In theaters

“Chicken Little,” directed by Mark Dindal, written by Steve Bencich, Ron J. Friedman and Ron Anderson, 80 minutes, rated G

Disney’s new computer-animated movie, “Chicken Little,” is obviously the source of the new bird flu. No one will want to admit it, but there is every indication that it was conceived under some sort of malaise.

Directed by Mark Dindal from a script by Steve Bencich, Ron J. Friedman and Ron Anderson, the film is a lazy, pilfering affair whose energy and depth are driven almost entirely by its soundtrack.

Throughout are tips the amateur filmmaker might wish to avoid. For instance, when Dindal needs a good jolt to bolster his thin story, he doesn’t do the right thing and tweak the script with more effective scenes and better writing. Instead, he resorts to relying on the energy of such hokey ditties as “One Little Slip” and “Shake a Tail Feather” to give the illusion that his movie is humming along.

That trend stretches throughout the film, with Dindal leaning hard on Diana Ross’ “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” to fill our hearts as she bares her soul and Five for Fighting’s “All I Know” to bring down the room as poor Chicken Little falls into a slump. The movie goes further south when it staples those songs to scenes inspired by other movies, particularly “War of the Worlds,” whose writers deserve a credit here, as well as “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “The Lion King,” “Finding Nemo” and “Alien.”

Pardon me, but what do aliens have to do with the tale on which so much of us grew up? Did an acorn the size of Maine fall on someone’s head in Hollywood? Apparently. And, really, why depart so radically from a long-lasting favorite to make it something it never was and shouldn’t be? Surely sci-fi doesn’t have to enter this universe.

But it does.

The movie begins just as you expect – Chicken Little (voice of Zach Braff) makes a public gaff when he believes a piece of the sky has fallen on his head. Humiliated by a mean herd of classmates, including the vicious Foxy Loxy (Amy Sedaris), he must bear the brunt of their scorn and his father’s long-faced disappointment over the course of a year before he at last gets his big break at a baseball game. Problem is, just when Chicken Little is most happy, another chunk of sky falls, this time into his bedroom. From the gadgetry hooked to the back of it, it’s clear to this chick that he’s dealing with something of an alien nature.

Within the chaos that ensues are a few saving graces – the characters are undeniably cute, particularly Little, whose eyes are black wells of despair and hope; the enormous Runt of the Litter (Steve Zhan), who has the best, funniest asides; and the ugly duckling, Abby Mallard (Joan Cusack), who is as outspoken as we all wish Scooter Libby was.

Still, with so much of the movie derivative, it lacks personality and seems stale. This is Disney’s first foray into the computer-animated world without Pixar at its side and they might just regret that. If “Chicken Little” is any indication, without Pixar, Disney might have cooked its own goose.

Grade: C-

On video and DVD

“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” directed by Tim Burton, written by John August, 116 minutes, rated PG

Tim Burton’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” has a few ideas about children, none of which are pleasant, most of which hit the mark.

Shocking as it may be, it suggests there are other things sweeter than a child, particularly if you’re dealing with a bratty child, a spoiled child, a greedy little sow of a child, or an overbearing, overachieving, gum-chewing monster of a child, as is the case here.

The film joins its 1971 predecessor, “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory,” in that it’s designed to bring out the very worst qualities of children. In the meantime, it also highlights the very worst qualities of their parents, whose responsibility it is to rein in their little darlings lest they become pure forces of evil. The idea here is that if you’re going to make a social satire about kids and their parents, it’s likely best to do so in a world where temptation, pitfalls and danger prevail. Once the groundwork is laid for that, stand back and let the mayhem ensue.

In this case, the groundwork begins with reclusive chocolatier Willy Wonka (Johnny Depp) emerging from a self-imposed, 15-year exile to devise a lottery in which the children of the world will have the opportunity to win one of five golden tickets.

Tucked into unmarked Wonka bars, the tickets will allow them entrance into Wonka’s spectacular chocolate factory, whose exterior has the ominous chill of a Nazi prison camp, but whose interior is an oasis for the epicurean.

There, in a world in which everything is succulent and edible (“Even me,” says Wonka, “though that would be cannibalism”), the winners will receive a tour and a surprise. But what surprise? Is it money? If so, how much? Those questions ignite a worldwide pandemonium, with people scrambling to get their hands on one of the golden tickets, even if it means pawning the family pig.

With terrific performances from Depp as Wonka, Freddie Highmore as Charlie Bucket, and Deep Roy playing every one of the film’s Oompa Loompas, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ is ultimately as sweet and as tart as one of Wonka’s Everlasting Gobstoppers.

Grade: A-