Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers review: Andy Samberg, John Mulaney’s movie isn’t what you’d expect from Disney

3.5/5

Story: Chip n’ Dale starts off as school besties and make it big with a TV show of their own before they split up and the story dies off. Years later, the two of them are reunited after a mutual friend contacts them for the first time in years. Known for their detective work in their TV show, these two former buddies roll the years back once again, but this time in the real world. 

Review: Have you guys seen and enjoyed Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers back in the day? If you have, great, you will love this movie. If you haven't, no problem, you will still love this movie. After Netflix happily ruined Marmaduke for us all with the movie starring Pete Davidson in the lead, Disney presents to the world, a movie that stands out with its narrative, execution and voice-acting. 

Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers is based on the kids show from the haydays of the same name, where two chipmunks in clothes run an investigation agency and bust crimes and criminals. They were accompanied by two mice and a fly. While this sounds like something that would work a treat back in the days, you are not completely sure about how a reboot to this would work out today. Safe to say, the makers of the movie have smashed it out of the park by choosing an interesting way of looking at it. I wouldn’t say it’s as good as Robert Zemeckis’ Who Framed Roger Rabbit, but Chip n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers comes close.

So in this world, very much like in that of Who Framed Roger Rabbit, cartoon characters of all shapes and sizes live together with the real life, live-action characters. Chip and Dale’s story about how they met in school, formed a partnership and got their own TV show is documented. Their fallout is all shown to us in the first few minutes of the movie. Years down the line, their show is history and Chip is a successful insurance salesman, winning employee of the month a few times while Dale still goes to fan convention circuits, trying to make it big one more time in the modern world. 

Here begins the part about this movie that is a standout. Living in the real world, we are very aware of Disney’s obsession of taking once glorious shows and movies and rebooting them for the modern audience. The latest Chip n’ Dale movie does not miss a chance to find a joke or even take a jab at this when the opportunity arises. The movie also makes use of a number of Disney characters from the past, also giving you that little dose of nostalgia, but being careful not to make the entire movie about this, which is yet another reason this movie works well. 

Director Akiva Schaffer has done an amazing job, at building a world that you wouldn't mind watching for 90 minutes, and then adding sly jokes and subtle punches at movie studios time and time again. The pop references are all over the place, but it does not overpower the story, the characters or their adventure. It’s safe to say that this is something recent movies have not gotten a hold as to how to perfect. But Schaffer comes close and it works out just fine. A very recent example is where Ugly Sonic is presenting a fan convection circuit along with Dale. If you remember, this infamous version of Sonic was hated by fans from across the globe after his appearance in the Sonic The Hedgehog trailer, where he features creepy human-like teeth. This is just one of the examples for how the jokes and references in this movie works. 

The CGI and animation also works brilliantly. I talked about Marmaduke at the beginning and I am just happy that at least this movie did not turn into a blunder with its animation. After all, what is an animation movie, if you don’t get the animation right?

John Mulaney and Andy Samberg feature as Chip and Dale respectively and they do a good job. But in a movie that features a number of comedians, it's nice to see that they all work out just fine. Seth Rogen, Tim Robinson, Keegan Michael-Key and Will Arnett are all known for pulling off comedy, but even Eric Bana and J. K. Simmons get it right. That's a five-star performance when it comes to the voice-acting. 

While the makers get all the basics right, the most important thing about Chip n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers, is its satirical comedy setting that does not shy away from taking a jab at studios and even Disney when it's presented. When this is combined into a story of once glorious detectives on a TV show getting their hands dirty with a crime-mystery in real life, this movie gets a certain life that precedes the comedy, the cast and even animation, all of which are actually good in the first place. 

Verdict: I am still unable to understand how Walt Disney Pictures were convinced into making this movie. Chip n’ Dale is the definition of a surprise hit, because one does not expect a lot from the many reboots we get these days. The comedy might not give you great laughs, but it sticks and there are a number of “that’s impressive” moments. The animation and world setting are also admirable and the voice cast wraps up a movie that is fun, enjoyable and overall great.