- “The best baseball-playing chicken you've ever seen.”
- ―Ivan the Gorilla[src]
Henrietta is a character from the 2020 Disney+ original film The One and Only Ivan.
Background[]
Henrietta is an athletic, yet spunky Polish chicken who performs at the Big Top Mall. During her duty at the circus, she would perform her baseball act with the makeshift team she has during showtime known as the "Henrietta Hitters". Throughout her act when Mack throws a baseball, Henrietta would occasionally peck the baseball bat, causing it to hit the ball that Mack threw at her during her act. In the animal enclosure area that is only accessible to staff, Henrietta's home is a small barn resembling a henhouse with the name "Henrietta Hitters" engraved on it, in reference to her baseball act.
Role in the film[]
Henrietta is first seen at the beginning of the film entering the circus ring where Mack introduces Henrietta to the audience where Henrietta performs her baseball act. During her act, Mack throws a baseball for Henrietta to hit, which she pecks on the baseball bat, causing it to hit the ball, impressing the crowd, followed by Frankie being next. The next day, Henrietta is seen as one of the animals getting ready for her performance just as Mack gets the animals ready for the show.
Later when Ruby the Baby Elephant becomes a new addition to the circus, Bob tells Henrietta that there is a new animal coming, alongside Murphy who questions her about where will Ruby's home be at. Henrietta then notices Ruby's arrival from the Handley Brothers Circus to the Big Top Mall, alongside the other animals. She tells Murphy that if Ruby has any talent or if Mack would put her in a fire truck like Murphy's, which Murphy becomes irritated of Henrietta's thoughts about Ruby. When Frankie tells her that if he is going to be replaced, Henrietta tells him that he cannot be replaced, telling him that he has a unique talent. After Ruby arrives, Henrietta asks Murphy if the staff will place Ruby in a fire truck, which Murphy tells her that Ruby cannot fit in his fire truck. The following night after Stella passed away, Henrietta sits next to Murphy who is also mourning Stella's death where Henrietta sadly places her head on Murphy's, just as the other animals and the rest of the Big Top staff mourn Stella's death.
Furthermore, Henrietta follows Ivan and the other animals as part of Ivan's plan to escape into the wild only to find out that the doors at the entrance to the Big Top Mall are locked, unable to escape, but to Ivan's strength, he breaks through the doors seeing trees from a distance, causing the other animals to escape. As the animals escape, Henrietta tells Frankie to keep up telling him that hurry before the police arrives the bring the animals back to their enclosures. Henrietta follows alongside the other animals into the "forest", followed by Ivan getting Murphy out of the road to safety just as the other animals temporarily enjoy their freedom in the woods only to find out that this "forest" is an intersection. Mack brings all the escaped animals back into their enclosures.
The next day, Henrietta approaches Murphy who receives a yellow toy fire truck as a replacement of the red one that was destroyed by a car in the highway as Murphy tells her that he is not used to the color yellow yet. The following day after the audience became impressed of Ivan's masterpiece, protesters arrive at the Big Top Mall, demanding all the animals to be free; Henrietta, Murphy, Thelma, and Frankie are taken away from the circus to be sent to a better home, followed by Ivan and Ruby being relocated at Zoo Atlanta.
Trivia[]
- Her name is a pun on the female name "Henrietta" and the word "hen", due to the fact that she is a chicken as "hen" refers to female chickens.
- Chaka Khan, Henrietta's voice actress, previously voiced herself in the Phineas and Ferb episode "Summer Belongs to You!".
- At one point, Henrietta quotes the famous joke "Why did the chicken cross the road?" throughout the climax of the film, causing the other animals to laugh in a plan to escape into the "forest".
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