Chip and grin
CHIP ’N DALE: RESCUE RANGERS
Cert PG ★★★★
On Disney+ now
Disney has made a fortune out of live-action and computer-generated remakes of its classic hand-drawn cartoons. But surely they’re scraping the barrel with Chip ’N Dale?
The crime-fighting critters starred in Rescue Rangers, a moderately popular early 90s kids’ TV series, and Alvin and friends remain the most famous animated chipmunks.
And that’s precisely the point of their anarchic comeback.
Made more in the spirit of 2012’s 21 Jump Street than 2016’s The Jungle Book, this surprisingly funny film shows Disney poking fun at its own business model.
In a world where ’toons live alongside humans, Dale (voiced by Andy Samberg) is hawking autographs at a cartoon convention. But he still lives in hope of a Chip ’N Dale reboot and has resorted to “CGI surgery” to appeal to a younger generation. But his former partner has moved on. The still hand-drawn Chip ( John Mulaney) has cashed in on his fading celebrity to become the top salesman for Coercive Insurance.
Then they are reunited by their Rescue Rangers co-star Monterey Jack (Eric Bana), who reveals that minor characters are being kidnapped by a criminal organisation led by embittered, middle-aged Peter Pan (Will Arnett).
In a clever riff on LA Confidential, he’s been changing their copyright-protected looks and forcing them to appear in bootleg versions of Disney classics (the cute fish from The Little Mermaid is now the sad star of The Small Fish Lady).
A riot of in-jokes and cameos and a mish-mash of clashing animation styles, this is strictly for viewers old and geeky enough to remember Beavis & Butt-Head and Beowulf.
Chip ’N Dale won’t charm a new generation with this entertaining nonsense but 90s kids may find them a lot funnier than they were in their heyday.
‘‘ Peter Pan has been changing their looks and forcing them to star in bootleg Disney classics