LM23 Rating: Definitely go see Ch-ch-ch-Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers!
Like most kids who grew up in the 90’s, I also had to run home from school to watch Rescue Rangers, Tailspin, Goof Troop, and Dark Wing Duck. Rescue Rangers was the best out of all of them. We even played the Nintendo video game and beat it. It wasn’t too hard of a game to finish, though. When we went to Disneyland, I managed to pick up a Chip and Dale from the Disney Store there. I couldn’t just buy one. I had to buy the both of them. Between the two of them, Dale is my favorite. He’s the chubbier one and the goofy one with the Hawaiian shirt. It was much to my surprise when I saw on Twitter that there was a new Chip ‘n Dale movie coming.
So last Friday, I was so excited when work finished and I could watch the new Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers movie. I turned it on and within the first few minutes, I didn’t understand what I was seeing. At this point, I’m used to animated shows being of the quality of like a Pixar movie and so it was really jarring and bizarre to see a mixed media approach to Chip and Dale. The scene opens in 1982 and the first day of school for Chip and Dale. What’s weird is that the setting is in real life and there’s real kids and teachers, but there’s also cartoon characters styled after the old school television cartoon style.
I didn’t quite understand what was going on or what I was watching. I was expecting a movie version of the TV show me and my siblings used to watch every day after school. Instead, I’m watching the Behind the Music version of Chip and Dale where we see how they met and eventually moved in together to make it big in Hollywood. I admit that I had to stop watching as I was expecting something sweet and I got something sour.
But after hearing everyone talk about how great and funny Chip and Dale was, I gave it another go and this time, I accepted the Lonely Island makeover, and then I was good to go.
Turns out, their TV show ended because Dale got an offer to lead Double-O-Dale. Dale admitted that he always felt like a second banana to Chip, so he jumped at the chance to start in his own show. And since then, Dale went Hollywood and got a “CGI makeover” where he now looks like the animated cartoon that we’re used to seeing these days like Sonic or the Pixar characters. Dale picks up extra cash by cashing in on the nostalgia of Chip and Dale at conventions.
Chip quit Hollywood and instead works at a corporate job selling Coercive Insurance. He does very well as he’s won yet another employee of the month plaque, but he clearly has no passion for his job as he tosses the plaque in a closet with the other ones. He owns his own tiny home which he shares with his dog friend, Millie.
Zipper and Gadget ended up having a family together and live a domesticated life while the big galoot, Monterey Jack, fell on tough times after their show ended, and now owes money to a criminal gang. He calls up his old pals Chip and Dale and tells them how the gang is running a trafficking operation where toons like Flounder from The Little Mermaid, are kidnapped and then bootlegged and shipped overseas.
Now this part of the plot really threw me off. The word “trafficking” is something I would ever expect from a Rescue Rangers show. This type of trafficking is both very clever yet very creepy. Turns out the toons are kidnapped and then they are reimagined in a way that they can be bootlegged for illegal productions sold overseas. Flounder has gone missing and is presumed to have been trafficked.
Chip and Dale only play detectives on Rescue Rangers, but they try to take what they learned on the show to find Monterey Jack when he turns up missing.
With throwback reboots, there’s always going to be nods to the past and a lot of self-awareness. I think one of the first animated movies that did this trick was Shrek with the characters from the various fairy tales crammed into the background. But Chip and Dale leave it ALL on the table. Every other frame there is yet another cameo or nod to something from the past and even the present. There’s cartoon cameos and real life cameos. One of the funniest but low key slams was when Chip and Dale made fun of how the animation in the early 2000’s had the creepy lifelike cartoons like in Polar Express.
Perhaps the most funniest slam is the “ugly” Sonic the Hedgehog and references to his teeth. But this Sonic makes more than just one cameo scene as he actually has a pivotal role in the story. Despite the jam packed Easter Eggs, the Rescue Rangers movie is great on its own. The cameos make it really fun, but the story of the trafficked cartoons and the grown up Peter Pan being the villain is both hilarious and shocking. I nearly died of laughing when Dale’s ear was modified when they went through the machine that bootlegs cartoons. One of his ears turned into Snoopy’s ear and remains that way for most of the movie.
John Mulaney’s cynical voice as Chip is perfect and Andy Samberg’s goofy tone is perfect for Dale. I’ll always remember how we were on vacation in New York City, and having dinner at the famous The Pink Tea Cup in Greenwich Village. At one point, suddenly everyone is looking up from their plates and looking at someone or something. I turned around and three guys have walked in including Seth Meyers and Andy Samberg. It was one of the best random celebrity sightings I’ve ever had.
I didn’t even have to check who was playing who when I heard both were providing the voices. The SNL alums are not the only famous voices checking in. JK Simmons, Eric Bana, Seth Rogen, Will Arnett and even Dennis Haysbert are all in the movie. Paula Abdul, Paul Rudd, and even Meryl Streep all make appearances, but you’ll see what I mean when you watch Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers yourself.
Despite the jarring mix and match of differently animated characters and humans involved, Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers is a must see. It’s not a bloated 2+ hour movie, but as the Pete Davidson spoof on SNL pleaded for, the movie runs for less than 1 hour and 40 minutes. Watch it once to watch it, then watch it a second time to count all the cameos.
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