Chip ’n Dale: Rescue Rangers review: how to do a reboot right

The live-action Disney Plus movie is a welcome addition to a world that’s full of crossovers and reboots. Chip ’n Dale: Rescue RangersIt’s a refreshing remedy. Yes, it’s something of a reboot and something a crossover. But against all odds, it’s also a joyful celebration of what makes these modes of entertainment so popular.

Lonely Island director Akiva Schaffer (Popstars Never Stop Never Giving Up() How I Met Your Mother Dan Gregor and Doug Mand transform a dull concept into an exciting one. Although the plot may seem simple, it allows for more humor and meta-shenanigans.

[Ed. note: This review contains some setup spoilers for Chip ’n Dale: Rescue Rangers.]

Image: Disney Enterprises

Chip ’n Dale: Rescue RangersThe animated chipmunks Chip, voiced by John Mulaney, and Dale (voiced By Andy Samberg), reunite after years of being animated in their animated series. Rescue RangersIt was canceled. Chip quit show business to become an insurance agent. Dale is still touring conventions in the hope of getting his big break. Their friendship collapsed when Dale tried to go solo on a project, which cost them the show, and they haven’t talked in years. They’re called in by their old castmate Monterey Jack (Eric Bana), who has gotten himself into a bit of a bind. When he suddenly disappears, it’s up to Chip and Dale to get to the bottom of the mystery.

Similar to Roger Rabbit: Who is the Framer?(which it refers openly to) Chip ’n Dale: Rescue RangersIt takes place in an animated world, where humans live with animated characters. This is not like in Roger Rabbit, there isn’t really any tension between cartoons and real people. It’s just a fact of life that the animated characters are actual beings too. The approach of exploring the world of show business — now with animated characters — remains the same, though. It’s an inherently fun setup that lends itself to some great jokes. Dale gets a “CGI surgery” so he can look like a modern 3D character, instead of a hand-drawn 2D one like Chip. A grim destiny awaits the kidnapped toons. Their bodies are being modified enough to make them suitable for use in terrible bootleg animated films that can be found in supermarket checkout lines. Many of the most obvious questions are answered hilariously in this setting.

True to the genre of “animated characters in the real world,” the movie is chock-full of cameos and Easter eggs in just about every frame. Blink and you’ll miss half a dozen preexisting characters wandering around, from the depths of Disney’s history to up-to-the-moment gags. This makes it an exciting game of I Spy.

Image: Disney

There are some great comedic moments in the cameos. It helps that the movie doesn’t solely rely on Disney characters popping in. Chip ’n Dale: Rescue Rangers pulls in cameos from across studio lines, making it feel less like a glorified brand-deposit ad and more like just a chance to have some fun with beloved characters, whether they’re CGI, cel-shaded, stop-motion, or even puppets. Similar to Roger Rabbit, they don’t feel gratuitous so much as they feel like natural details for this particular world.

The film’s straightforward conspiracy plot does get lost with all the gags, references, banter, and action hijinks going on. Chip and Dale have to forget their differences in order to find their friend and solve the mystery. Naturally, by the end, they realize they’re still important to each other. There really aren’t many surprises plot-wise apart from the occasional identity reveal, like the question of who’s behind all the bootlegging.

However, the film actually shatters that simplicity. Most of the story is just a way for Chip and Dale get to another place to have fun, meet another unexpected character, or tell a funny joke about Hollywood. And that’s all fine, really. It’s a heartwarming message of friendship that is comparable to other family films, but not too cloying as it overwhelms the funny jokes.

Chip ’n Dale: Rescue Rangers seems primed to draw some cynical eyebrow raises from people who haven’t seen it and find it hard to believe that these slapstick cartoon chipmunks could fuel a film made for adults. While it is both a reboot/crossover movie, the film makes fun of these things. The writers and Schaffer play the funny line, making fun of all this modern meta-updating. Some cynicism might melt away as the movie is so entertaining. It’s sweet enough to not be totally mean-spirited, but not overly saccharine in the way some family movies tend to be.

More importantly, the jokes are sharp, and a lot of them lean on adult sensibilities — though in the way the union bit in Shrek 2 It isn’t cruel, crude, or cruel. The cameos, Easter eggs and jokes that they make add color and humor to this world. Chip ’n Dale: Rescue Rangers is a great reminder of how much fun it can be to reimagine childhood classics when it’s done right — a rare thing in this day and age.

Chip ’n Dale: Rescue RangersDisney Plus hits May 20.