Chip n Dale: Rescue Rangers delivers on all fronts, with a solid cast, strong visuals, and a creative adventure.
Thirty years after their popular television show ended, chipmunks Chip (John Mulaney) and Dale (Andy Samberg) live very different lives. When a cast member from the original series mysteriously disappears, the pair must reunite to save their friend.
Disney knows how to pace most of their films and make them to where they can entertain both adults and kids. The movie starts off with the usual introduction to jump-start the story, but as we get deeper into the film it quickly becomes a classic Rescue Rangers adventure. It manages to keep that pace for the remainder of the movie and I appreciated the antics they programmed into the story to keep viewers engaged.
The voice acting was pretty darn good and the cast that they assembled for this film was pretty impressive. Andy Samberg was perfect for the voice of goofy Dale, using elements from his Saturday Night Live days and toning it to Johnny from Hotel Transylvania, and adapting them into Dale in his goofy nature. John Mulaney takes the calm and collected logic of Chip and again adapts it to the direction they took for the movie. This all works really well capturing the past and bringing it to the present and it was fun to watch the antics they brought out with their acting. Other voices accomplished their tasks quite well in their time on screen, but I can’t say much without getting into spoiler territory.
The animation is fluid and fun which gives this movie good quality for being direct to streaming instead of being in theaters. The 2-D animation is reminiscent of the old Disney animation with various styles, designs, and art getting a well-deserved comeback in the film. The 3-D animation is just as insane, showing the potential of the characters if Disney did invest money to really make them stand out and still be cartoony and realistic at the same time.
I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed the story and that it accomplished much more than what I had expected by watching the trailers. The trailers show that the two chipmunks are looking for toons that have gone missing while also dealing with issues that the world has brought with it along the way. While that’s pretty basic and cliche, it works for this film and coats that nice foundation you look for in a project like this. However, they go one step further in finding ways to actually invest a lot more into the story giving it so many character backstories, morals, and heart that have been missing in some of Disney’s previous work. Nothing really gets in the way of the story, and that’s what makes the story fun as these tales are integrated into the main film. It all worked incredibly well balancing all these plot points without losing the overall goal of the film and that is quality storytelling for me.
Overall, Chip n Dale: Rescue Rangers really surprised me given I didn’t have high expectations for this movie. The movie went back to the art of having fun with movies and building adventure, comedy, morals, and checks all the boxes that make this film so much fun to watch. Its tasteful, mature, natural, and humorous in a very diverse way that keeps things constantly changing you can’t help but love the ride you’re on. The story works very well and blends the modern and classic art forms together I wish other movies could capture again. There are times when the humor isn’t as smoother integrated as the rest, a few dark moments and off-pace moments, and the animation style can be odd at times. But, these components are corrected and alleviated by the creativity and wit that were put into the execution of all these components. Chip n Dale: Rescue Rangers is one of my new favorites of 2022 and I highly recommend giving it a watch, especially for those who are familiar with the original series.
Chip n Dale: Rescue Rangers is now streaming on Disney+
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