By: Andrew Wing

Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers is a 2022 American live-action/animated action-adventure comedy film based on the characters Chip and Dale and a continuation of the animated TV series of the same name. Directed by Akiva Schaffer (Hot Rod, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping) and written by Dan Gregor and Doug Mand, the film stars John Mulaney (Big Mouth, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) and Andy Samberg (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Palm Springs) as the voices of the titular pair, respectively, with Will Arnett (Arrested Development, Lego Movie franchise), Eric Bana (Hulk, Munich), Keegan-Michael Key (Key & Peele, The Prom), Seth Rogen (Superbad, Pineapple Express), J.K. Simmons (Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, Whiplash), and KiKi Layne (If Beale Street Could Talk, The Old Guard).

It is a co-production between Walt Disney Pictures, producers David Hoberman (produced the 2010 sports drama The Fighter) and Todd Lieberman’s Mandeville Films (co-produced the 2017 live-action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast with Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures), and The Lonely Island (which Schaffer and Samberg are a part of).

Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers premiered in Orlando on May 16, 2022, and was released in the United States on May 20, 2022, via streaming on Disney+ as an original film.

THE GOOD

I won’t lie, as the calendar turned from 2021 to 2022, when it came to upcoming movies, the Chip ‘n Dale reboot film was nowhere near the top of my list. However, after hearing all of the good reviews it was getting from critics and also coming out from the rock I was clearly living under to find out that comedy legends John Mulaney and Andy Samberg were voicing the titular characters, my excitement level went from 0 to 100. I absolutely love Andy Samberg as I probably listened to the inappropriate songs he did as a member of The Lonely Island, and for the past couple of years, I, like the rest of the world, have really taken a liking to John Mulaney, thanks in large part to his voice acting work as Andrew Glouberman in the Netflix original animated show Big Mouth. So now that I’ve given you some context, let’s see if those two comedy legends did enough to make this the surprise film of the year, or if they made it yet another in the long list of failed reboot movies. Keep reading to find out!

I won’t waste any time before I answer that question, this movie is easily the most pleasant surprise of the year for me, it is super funny, it is original in its own way, and it is just incredibly charming from beginning to end. I loved the way those in charge went about this reboot, and that’s because they knew their primary target audience was adults. I mean sure, kids can enjoy this too, but they made it knowing the adults now are the same ones who grew up watching the original animated series. I’ll touch on the director Akiva Schaffer and the writers Dan Gregor and Doug Mand more so later in the review when it comes to what I liked the most about this, but just to state the obvious, they did an amazing job with Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers.

Alright, now I said the main reason I checked this out in the first place was because of the inclusion of both John Mulaney and Andy Samberg, and hands down, they were the best part of this. The movie had great voice work from everyone, but Mulaney and Sandberg absolutely crushed it. Their chemistry was off the charts and I’d be shocked if we don’t see them work together again in an animated movie, and hopefully, it is a sequel for this. First, with Mulaney, his voice is just perfect for animation. He was amazing as Chip, and he just did such a great job at showing how Chip is the mature and optimistic leader of the Rescue Rangers with a strong moral standard by just using his voice. As for Samberg, I mean what can I say, I absolutely loved everything he brought to the table here and he is the perfect actor to voice Dale. Similar to Mulaney, Samberg was somehow able to convey that Dale is this happy-go-lucky character who usually acts before thinking with just his voice, and I really can’t say enough about their voice acting in this. It was that good.

Now to touch on some of the supporting voice performances. J.K. Simmons probably had the best voice work when it came to the supporting crew. You could just tell that he was so committed to this like he is for all his other projects and he was just hilarious as his voice is so recognizable. Seth Rogen was awesome too in his voice role and I loved how the movie made a reference to the fact that Rogen has voiced so many animated characters in his career. Lastly, Will Arnett, Eric Bana, and Keegan-Michael Key also were great in their small supporting roles, but Tim Robinson stole the show in his cameo voice appearance as the infamous Ugly Sonic.

This movie is labeled as a comedy, and I’ll get it out of the way right now if you were wondering, it is so so funny. Every couple of minutes there was something that happened that made me laugh out loud. Sure, a lot of that is thanks to the voice actors, but the majority of credit belongs to the director Akiva Schaffer and the writers Dan Gregor and Doug Mand for what they created here because this movie is extremely clever. The meta-commentary in this was perfect and I really think this movie showed everyone what meta-humor should be. In the past couple of years, we have seen meta-humor used a lot more in movies and we have seen it used so terribly. But thankfully with this, we got what meta-humor should be because they took self-referential humor and intertwined it into the story in a way that was organic, functional, unique, and most importantly, funny. From the Ugly Sonic joke, the dumping on Alvin and the Chipmunks, to the references to the 2019 film Cats which is maybe the worst movie ever, there were so many amazing jokes that will make it endlessly entertaining for years to come.

I know I’ve already spoken a lot about John Mulaney already, but this isn’t his first time starring in an animated film. He was in what I think is the greatest animated movie ever back in 2018 with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and aside from all of the awesomeness that film had, its best aspect was its animation style. Since watching that, I have slowly gotten more into anime, and after watching Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers, I can certainly say that their animation was very good. It was really cool to see the blend of different animation styles they worked throughout the movie and I can’t imagine what the animators had to do to make that work. But whatever they did, it looked great and I hope that come next year’s Academy Awards, they have the chance to bring home some hardware for what they accomplished.

THE BAD

There is no denying that this movie is a freaking blast from start to finish, and as I have already said, it is the surprise movie of the year for me. Sure, there are some jokes that don’t land like all comedies and I could’ve gone without the KiKi Layne human character because I don’t think it brought much to the story, but in Layne’s defense, it cannot be easy acting with air which is what she had to do in this because the movie is primarily full of animated characters. At the end of the day though, that is about all I can say negatively about Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers, so with that said, it’s undeniably a very good movie.

THE VERDICT

After exceeding all of my expectations, I can say without a doubt that Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers is the surprise movie of the year as it has everything you could ask for. It’s genuinely funny as it has got great meta-humor that is full of lots of funny references, and it also has solid animation and some incredible voice acting from the entire cast that is led by John Mulaney and Andy Samberg.

I really loved this movie. It is a lot of fun, it is very honest, it is sincerely made, it is adorable, and it is just a well-put-together film. It is super accessible to many different audiences which is why I think it is the perfect family movie, so if you’re looking for a movie to watch with your kids, this is the one.