Chip ’n Dale: Rescue Rangers (2022)

Movie Info

Rescue Rangers…the E! True Hollywood Story!

Childhood friends Chip and Dale go to Hollywood and find success with the Disney Afternoon series Chip ’n Dale:  Rescue Rangers.  As the show is just getting its feet, Dale decides to go his own direction and go on a solo career…leaving Chip behind.  Years later, Dale and Chip’s relationship is non-existent, but a call from their costar Monterey Jack leads to a mystery.  Teamed with a Rescue Rangers superfan named Officer Ellie (KiKi Layne), Chip and Dale must bust and bootleg cartoon ring or their friend might die!

Directed by Akiva Schaffer, Chip ’n Dale:  Rescue Rangers is a live-action/animation hybrid family comedy.  The film premiered on Disney+ on May 20, 2022.

Post-modern self-aware nostalgia isn’t a new thing, but there has been a lot of recently.  While I feel things like Ready Player One slightly miss the mark by trying to be too encompassing, Chip ’n Dale:  Rescue Rangers goes for a more specific path…and comes closer to hitting than other similar ventures.

Ummm…. I was under the impression I was applying for a MCU movie? Where’s that line?

The movie is very targeted, but there is enough for other viewers to enjoy.  The show largely targets the parents of Disney+ viewers with the kids able to enjoy it (kind of like a Dreamworks-Shrek approach vs. a Pixar approach).  The story is rather mundane, but modeled after the format of Who Framed Roger Rabbit.  It isn’t revolutionary, but it fits with the standard rather drab Rescue Rangers episode plots (Roger Rabbit did the mystery story better).

The show has a lot of guest stars and therefor a lot of voice actors.  It is a little unnerving to have John Mulaney and Andy Samberg taking over the roles of Chip & Dale.  KiKi Layne gets the only real human role.  Eric Bana takes the role of Monterey Jack.  Tress MacNeille returns as Gadget with Dennis Haysbert taking over the role of Zipper who normally has a squeaky voice in the series.  J.K. Simmons has a large role as Captain Putty and Will Arnet plays the older Peter Pan “Sweet Pete”.  Other voice actors include Flula Borg, Keegan-Michael Key, Seth Rogen, Tim Robbins, David Tennet, Alan Oppenheimer, and Jim Cummings who returns as Fat Cat.  Paula Abdul, Chris Parnell, Paul Rudd, and Vin Diesel also appear in human form.

Any movie mixing Roger Rabbit, classic Disney, Paula Abdul, and MC Skat Kat in a club wins

The movie largely gets its laugh and fun from the cameos…it also throws a lot of shade through them.  There are jokes about the quality of early 3D animated movies (and aging animation and Hollywood actors), the fan backlash to “ugly Sonic” (and fandom in general), and even a potshot at the Zack Snyder DC Universe.  The movie has a lot of rewatch value in that sense in that there are multiple cameos and gags woven into the film that can only be caught with some pausing and even some research.

I’m right in the Chip ’n Dale:  Rescue Rangers demographic target (maybe even a couple years past).  I watched a ton of Rescue Rangers and this not only felt like an homage to the series but a clever update of the ideas of Who Framed Roger Rabbit.  I didn’t expect to like the movie as much as I did, but I guess I’m also not used to a light comedy aiming at an older demographic.  As the movie says “Now do Darkwing!”