As a fan of Don Bluth since I was a kid, I think this is probably where his work started to decline. What's really weird about this film is just how, well weird it is. I mean, it's about a singing rooster that resembles Elvis that is able to bring the Sun up. The weirdest thing is that at one point the Sun comes up without him singing. He then leaves because the animals realize they don't need him to bring the Sun up. It turns out they do. So...why did the Sun come up that one time? It's very dumb. Also, the main kid character in this is really not a good actor. His voice is pretty annoying and I guess I can't blame him since he's just a kid.Now, I did like the animation in this. Come to think of it, ALL of Don Bluth's movies have had good animation. That was something that was always consistent and in a good way. There is also an interesting subplot where a chicken named Goldie falls in love with the rooster, but it sadly doesn't go anywhere. Still, I will praise the visuals and I honestly thought this was something pretty unique for Don Bluth. Wow, owls have really gone downward since their portrayal in "The Secret Of Nimh". I guess the movie itself is harmless enough and doesn't teach bad morals or anything. It's just mostly boring and uninteresting. **

I've been told by a lot of people that this movie is the first of the mediocre entries (except Anastasia) in the early/late 90s that caused Don Bluth's career to go downhill, but as for me, I think I actually found this along with The Pebble and the Penguin to be very decent. Why? Well, I will admit, the story was weird and predictable and has a lot of flaws that went nowhere despite it being supposedly charming. The characters were good. Edmund was okay, but nothing special, Chanticleer and the others were very decent, but the Grand Duke of Owls' henchman and the fox guy that wants some money for using Chanticleer to sing for the audiences were not that interesting. I think that the best character throughout the whole movie is the Grand Duke of Owls himself voiced by Christoper Plummer (who previously voiced Henri the pigeon in An American Tail) since he was so intimidating and very threatening which makes him one of the best non-Disney villains ever.The songs were forgettable. The first song in the beginning was surprisingly good, but some of them were forgettable due to their uninspired lyrics.There were several inconsistencies like the Grand Duke's breath contains magical powers and the rooster can sing while bringing the sun with his cock-a-doodling voice. It's weird, but that's not saying much.And that's it for Rock-A-Doodle. Is it a weird movie like The Pebble and the Penguin? Yes, but unlike A Troll in Central Park, it's not a bad movie for it's worth watching for the kids. For adults, however, they will have a hard time viewing this.6/10

Clearly this wasn't Don Bluth's finest day as a filmmaker- it's nowhere near the imagination present in The Secret of NIMH and An American Tail, but it's still entertaining for kids. It certainly worked when I first saw it, and I remember watching it several times (maybe cause of the songs which were like filtered but enjoyable Elvis-type tunes, or some of the designs with the characters like the evil owls). It's about a little boy who gets transformed into a cat- his storybook, which comes to life, is about a rooster on a farm who can't do his patented COCKADOODLE call- and soon he's swept up in a quest to bring Chaunticlair back from his fall into a career as an Elvis star.It's not really too amazing, and it's probably even cliché by the standards of any animation let alone Bluth's. But there's enough invention and fun and quirks to make it worthwhile as a children's film, if not as an overall family flick (adults will most likely enjoy the final performance of Phil Harris, the voice of Baloo). Some of it is even very funny, like when the dastardly inept small owl who keeps spouting exclamations like "ANNIHILATION!" tries to skewer the heroes while tied up. It's like a minor rockabilly farm comedy, and there's certainly worse out there for your kids.

I never heard of this 1991 Don Bluth film until about five years after its release. I was about ten years old at the time, and saw "Rock-A-Doodle" when it came on TV. I was fairly impressed with the movie upon my first viewing, and watched it more than once shorty after that. Over a decade later, after not seeing it for a long time, I finally rented a copy on video to see what I would think of the movie after all these years. This time, I didn't enjoy it so much, but that wasn't surprising.Chanticleer is a musical rooster who sings early every morning on the farm. The other animals are convinced that he has to do this in order for the sun to rise. However, one morning, Chanticleer is distracted by an intruder! The rooster manages to fight this intruder off, but the incident prevents him from singing at the usual time, and the son still comes up without him! The other animals on the farm who once respected the rooster now begin to ridicule him, so an upset Chanticleer leaves the farm and goes to the city. After his departure, however, the sun stops rising in the morning, and it begins to rain nonstop! The animals on the farm now realize that Chanticleer really is needed for the sun to rise, so several of them, including Edmond (a young boy who has been turned into a cat by an evil owl), set out to find the singing rooster in the city, before the flood gets so high that everyone drowns! Finding him in this big city won't be easy, and the owls will make the mission even more difficult! If you've looked at IMDb's main page for "Rock-A-Doodle", I'm sure you've noticed that it has a fairly low rating, which I can understand. Watching the animated feature again recently, it really didn't mean much to me at all, and I found it very forgettable. However, by this point, I was probably WELL past the age group that this film was aimed at. Watching this movie when I was around ten years old was somewhat enjoyable, and I might have enjoyed it more if I saw it back when it was first released in 1991, when I was around five. So, I can understand why this movie is so highly criticised, but those who have seen it as adults and don't like it should remember its audience.In my opinion, "Rock-A-Doodle" is one unmemorable peace of animation, with a rather bland plot. Some of the characters are poor quality as well (especially Goldie, with her voice). However, who am I to judge? I'm sure that a lot of kids (especially younger ones) would strongly disagree with my thoughts on the film. For that reason, I do recommend this Don Bluth movie for kids who are into animated adventures. For adults, I do not recommend it, unless you have any kids to watch it with. If you want an animated feature that can strongly appeal to all ages, there are plenty of those for you to choose from, but remember, "Rock-A-Doodle" is not one of them.