Abby Mallard: 10 Fun Facts You Didn't Know About The Duck From Chicken Little

Disney characters getting abrupt sex changes isn’t a new concept, and the duck from Chicken Little is no exception. Abby is originally a male character who also serves as the protagonist's best friend. Disney even went out of their way to cast Sean Hayes as the voice actor for Abby, before a sudden change to the script had the character rewritten completely.

Instead of Hayes, Joan Cusack was cast for the role, and the female Abby became the fan-favorite character of the movie.

It’s a familiar trend for all ducklings in Disney titles to have a peculiar speech pattern, from Donald Duck to Mr. Scrooge. Abby is the latest example of this trend. Along with her rather unorthodox face, Abby’s speech impediment is another factor that earns her the nickname “Ugly Duckling.”

Do you know there are over 200 duck characters in Disney history? Abby is one of them - a roster full of iconic names such as Donald Duck, Huey, Louie, Deway, Scrooge McDuck, and more. Welcome to the family, Abby!

Ironically, while Abby’s surname is Mallard, she isn’t a mallard at all. In real life, mallard has green feathers covering its head and a black spot on their bill. Their torso’s feathers are also brighter than Abby’s dark brown.

That said, Abby’s species is still shrouded in mystery. However, if Abby is really the Ugly Duckling, she’s probably a young swan who hasn’t reached her adolescence phase yet. Who knows, Abby may grow up to be a beautiful swan after all.

While the original movie bombed at the box office, there were plans to produce a sequel for Chicken Little, but was ultimately canceled. The deleted movie was titled Chicken Little 2: The Ugly Duckling Story, telling the story of Chicken Little getting caught up in a love triangle with Abby and a new transfer student, Rafaela the Sheep.

The sequel was coming so close to fruition, as an animated reel was made to convince Disney. However, the studio in charge, DisneyToon, closed down before the project could even start.

As we mentioned above, Abby is one member of the vast Disney Ducks family. Besides, her character design bears many resemblances to one other duck character in the House of Mouse, Gosalyn Mallard. From the same purple T-shirt to the iconic braid that sticks out of their hair, the two look like a pair of long-lost siblings.

Chicken Little may not be the most popular kid in town, but he has trusty friends to rely on when things get tough: Runt, Abby, and Fish Out of Water. Abby is the only girl in the group, and is also the most proficient one. She helps the protagonist through many occasions, and in the end, becomes his girlfriend.

Abby Mallard’s voice actress, Joan Cusack, is mostly known for her comedy gigs. However, the comedian’s path to get the role wasn’t easy. She had to compete with other talented voice actresses such as Helen Hunt, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jodie Foster, and Laura Dern to earn the right to voice Abby.

As a result, Cusack delivered a stellar performance.

Besides Abby, Joan Cusack also voiced the fan-favorite Jessie in the iconic Toy Story franchise. She even won the Annie Award for portraying Jessie in Toy Story 2.

We all know the iconic Rachel Green from the popular sitcom Friends, who’s voiced by Jennifer Aniston. There’s a scene in Friends, where Rachel has a clash with Ross, and was advised by a date to move one. Both Rachel and Ross manage to reconcile at the end.

This scene is eerily similar to the one in Chicken Little, when the protagonist falls out with his dad Buck. Thanks to Abby’s advice to open up to his father, Chicken Little finally reconciles with Buck at the end.

Abby Mallard is the only duck from Chicken Little, but she surely has made her mark in the movie as the protagonist's most trusty ally. We hope through this article, you have learned more about the character and love her even more than before.

Don’t forget to follow our website for more fascinating Disney news and facts.