Chip ‘n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers Early Review

More than a decade before Alvin, Simon, & Theodore took over, Chip & Dale were the most iconic animated chipmunks in America. Initially introduced in the short film Private Pluto, Chip & Dale became recurring characters in a string of Mickey Mouse shorts throughout the 1940s, before starring in their own series of shorts in the early 1950s. As Alvin & the Chipmunks gained widespread popularity, both on TV and in the music industry, Disney started to place more of an emphasis on other characters, and Chip & Dale soon faded into obscurity. In 1989 however, Disney resurrected the beloved chipmunks and gave them their own half-hour animated series titled Chip ‘n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers, which saw the duo solving crimes “too small” for the police force to handle. Despite only lasting one season, the series is widely considered to be one of the best to air on Disney Channel, amassing a passionate fan base that has only grown larger over the years.

Over thirty years later and Disney has finally rebooted Chip ‘n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers as a full length live-action/animated hybrid movie. Chip ‘n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers is not a traditional sequel in the slightest. Instead it’s a meta-comedy that follows Chip (Mulaney) and Dale (Samberg) as washed up actors who once starred in the hit-show Rescue Rangers, before disbanding due to Dale getting his own solo spin-off, which was canceled after only one episode. Thirty years later, Dale has had “CGI” surgery and appears at various comic-cons in an attempt to relive his glory days, while Chip has left the industry all together, and works as an insurance salesman. The pair had not spoken since the cancellation of their show, but when their old cast-mate Monterey Jack (Eric Bana) suddenly disappears, the two must reunite to solve the case and find their missing friend.

Chip ‘n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers is essentially Disney’s answer to The LEGO Movie. It is as much a satirical look at the animation industry, as it is a Chip & Dale film. It incorporates and pokes fun at a number of movies, television shows, video games, and cartoon characters, many of which belong to the Disney empire. The film is an extremely difficult film to critique as it is immediately clear that it was made with a very specific audience in mind – young children and hardcore Disney fans, specifically those who grew up with Chip & Dale. Those audiences will undoubtedly love this movie and get a lot out of the rapid-fire satirical humor throughout. However for those who don’t fit into either of the above categories, they likely will have a more difficult time embracing it.

Chip ‘n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers has a very similar problem to Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One as it places an extremely emphasis on evoking nostalgia and packing in as many references to different Hollywood properties as possible, to the point where it comes at the expense of its story and the themes it attempts to explore. These jokes and references come flying at the audience at such a rapid speed and are often heavily rooted in Chip & Dale or Disney lore, that it is nearly impossible to grasp most of it if you’re not as familiar with the material

It is admirable how the film takes a more self-aware, meta approach and pokes fun at the current Hollywood regime, specifically the regurgitation of ideas and tapping into nostalgia rather than creating something entirely new. However, the film itself is arguably guilty of what it’s critiquing. The LEGO Movie could get away with similar circumstances as its commentary was far more poignant and its approach was brand new at the time. Chip ‘n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers is ultimately riding on the coattails of that film and taking many of its ideas though without expanding on them in an interesting way.

While the film has enough energy and visual style to keep kids captivated, its plot is far too cliché and the commentary too hollow to attract adults without an attachment to Chip & Dale or Disney as a whole. While a fair amount of effort went into pushing the boundaries and finding creative ways to integrate Disney/pop-culture jokes and references, the execution of a large majority of the humor completely misses the mark.

In the end, Chip ‘n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers should offer enjoyment to its target audience but it is far from essential viewing for those who aren’t in its target demographic.

still courtesy of Disney

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Tristan French