff-of-warner-brothers-egghead-jr/322795/7 "2005-09-23T17:45:48Z")
In my opinion, Disney’s Chicken Little character is a ripoff of former American Idol contestant Anthony Federov, although I’m not sure why. This could just be me. ---
**Author:** ![chefjef](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e480ec/32.png) [@chefjef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chefjef)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-disneys-chicken-little-character-a-ripoff-of-warner-brothers-egghead-jr/322795/8 "2005-09-26T12:43:16Z")
okay, but to play devil’s advocate here…how do you know if it’s a rip-off if you haven’t even SEEN the flick yet? these days, everyone is talking about how this film or that film is unoriginal…well everything in life is based on SOMETHING. i’m holding out judgement until i see this one…and i gotta support zach braff - i do think he’s a fine actor.