Chip ‘N Dale: Rescue Rangers Trailer Gets Lonely Island Mockumentary Treatment
Kids of the early 90s couldn’t wait to get home from school to watch Disney Afternoons, two-hour animated television block programming produced by Walt Disney Television Animation that aired shows like Darkwing Duck, Tailspin, and Gargoyles. But perhaps the most nostalgic of them all, and by far my favorite of the bunch was Chip’ N Dale: Rescue Rangers. The series saw the two iconic Disney characters running a detective agency with Gadget Hackwrench, Monterey Jack, and Zipper for three seasons and 65 episodes over two years. Last year, it was confirmed that the show is getting an upgrade that comes from the minds of Lonely Island. Now, Disney has released the first trailer for the upcoming film.
The trailer opens with a “True Hollywood Story” documentary-style intro of Chip’ N Dale’s rise from unknown chipmunks into international superstars. The retro television, classic opening theme, and a room full of nostalgia that includes video games, plushies, and so much more provide a small sample of their history in Disney pop culture. And while Chip (John Mulaney) seems optimistic about having many more seasons and Dale living up the party life, “no one could have ever imagined that it would come crashing down.”
Thirty years later, we revisit the two chipmunks at entirely different stages of their life. While Chip lived on in his traditionally hand-drawn form, Dale facelifted in true Hollywood fashion and got CGI’ed. At the same time, Moterary Jack succumbed to his unhealthy cheese habit. And as you may have noticed, the trailer is missing an essential character from its five-member team.
Here’s the official plot synopsis to “Chip ‘N Dale: Rescue Rangers:”
In “Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers,” Chip and Dale are living amongst cartoons and humans in modern-day Los Angeles, but their lives are quite different now. It has been decades since their successful television series was canceled, and Chip (voice of Mulaney) has succumbed to a life of suburban domesticity as an insurance salesman. Dale (voice of Sandberg), meanwhile, has had CGI surgery and works the nostalgia convention circuit, desperate to relive his glory days. When a former cast mate mysteriously disappears, Chip and Dale must repair their broken friendship and take on their Rescue Rangers detective personas once again to save their friend’s life.
The tags read that this isn’t a reboot. Even Chip refuses to recognize that it is a reboot. This is probably just a tiny sample of the meta-humor in the film. The mockumentary format works well for a film that intends to pay homage to a classic animated series. And it should be interesting to see if any other Disney Afternoon show that gets a Disney+ film revival follows suit.
“Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers” stars John Mulaney (“Saturday Night Live”) as Chip, Andy Samberg (“Palm Springs”) as Dale and KiKi Layne (“If Beale Street Could Talk”). Also joining the cast are Will Arnett (“Arrested Development”), Eric Bana (“Dirty John”), Flula Borg (“Pitch Perfect 2”), Dennis Haysbert (“24”), Keegan-Michael Key (“Schmigadoon!”), Tress MacNeille (“The Simpsons”), Tim Robinson (“I Think You Should Leave”), Seth Rogen (“Pam and Tommy”), J.K. Simmons (“Being the Ricardos”), Chris Parnell (“Saturday Night Live”). The film is directed by Akiva Schaffer (“Saturday Night Live”), written by Dan Gregor and Doug Mand (“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”) and is produced by Todd Lieberman (“Wonder”) and David Hoberman (“Beauty and the Beast”), with Alexander Young (“Extinction”) and Tom Peitzman serving as executive producers.
Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers” premieres May 20, 2022, exclusively on Disney+.
