“It’s not a reboot. It’s a comeback.”
The Original
Chip ‘n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers was part of Disney’s late-80s animated TV boom, along with the likes of Ducktales and TaleSpin, taking much older characters and injecting them into a new setting. What if the Duck family went on globe-trotting adventures? What if Baloo from The Jungle Book ran an air-freight service and Shere Khan was a buisness mogul? What if two chipmunks named after an 18th century cabinet maker ran a detective agency and helped people in trouble; sort of like a smaller and less heavily-armed A-Team?
Chip ‘n’ Dale – two apostrophes in the collective character name and the series title, one for the movie – were basically recurring antagonists to various members of the core Disney canon (Mickey, Minnie, Donald) across 23 short films from 1943-1956. With the massive success of DuckTales from 1987, three new series were planned to join DuckTales and Adventures of the Gummi Bears in the Disney Afternoon slot: TaleSpin, Double-O Duck, and a show based on 1977’s The Rescuers. Eventually, Double-O Duck became Darkwing Duck, and the Rescuers’ series was recast and moved to the modern day as Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers, in which the chipmunks put on clothes – a Hawai’ian shirt and an Indiana Jones outfit respectively – became the reckless one and the serious one, and teamed up with two mice – ace mechanic Gadget and old campaigner Monterey Jack – and Zipper the fly to form a detective agency specialising in problems ‘too small’ for the human police.
The show ran for three seasons and a total of 65 episodes. Like most shows in the Disney Afternoon, it featured a mix of cartoon action, a little smart humour for the older kids, and an absolute banger of a theme song.
The Late Meta-Sequel
Directed by Akiva Schaffer (The Lego Movie)
Starring John Mulaney (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse), Andy Samberg (Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping), Will Arnett (The Lego Batman Movie), Eric Bana (King Arthur: Legend of the Sword), Keegan-Michael Key (The Predator), Seth Rogen (The Green Hornet), J.K. Simmons (Spider-Man: No Way Home), KiKi Layne (If Beale Street Could Talk), Dennis Haysbert (Dead Rising: Watchtower) and Tress MacNeille (The Simpsons Movie)
In a world where cartoon characters live alongside live-action people, animated chipmunk schoolfriends Chip (Mulaney) and Dale (Samberg) hit the big time in their TV series, Rescue Rangers, before Dale flirts with solo projects and the dream team falls apart. Years later, Chip is a disillusioned insurance salesman, while Dale is clinging to the dream making a living on the convention circuit. They are reunited after their co-star Monterey Jack (Bana) calls them both for help: his stinky cheese habit has got him in deep with the Valley Gang, and he is afraid he will be taken, surgically altered and forced to make overseas knock-offs.
When Jack is taken, Captain Putty (Simmons) is dismissive, but rookie detective and Rescue Rangers superfan Ellie Steckler (Layne) suggests that they investigate on their own. Tracking Jack’s cheese supplier, a muppet named Bjornson (Key), they contact Valley Gang boss Sweet Pete (Arnett), a now grown-up Peter Pan. As they pursue Sweet Pete’s bootleg movie racket, friction between the two chipmunks grows, and they are forced to ask who they can really trust.
What’s wrong with it?
The film’s universe is layers of weird upon weird. It’s like a post-integration version of the world of Roger Rabbit, in which humans and ‘toons’ live and work side-by-side and cartoon characters are played by animated actors.
The plot is stock detective procedural, with only a few trappings which really relate to the cartoon nature of those involved. There are ultimately only two real mysteries – who is doing the kidnapping, and who is the traitor in the police force – and neither presents much tension. It feels like there’s much more investment in the metahumour than in the supposed core story, where the two really ought to be more balanced.
Describing the kidnappings, Monterey Jack explains that the gang erase the captive’s mouth so that they can’t scream which is just some really high octane nightmare fuel right there.
What’s right with it?
The visual integration of cartoons and humans is excellent.
The script is full of zingers, and if many of them don’t land, you never have long to wait for the next.
The cast is excellent, from old hand MacNeille (reprising her role as Gadget, and as Chip’s high-pitched ‘chipmunk’ voice) to the more contemporary players, and there’s a love for old-school animation that tempers the cynicism of the metahumour.
In terms of cameo and background appearances, there’s just so much going on, from My Little Ponies to the surprisingly plot-relevant ‘Ugly Sonic.’
How bad is it really?
I think the film is probably exactly what it set out to be, which is a shame, because I do think it could have successfully aimed a little higher. Who Framed Roger Rabbit succeeded because it was a film about cartoons living among humans, but also a good mystery adventure. The plot of Chip ‘n Dale feels much more like a rail to hang the the meta on, and while the ride is a lot of fun, the rail is really just a rail.
Best bit (if such there is)?
Honestly, I shouldn’t find the idea of the PAW Patrol messing up a cop during a raid gone bad as funny as I did, but I did.
What’s up with…?
- Gadget and Zipper’s kids? I mean, they’re both consenting, sapient adults and the heart wants what the heart wants, but how do you have kids across phyla?
Ratings
Production values – It’s actually not too hard to go for whole scenes without considering that the entire movie is one big piece of effects work, so that’s not too shabby. 4
Dialogue and performances – A whip-smart script is ably delivered. 5
Plot and execution – The film’s biggest weakness is its central plot. The lessons learned in the personal story could have been wrapped in a third of the time if Chip had just stopped to talk to Twilight Sparkle, and the detective plot has little threat to it. 13
Randomness – I mean, yes, but that’s the point. 3
Waste of potential – A little more attention to the A-plot – a red herring or two, some more actual investigation – would have done the film a world of good. 12
The Bad Movie Marathon 
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