I'm guessing the Chicken Little thing is willful forgetfulness.
But I think Fred's on the right track and there's a third option between "furry bait" and "foxes are popular" explanations for Nick's species (and the director has more or less confirmed it); it's an in house reference. Last time we did an anthro movie, the fox was the protagonist, so that works (and then they switched him from lead to supporting during the story phase of production, but that's neither her nor there).
I'm guessing the Chicken Little thing is willful forgetfulness.
But I think Fred's on the right track and there's a third option between "furry bait" and "foxes are popular" explanations for Nick's species (and the director has more or less confirmed it); it's an in house reference. Last time we did an anthro movie, the fox was the protagonist, so that works (and then they switched him from lead to supporting during the story phase of production, but that's neither her nor there).