If you were a ’90s kid, you got to be a part of an era of pretty fun cartoon shows and animation that Disney owned until Pixar came along in the late ’90s. Shows like Scrooge McDuck, Darkwing Duck, and Chip ‘n’ Dale Rescue Rangers were among some of the best animated shows of this era. New versions of these shows have resurfaced recently, and now a film about one of them has been made by a popular comedy troupe, The Lonely Island.
John Mulaney and Andy Samberg have revived the titular chipmunks and voiced them in the film. These two have been popular comedians who have done various films in their careers. They both have been on Saturday Night Live, the former as a regular host and the latter as an ex-cast member. Samberg is part of The Lonely Island, world-renowned as a very popular comedy troupe, which did Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, Hot Rod, and Palm Springs, to name a few films. Most of what these guys touch turns to gold.
When the film starts, Chip and Dale have had a falling out. (After a montage of their origin, of course.) Based on a decision by one of them, they end up breaking up. One of them is a legitimate businessman, and the other is a bit of a wheeler-dealer. He scrapes together what he can. When one of their friends turns up missing, they reluctantly have to team up to find out what happened to them. These two had a falling out, so teaming back up sure isn’t easy for one of them.
This film had a lot of cameos from popular characters of the past, such as Paula Abdul, MC Skat Kat, and Roger Rabbit. It was pretty cool to see so many characters from past animated films and shows in this film. It was like a nostalgia trip, going back to my childhood growing up. Having all of these characters pop up makes for an entertaining aspect of the film. It shows that the writers and directors know the audience they cater to with this film based on this popular children’s IP. It was candy for my eyes.
It also mixes animation styles and uses tropes that have been successful in the past. The rescue rangers are friends, but foremost, they are adventurers and usually end up in crazy circumstances. The story is pretty much one we’ve seen before in various genres of film, especially noir. This film takes the noir genre and runs with it. Even though it’s an animated live-action mashup, it still works as a funny film noir. It’s nice to see this genre work in context with animation. This was a nice addition to the story.
This new version of Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers was a fun ride. It brought back a lot of nostalgia for me and probably for others who will watch it. The voice cast led by Mulaney and Samberg is all fantastic in their specific roles. The mixing of animation styles also worked for the type of story the writers and directors were trying to tell. Using film noir as a means to an end worked for this film. As a reboot, this film worked and was a lot of fun, especially for fans of this era of the animated show. All the cameos were a nice touch as well. I enjoyed this nostalgia trip back to my teen years.
3 1/2 stars
Dan Skip Allen
Sean Boelman Founder/EIC disappointment media
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