Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers review

Originally created by Disney back in 1943, animated chipmunks Chip and Dale are probably best known for a TV series (Chip ‘N Dale: Rescue Rangers) in the late 1980s.

This movie – a blend of live action with animated characters living alongside humans – revisits the pair, who have gone their separate ways in the decades since the TV series ended. Chip (Mulaney) sells insurance while Dale (Samberg) – who has had CGI surgery to give him ‘real fur’ – is a convention regular reminiscing about the old days. The pair is grudgingly reunited, however, when one of the Rescue Rangers, Monterey Jack, disappears and both Dale and police officer Ellie (Layne) suspect foul play.

Like Who Framed Roger Rabbit – to which this movie shares more than a few similarities (and watch out for a cameo from Roger himself) – this animated adventure smartly works on two levels: there’s lots of fun and a simple but enjoyable story for young kids to follow, and there are lots of movie references, in jokes and cameo appearances (which we won’t spoil here) that will have adults sniggering throughout.

There’s Seth Rogen’s turn as Bob, a motion capture Viking dwarf (a nod to the early 21^st century trend for ‘real’ computer animation in movies like Beowulf and The Polar Express where the characters were, quite frankly, creepy and weird) and the appearance of ‘Ugly Sonic’ (the original design of the animated character from the Sonic the Hedgehog movie – you know, the one with human teeth) to enjoy, and some genius gags (like the mentions of ‘muppet fighting’) that raise this from being just another reboot to something both incredibly silly and rather special.