Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers

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Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers
Genre	Animated series
Creator(s)	Tad Stones Alan Zaslove
Starring	Corey Burton Peter Cullen Jim Cummings Tress MacNeille
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	65 (List of episodes)
Production
Running time	22 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	Syndication
Original run	March 5, 1989 – November 19, 1990
Links
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers was an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation and created by Tad Stones and Alan Zaslove. It featured the classic Disney chipmunk characters Chip 'n Dale, with three new friends, as detectives.

The show as originally conceptualized by Tad Stones was not centered around the Chip 'n Dale characters, but, as relayed by him, a rework with the chipmunks was ultimately green-lighted by Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg^[1].

The series began airing on March 5, 1989 on the Disney Channel, where the first 13 episodes ran. Just like DuckTales did in 1987, it premiered as a two-hour TV movie, Rescue Rangers: To the Rescue, which also, like DuckTales, was later broken up into a five-part pilot serial and rebroadcast as episodes 14-18. In the fall of the same year, the show began its syndicated run, where it was often paired in an hour-long show with DuckTales. The last episode aired on November 19, 1990, by which time the series was a part of the then-fledgling Disney Afternoon and continued to air in its lineup until 1993. 65 episodes were created in total.

The show is currently airing on Toon Disney after its return on January 15, 2007 Monday-Friday at 12:00pm.

On November 8, 2005, Disney made their first DVD release of 27 Rescue Rangers episodes. On November 14, 2006, they released a second volume containing the 5-episode pilot and 19 additional episodes (see below). The third DVD set is currently in manufacturing.

The theme song was performed by the pop group, The Jets.

Contents 1 Characters 1.1 Heroes 1.2 Villains 2 Episode list and plot summaries 3 DVD releases 4 Title in other languages 5 Spin-offs 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Characters

[edit] Heroes

Chip (voiced by Tress MacNeille), the leader of the Rescue Rangers, wears a fedora and a flight jacket, much like Indiana Jones. He spends his free time reading detective fiction, his favorite character being Sureluck Jones, whose name is apparently a play on the names of Sherlock Holmes and Indiana Jones. He is presented as very dedicated to his detective work, and generally attempts to be serious and responsible, occasionally to the point of humorlessness, he attempts to keep Dale under control in an almost parent-like fashion.

Dale (voiced by Corey Burton) wears a red and yellow Hawaiian shirt, a la Magnum PI. Though dedicated to the job, he is a fun-loving, mischievous prankster and somewhat irresponsible. He spends his free time reading comic books, playing video games, watching Sci-fi and horror movies, and eating candy. It is possible that he is a bit backward, as he always acts like a teenager and is scared of anything too serious, romantically speaking. He is also very dependant on Chip.

Monterey Jack or "Monty" (Originally voiced by Peter Cullen [1], later by Jim Cummings) is an Australian muscle mouse with a weakness for cheese and a pesky fear of cats. Monty met Chip and Dale on their first case as Rescue Rangers, during the course of which he, along with his companion Zipper and Gadget Hackwrench, joined the team. Monty develops a paternal relationship with Gadget, having been a friend of her father's.

Gadget Hackwrench (voiced by Tress MacNeille) is a young female mouse and the team's pilot, mechanic and inventor. She is the daughter of deceased inventor and aviator Geegaw Hackwrench. She meets Chip and Dale on their first case as Rescue Rangers and decides to join the team, being at loose-ends after her father's death. Gadget remains generally oblivious of both Chip's and Dale's obvious attraction to her, and demonstrates no preference to one or the other.

Zipper (voiced by Corey Burton) is a tiny green housefly who appears as Monterey Jack's sidekick. Zipper often handles the little jobs that the rest of the Rescue Rangers cannot. He speaks in a buzz that only Monty (and, presumably, other insects) can understand. He is occasionally shown as extremely strong for his size.

[edit] Villains

Fat Cat, a felonious grey tabby who plays the role of a crime boss. He has four very inept sidekicks: an alley cat named Mepps, a lizard named Wart, a mole named Mole, and a rat named Snout.

Professor Norton Nimnul is a mad scientist and also one of the Rescue Rangers' most frequent enemies. He is identifiable by his oddly-shaped skull, his receding red hair, and very thick glasses, as well as his high-pitched laugh. In one episode, Professor Nimnul has "help" from his obnoxious nephew Normie.

Jim Cummings voiced both the Rangers' primary foes; however, they appeared together only in the pilot episode, as the faithful pet and the science officer of a megalomaniacal crime boss.

