Chip ‘N’ Dale: Rescue Rangers
review by Bobby Blakey
Back in 1989 Chip N’ Dale stepped out of the supporting player roles and into their on series with Chip N’ Dale’s Rescue Rangers that ran for 3 seasons. The show is a fan favorite to this day and talk of doing a movie had a lot of fans worried especially with the word it would be using live action/animation fusion. The idea here though is actually pretty genius if it works serving as a sequel to the series featuring a great cast including John Mulaney, Andy Samberg, KiKi Layne, Will Arnett, Flula Borg, Dennis Haysbert, Keegan-Michael Key, Tress MacNeille, Tim Robinson, Seth Rogen, J.K. Simmons, and Chris Parnell from The Watch and Pop Star: Never Stop Never Stopping director and member of the Lonely Island Akiva Schaffer.
Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers follows Chip and Dale who are living amongst cartoons and humans in modern-day Los Angeles, but their lives are quite different now. It has been decades since their successful television series was canceled, and Chip has succumbed to a life of suburban domesticity as an insurance salesman. Dale, meanwhile, has had CGI surgery and works the nostalgia convention circuit, desperate to relive his glory days. When a former cast mate mysteriously disappears, Chip and Dale must repair their broken friendship and take on their Rescue Rangers detective personas once again to save their friend’s life.
I can honestly say that I never thought I would be writing a review for a Chip ‘n’ Dale animated/live action hybrid flick that I would like, yet here we are. I was surprised at the direction of the film from the trailer, but knew it was going to be either really fun or a major train wreck and thankfully it delivers. This film reminded me so much of Who Framed Roger Rabbit in its tone and execution in more ways than one. The real world connection to the animated series and E True Hollywood story vibe of their tale just made it work so much more than it had any right too. Is it silly and ridiculous? Absolutely! Does it work yes it does.
Right out the gate it gets us all caught up on the original show and where the boys are now after its cancelation. This creates a fun new way of using so many characters that is a plethora of cameos from all sorts of franchises both new and old that will have fans cheering and laughing. There is one specific one that was spawned out of hate of another project and has firmly found its place here and will no doubt ironically be a fan favorite. The story itself even takes some cues from Roger Rabbit in the best way possible while doing its own thing and I was all in.
Both styles of animation not only bring the new and classic together perfectly it is a brilliant idea on how to make it work. The jokes are plenty, the cameos are abundant and the laughs and heart are all front and center. This was not a movie I expected to enjoy this much yet here we are and I did. I love Roger Rabbit and think this is this generation’s version of that movie and stands all on its own. There are plenty of fun and laughs for the kids, but even more for the adults and I hope everyone is willing to give it a chance and just have some fun enjoying it for the ridiculous awesomeness it is.
Check out Chip ‘n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers when it streams exclusively on May 20th on Disney+.