Concurrently, "Chanticleer" was being developed by Ken Anderson and Marc Davis, who aimed to produce a feature animated film in a more contemporary setting. Both of them had visited the Disney archives, and decided to adapt the satirical tale into production upon glancing at earlier conceptions dating back to the 1940s. Anderson, Davis, Milt Kahl, and director Wolfgang Reitherman spent months preparing elaborate storyboards for "Chanticleer", and following a silent response to a pitch presentation, a voice from the back of the room said, "You can't make a personality out of a chicken!" When the time came to approve one of the two projects, Walt remarked that the problem with making a rooster a protagonist was, " don't feel like picking up a rooster up and petting it."