I remember the Disney Afternoon shows, more or less. I wouldn’t say I was a huge fan, and some I know mostly by their title. I did watch a bit of DuckTales, but I wouldn’t say I was a huge fan or anything. But I do somewhat remember Chip ‘n Dale’s Rescue Rangers where the two Disney chipmunk characters, longtime annoyances to Donald Duck if I remember right, went on to crime fighting with a team that included two mice and a housefly. But then I saw the trailer for the new Disney+ movie, mixing live action, animation, and the voices of John Mulaney and Andy Samberg. And…it looked nuts.
I figured something like that was either going to be good or an utter trainwreck. Regardless, that would be something I would probably want to see.
The movie opens with narration from Dale (Samberg) explaining how he and Chip met in grade school, developed some acting skills, and then went on to Hollywood where they eventually got their own show. The show apparently ended after three seasons when Dale decided to strike out on his own without telling Chip (Mulaney). Dale’s solo show never got past an unaired pilot, and then time passed. Dale was still trying to make it in Hollywood and got the “CGI surgery” while Chip got a job selling insurance. As for the others, Gadget (original voice actress Tress MacNeille) married and had a bunch of kids with Zipper the housefly (Dennis Haysbert). But then there was Monterey Jack (Eric Bana). He got into a bit of trouble over his cheese addiction, and when he gets behind in payments to the mysterious Sweet Pete, he calls up both Chip and Dale looking for help. Chip and Dale argue a bit before going their separate ways, but then Monterey Jack disappears.
By the by, I know some trailers more or less revealed who Sweet Pete is, but I’m going to refrain from saying more there because I think it was a clever reveal.
Regardless, the two chipmunks are soon on the case, much to Chip’s reluctance. However, they aren’t exactly getting much help from claymation cop Captain Putty (J.K. Simmons), and Chip for one is a little wary of human superfan cop Ellie Steckler (Kiki Layne). But it seems there are a lot of old cartoon characters that have disappeared of late, many of them redrawn and forced into bootleg versions of their old work. Can Chip and Dale find enough evidence to bring down Sweet Pete and save their pal?
OK, this was fun. A lot of fun. For starters, even without a cameo by Roger Rabbit, this is very much another take on Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, where cartoon characters are actors in Hollywood making TV shows and movies, or maybe just having jobs of their own outside the entertainment industry. But by this point, animation has advanced quite a bit, so the types of cartoon characters range from traditional hand-drawn, CGI, motion capture, and even puppets. I mean, there’s a brief glimpse of a sock puppet character. And the people behind the scenes apparently weren’t limited to just Disney’s own intellectual property. The first time I spotted a character Disney didn’t own, I was pleasantly surprised. Part of the fun may be just seeing the huge range of characters even just standing in the background, and this time, without having to sit through the slow drudgery that was the new Space Jam.
However, that wouldn’t work without a fun and funny story or having Chip and Dale not coming off as anything less than an engaging pair of guys with some issues that they need to work through. Fortunately, Chip ‘n Dale’s Rescue Rangers manages to do that, recreating a plot that would have fit in more or less on their old show, giving the characters distinct and funny personalities between the impulsive Dale and the more uptight Chip. The mystery is decent for a family friendly movie, the use of animation and live action works well, and it’s just fun. Sure, it’s not the greatest thing of all time, but it’s fun, and fun is all you need sometimes.
Grade: B+
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