Chip N’ Dale: Rescue Rangers Review – A Brilliant, Beautiful, Timeless Reboot

After 30 years, Chip N’ Dale: Rescue Rangers returns with a fantastic animated, live-action hybrid approach.

While there’s plenty of nostalgia for Chip ‘N Dale fans, you don’t need to have any knowledge of the series to enjoy this reincarnated version. Chip N’ Dale features a wide range of characters from different intellectual properties. Space Jam: A New Legacy attempted a similar brand of nostalgia, featuring characters from many franchises. Unfortunately, the nostalgia was little more than eye candy.

In Chip N’ Dale the different franchises play a crucial role in the film’s story. Characters that appear to be simply cameos for shock value actually have a crucial, albeit small role to play in the film’s climax. In typical Chip N’Dale fashion, Chip and Dale are forced to reunite after 30 years apart in a mystery involving Monterey Jack.

The film takes a meta approach with frequent mentions of reboots. It even has some fun with Disney’s penchant for poorly animated sequels and bootleg versions of those films.

The chemistry between Chip played by John Mulaney and Dale played by Andy Samberg is perfect. Mulaney’s great as the more straight-laced Chip. However, it’s Samber’s Dale who lands the best laughs and demonstrates the most growth over the course of the film. J.K. Simmons is his usual charming, gruff self as a Gumby detective. Kiki Layne also does a great job as Ellie, a human detective, who was a fan of the original series.

The only issue with Chip N’ Dale is the murder mystery pretty pedestrian. The twists are easily predictable. In spite of the predictable nature, the film soars when the Rescue Rangers are on the case.

With the overview out of the way, let’s dive deeper into the elements that stood out in The Rescue Rangers’ newest mystery. There may be some minor spoilers. Chip N’ Dale: Rescue Rangers is available to stream on Disney Plus.

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Roger Rabbit Meets Chip N’ Dale: Rescue Rangers

The Roger Rabbit-style, animated characters mixed with real-world characters are fantastic. Beyond that wonderful aesthetic is the variety of animated styles brought to life.

Look no further than Chip and Dale themselves. Chip looks like he was pulled straight out of the animated series. Dale has the more Sonic-like CGI animated style. Both styles fit in this world in an almost seamless fashion. The animation team even uses some stop-motion animation to bring Captain Putty to life.

The only thing that’s at times unconvincing is when the real-life characters speak to the animated creatures. Detective Ellie is the only live-action character Chip and Dale interacts with throughout the film. If there were more human characters interacting with the Rescue Rangers, then there wouldn’t be as much of a disconnect. Luckily, it’s not too distracting as Layne’s almost child-like performance in meeting her animated heroes plays well opposite Chip and Dale.

Chip and Dale’s Reunion

If you’re unfamiliar with Chip and Dale like I was, the film does a great job of establishing their backstories. Chip and Dale met in school. Both are lonely and feel estranged from their classmates until they meet each other. Like any dynamic duo, something has to drive a wedge between the two.

Playing off the cancellation of the original series. Dale, frustrated by being portrayed as the dumb one, wants to take a crack at a solo project. He doesn’t discuss the decision with Chip until the project is greenlit. Dale’s decision resulted in the Rescue Rangers’ cancellation.

Dale’s solo project is also canceled almost immediately. Chip decides to ditch fame for life in insurance sales. When Monterey Jack gets in trouble, he calls Chip and Dale for help. Dale immediately wants to reboot their partnership. Chip resents Dale for abandoning him.

Samberg continues to be one of the more versatile comedic actors. His interpretation of Dale doesn’t just bring the comedy. There’s a yearning quality to his Dale that’s incredibly endearing and provides the film’s heart. Mulaney is the right straight man as Chip.

Bootlegged Mystery

An older Peter Pan based on the 1950s animated film with a beer belly serves as the main villain. His underlings include the Coca-Cola bear and an uncanny valley Viking played by Seth Rogen. Pan’s plan is to capture famous cartoon characters, remove parts of them and then use said parts in bootleg versions of popular films.

Monterey Jack is kidnapped by the trio. After catching a whiff of some stinky cheese, Chip with Dale on his heels decides to try and find their friend. Dale eagerly looks at this mystery as an attempt to reboot their series as well as their friendship. Chip views this mystery as a one-off. He wants his friend back and wants nothing to do with Dale once they get Jack back.

The mystery plot is very much a point A to B mystery. Each clue quickly leads to the next suspect. Every solution is convenient. There are twists in the story, but they’re easily predictable.

The start of the 3rd act is great and features a creative chase scene through a Comic-Con event. Lumiere from The Beauty and The Beast, He-Man from Masters of Universe and Wonder Woman make an appearance during this sequence. Probably the best cameo involves Sonic. Although he has a very human-like feature that you may recognize before the current Sonic The Hedgehog film franchise redesigned the title character.

Chip N’ Dale: Rescue Rangers Final Thoughts

Rescue Rangers is kicking off what should be a fantastic year for animated films in style. From start to finish, Rescue Rangers is a delight. The animation is gorgeous. The story is simple, but the journey with Chip and Dale makes the predictable mystery worthwhile.

Here’s hoping this leads to more animated films in this style. I’m ready for a Darkwing Duck film.

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