Review: Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers is a fun nostalgia trip
A must-watch for kids for whom The Disney Afternoon was a religion
Let’s start with this right from the outset: reviewers have been asked by Disney to not reveal any of the hundreds of amazing cameos that populate the frames of Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers and I will absolutely abide by that. But just know as you read this review that many of the reasons you should watch this fun family film are things I can’t write about. Because the cameos reveal the secret behind the success of this film: director Akiva Schaffer and the rest of the filmmakers involved have crafted a large love letter to animation and I’m absolutely here for it.
As a kid growing up in the late-80’s, Rescue Rangers is hallowed ground for me. RR and DuckTales are the two defining Disney series of that time period and any attempt at rebooting those properties is always going to be viewed through a lens of skepticism. I am glad to report that this Rescue Rangers film – which debuts on Disney+ this Friday (May 20) – is made BY people who clearly have affection for not only the series, but the animation medium in general.
Before I go overboard with praise, it’s important to note what Rescue Rangers is not. You may see a lot of comparisons to Robert Zemeckis’ seminal Who Framed Roger Rabbit? this week and that comparison is apt in that this film deftly drops hand-drawn and 3D animated characters into our real world. But Roger Rabbit is frankly a higher quality film than this aspires to be. Even Disney XD’s recently wrapped TV reboot of DuckTales is more narratively complex than what Rescue Rangers screenwriters Dan Gregor and Doug Mand attempt here. There’s a reason this is a Disney+ film and not a theatrical release. The stakes and visual palette feel small.
That said, the movie is a hell of a fun ride. The film’s premise revolves around the reuniting of former best friends Chip (voiced by John Mulaney) and Dale (Andy Samberg) who went their separate ways after the cancelation of their TV series Rescue Rangers (the animated series we all know and love – yes, in this universe, Chip and Dale are actors and that show was their star vehicle). After their former RR pal Monterey Jack (hilariously voiced by Eric Bana) goes missing, Chip and Dale reunite to track him down. We’re not dealing with Academy Award nominations here, folks. You’re either along for the ride or you’re not.
As a devotee of the original series, I found myself of two minds when it comes to how that show is treated. The other two members of the original gang – Gadget and Zipper – are mostly sidelined here and given an, um, interesting relationship. (Thankfully, the legendary Tress MacNeille returns to voice Gadget, the only actor to do so in their original role although Corey Burton and Jim Cummings appear as other characters in the film.) It’s fair to wonder if the film’s plot would have worked just as well had Chip and Dale been their characters from the series and had a falling out, rather than be performers playing roles. It’s an odd choice to say the least. Still, the love for the show is evident in a lot of the story and without spoiling anything, almost every element diehard fans would want is in here at some point.
There’s a massive misstep in the entire production: the casting of Mulaney as Chip. I’m a fan of Mulaney’s standup routines and frequent SNL hosting appearances. He’s hilarious. He just doesn’t work here as Chip. The film itself acknowledges that Chip is the straight man to Dale’s jester. Mulaney simply isn’t a strong enough actor to make that role work. Other than some pithy one-liners, it’s not Chip’s job to be funny so why not cast a better actor who could have played off of Samberg a little better?
Conversely, Samberg is letter-perfect as Dale. Samberg and Schaffer make up two-thirds of The Lonely Island, so his inclusion always felt like a better fit. Mulaney is a great performer but Samberg is an actor. (Watch Palm Springs if you doubt this). He perfectly captures Dale’s zaniness with a big heart, a hallmark of many of Samberg’s characters. Hearing a regular voice come out of Dale is jarring to be sure, but Samberg makes it work.
The movie does a great job at giving off a strong family film vibe while having enough in there to appeal to adults like me who will geek out at a cameo from a Silly Symphony character. What will kids today think of the many inside-animation jokes that populate the film? I can imagine a lot going over their heads as they wonder why their parents are finding certain things so damn funny. But it’s still a kid’s movie at its heart. There’s enough there to keep them entertained.
Back briefly to the cameos. It’s not just old Disney favorites that are unearthed for this. There are characters from every era of animation and basically every studio in Hollywood. There is a character voiced by the great Tim Robinson that plays a semi-pivotal part in the story whose inclusion was so shocking that it literally left my mouth agape, first at the thought that Disney would allow this character in one of their properties and then at the character’s parent company for consenting. Thank goodness for all involved as this character’s scenes are some of the funniest in the film.
Rescue Rangers is not the movie I thought it was going to be. I’m not sure it’s even the movie I was hoping it would be. It’s probably somewhere in the middle: a perfectly fine, fun family film that will reward multiple viewings. Now, don’t mind me. I’m off to watch it again, remote in hand, ready to pause each frame and spot all the glorious cameos.