The Rescue Rangers Return to Mixed Results
Last Friday saw the return of Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers in an all-new hybrid animation/live-action film for Disney Plus sharing the same name. As one of the most beloved shows of the Disney Afternoon cartoon line-up of the 1990s, Rescue Rangers had big shoes to fill, did it deliver? I’d give it a definite “sort-of.”
The Plot
In a Who Framed Roger Rabbit-esque world where cartoons live amongst humans, Chip n’ Dale Rescue Rangers follows the “real life” Chip and Dale who reunite some decades after a falling out when a close friend goes missing. From there a dark underworld of cartoon kidnappings is unveiled, where beloved stars are forced into making bootlegs of their source material after undergoing a cartoon “plastic surgery” of sorts. Quite a dark premise for what is generally a silly family comedy. The two titular chipmunks are forced to solve a mystery, in the vein of their TV show counterparts, before their friend is gone for good.
What’s to Like?
Although I have mixed feelings on the movie as a whole, there were quite a few pieces of it I enjoyed. The implementation of cartoon characters into the real world is quite well done. Their lives as movie stars or has-beens feel genuinely believable within the confines of that world. One example of this is Dale’s social media presence attempting to get fans to come buy his autograph, which proves to be one of the funnier moments of the movie. Rescue Rangers is also filled with many cameos of cartoon stars, with many of the non-Disney characters being quite surprising.
Where Does Rescue Rangers Falter?
Ultimately Chip n’ Dale Rescue Rangers most entertaining attribute is its multitude of cartoon cameos. A film like Who Framed Roger Rabbit (a movie I consider to be nearly perfect) may share many similarities with Rescue Rangers in terms of its mix of real world and toon world, but hits its highs because of its engaging plot and loveable characters.
As a side note, I’m also really not a fan of John Mulaney and Andy Samberg’s voices as the chipmunks. I would have much rather listened to the high-pitched squeaking of Chip and Dale than the realistic celebrity-voiced portrayal. My biggest gripe though has to be animation itself. The computer-generated characters using cel-shading to make them appear to be two-dimensional just does not look good at all.
Score: 6/10
Did you get a chance to check out Chip n’ Dale Rescue Rangers yet? Let me know what you thought in the comments below. If you want to have a spoiler-filled discussion about this or any other Disney movies/shows, be sure to join our SPOILER Support Group Facebook page.
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