Movie Review: Chip n Dale Rescue Rangers

Movie Review: Chip n Dale Rescue Rangers                                                            1-19-23

WARNING! THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR CHIP N DALE: RESCUE RANGERS!

It has been over thirty years since Chip n Dale: Rescue Rangers ended. Chip now works as an insurance salesman and has won many Employee of the Month awards. Dale has gone through CGI surgery and now works at FanCon. When former cast-member Monterey Jack goes missing, Chip and Dale have to reunite in spite of their differences to find Monty and solve a caper bigger than they’ve ever known.

While it obviously doesn’t hold an ACME-brand candle to Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Chip n Dale: Rescue Rangers is still a worthy successor with the most creative animation combinations since The Amazing World of Gumball, jokes that will appeal to diehard animation fans , tons of cameos from all sorts of Toons, top-notch voice acting, and strong messages how you shouldn’t hold grudges for so long, forgive friends for whatever they’ve done, and friends and family are more important than business.

This shot alone has 2D, 3D, stop motion, and sock puppet characters all in one scene.

Sweet Pete, a literal middle-aged Peter Pan, is also a fun villain. He captures old Toons, surgically alters them to get past the copyright law, and forces them to Star in crumby knockoffs.

I’m aware that some people don’t like how Sweet Pete parallels child actors who outlived their usefulness, but Illumination did something similar with Despicable Me 3. The film’s villain, Balthazar Brat, was the star of an 80s TV show, but got fired once he hit puberty. Now, Brat wants to get revenge on Hollywood by blowing them up with bubblegum. Brat’s attire, weaponry, and fighting styles are also all reminders of how corny the 80s were at times. For an otherwise disappointing film, Balthazar Brat is one of the better aspects of Despicable Me 3.

Anyway, another thing to appreciate about ‘Rescue Rangers’ is how the film shows how Hollywood is becoming creatively bankrupt and is trying to squeeze every last penny out of everything they can find. Some of the films showcased in this universe include ideas that would never get green lit in a million years, such as Fast and Furious Babies, Mr. Doubtfire starring Meryl Streep (even though Streep is getting old), Waze (a mobile navigation app): The Movie, and the craziest of them all, Batman vs. ET.

Another problem I noticed people have with the movie is how Chip n Dale are remembered from Rescue Rangers (the TV series), but not the original shorts. If you’ve seen Who Framed Roger Rabbit, you’ll notice that two Toons absent from the movie are Chip n Dale, even though they were around for decades by the time the film was released. This makes sense because, if Chip n Dale: Rescue Rangers takes place in the same universe as ‘Roger Rabbit’, then that means the old shorts don’t exist either. As enjoyable as those old shorts are, Chip and Dale in those cartoons were basically Jerry Mouse squared. Besides, I think that would make the movie even more meta if there were two Chips and two Dales.

Chip and Dale as they appeared in the Donald Duck cartoon 'Three For Breakfast'.

In conclusion, Chip n Dale: Rescue Rangers is a worthy successor to Roger Rabbit that will delight the whole family. In fact, I liked the story so much that I have plans for writing a sequel, this one with a message on how hand-drawn Toons and CG Toons can coexist in the same society. This story, Chip n Dale 2: Wrath of Pickles, will come out some time this summer.

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

Plus four pieces of super-stinky cheese