[edit] Episode list and plot summaries

Article: List of Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers episodes

[edit] DVD releases

• Main Article: Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers DVD releases.

Disney is in the process of releasing official DVD box sets. So far, two volumes have been released in Region 1 (North America). The first collection of episodes has also been released in the U.K, presumably, the second collection will follow.

The DVD sets are unique as they are not, to this point, released in chronological order, but rather in the order they were produced. Thus, the episodes on the DVD sets do not match the order that the episodes were aired.

[edit] Title in other languages

• Bulgarian: Чип и Дейл: Спасителен отряд
• Chinese: 救難小福星(Jiù Nàn Xiǎo Fú Xīng, Hong Kong & Taiwan) 救援突击队(Jiù Yuán Tū Jī Duì, Mainland China)
• Czech: Chip a Dale - Rychlá rota
• Danish: Chip og Chap Nøddepatruljen
• Dutch: Knabbel en Babbel - Rescue Rangers
• Finnish: Tikun ja Takun pelastuspartio
• French: Tic et Tac - Les Rangers du Risque
• German: Chip und Chap - Die Ritter des Rechts
• Greek: Τσιπ και Ντέηλ - Υπερασπιστές του Δικαίου
• Hebrew: צ'יפ ודייל שומרי היער
• Hungarian: Chip és Dale - Csipet Csapat
• Italian: Cip & Ciop Agenti Speciali
• Korean: 다람쥐 구조대(Daramjui Gujodae) means Chipmunk Rescue Rangers
• Japanese: チップとデールの大作戦 (Chippu to Dēru no Daisakusen)
• Lithuanian: „Čipas ir Deilas skuba į pagalbą“
• Norwegian: Snipp og Snapp : Redningspatruljen
• Polish: Chip i Dale - Brygada Ryzykownego Ratunku
• Portuguese: Tico e Teco e os Defensores da Lei or Tico e Teco e o Commando Salvador
• Russian: Чип и Дейл спешат на помощь (Chip i Deil speshat na pomoshch')
• Slovak: Rýchla rota Chipa a Dalea
• Spanish: Chip y Dale Comando de Rescate, Chip y Dale Al Rescate, Chip y Dale Rescatadores and Chip y Chop Rescatadores
• Swedish: Piff och Puff - Räddningspatrullen
• Turkish: Walla Balla Jaap - RedzingsRapla
• Ukrainian: Чіп і Дейл поспішають на допомогу (Chip i Deil pospishayut na dopomogu)

[edit] Spin-offs

In fall of 1989, McDonald's produced a series Happy Meal toys of the main characters riding small vehicles. The TV commercial incorporated cartoon animation from the series.

A popular eponymous Rescue Rangers platform video game was produced for the Nintendo Entertainment System by Capcom in 1990, followed by a less successful sequel. A third game was made for the PC. The video games featured gameplay that was rather similar to that of Super Mario Bros. 2. Although they did not strictly follow the premise of the TV series, some of the game missions did match episode plots, and included recurring appearances of minor series characters such as a mechanical dog and a robot.

A monthly comic book based on the show was published by Disney Comics in 1990, running for 19 issues. Subsequent comic stories were printed in Disney Adventures from 1990 to 1995, as well as in the Disney Afternoon comic book published by Marvel Comics.

There were plans for a theatrical feature film based on the series (a 1990 issue of Comics Scene gave information on a planned release in 1991), but it never came to fruition, possibly because DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp underperformed at the box office.

In the PlayStation and Game Boy Color game Walt Disney World Quest: Magical Racing Tour, Chip 'n Dale appear as playable characters, wearing their Rescue Rangers outfits. However, aside from their outfits, the game has practically nothing to do with Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers.

[edit] References

1. ^ Strike, Joe. The Tad Stones Interview, page 4. Animation World Magazine, July 12, 2004.

[edit] External links

• Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers at MobyGames
• Official web page at the Toon Disney Channel
• The RR Database, with episode guide, fan art, and fanfic
• Super Gigantic Rescue Rangers Episode Guide at Julie's Ranger Rama

Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers
Rescue Rangers: Chip 'n Dale | Gadget Hackwrench | Monterey Jack | Zipper
Villains: Fat Cat | Professor Norton Nimnul | Aldrin Chlordane | Sewernose | Rat Capone
List of episodes: Season 1 Season 2 Season 3
Media: Video Game | Video Game Sequel | DVD Releases