Review: "Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers"

Chip and Dale Chipmunk made their debut in Disney’s 1943 cartoon Private Pluto, where they both developed mischievous reputations. 45 years later, they received their very own television show Chip n’ Dale Rescue Rangers (1988-1990), produced by Walt Disney Television Animation, which aired on television for three years. On May 20th, 2022, Disney rebooted the series with the Disney+ original film Chip n’ Dale Rescue Rangers. Here’s my review: 

“Chip n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers,” picks up where the television show left off, in which Chip and Dale have both discovered that their life-long friendship has fizzled. Dale has always felt like a “second banana” to Chip because Chip has always been the more popular chipmunk, whereas Chip was planning on retiring to become an insurance salesman. They go their own separate ways, but are later contacted by their old “show” friend, who is financially in debt, but is also hoping that they will reconcile. Monterey Jack is later kidnapped, and Chip and Dale decide to rescue him and thus reunite the “Rescue Rangers” gang.

This film follows in the footsteps of the groundbreaking Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), consisting of cartoon character cameos in live-action backgrounds. While “Roger Rabbit,” only included hand-drawn cartoons, “Chip n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers,” includes both hand-drawn and CGI cartoons. Each cameo is humorous. (Spoiler Alert: There’s even a cameo by Roger Rabbit!)

While the cameos in “Rescue Rangers,” are nostalgic, the story itself inspires a sense of nostalgia. Today, the Walt Disney Company produces films with computer animation, but it was built on hand-drawn animation, and while both forms are equally entertaining, CGI is more in use today whereas hand-drawn is not. Honestly, this was more interesting to me than the story of the film itself, which was funny, but not necessarily what I would characterize as great. 

This film stars the voices of John Mulaney as Chip and Andy Samberg as Dale. The voice cast also features Oscar-winner J.K. Simmons, Seth Rogen, Tress MacNeille, and Da’Vone McDonald. Live actors include Kiki Layne, Chris Parnell, and Heather Dragulescu. The film was co-written by Dan Gregor and Doug Mand, who were credited writers on How I Met Your Mother (2005-2014) and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2015-2019). The film was directed by Saturday Night Live (1975-present) director Akiva Schaffer and was co-produced by David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman, who received Best Picture Oscar Nominations for producing 2010’s The Fighter.

Overall, “Chip n’ Dale Rescue Rangers,” is a funny movie, and a faithful reunion for the television show. It was also especially nice to hear Chip and Dale both voiced by grown male adults rather than their usual “high-pitched” squeaky voices. I would not rank it as one of my top favorites of 2022, but I sincerely appreciated the nostalgia it depicts and I’m hopeful that you will too.