The TV Show
Contents
Summary
Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers is a cartoon that was produced by Walt Disney Television Animation in the late 1980s.
The show follows the adventures of the Rescue Rangers, a team of four rodents and a fly that take it upon themselves to fight crime.
History
After the success of the first two Disney Afternoon shows, Gummi Bears and Duck Tales, it was time to produce a third show. Work began in 1988, and the first idea presented by Tad Stones and his team was to base it on the 1977 animated feature The Rescuers. However, this idea was discarded on request by Jeffrey Katzenberg who had just begun to work on the sequel The Rescuers Down Under which was to hit the theaters in 1990.
However, the main idea of using small animals as heroes in the world of the humans remained. The next concept was called Metro Mice and involved these main characters:
- Kit Colby, an adventure-loving mouse and probably the head of the team
- Colt Chedderson, a burly Australian kangaroo rat and "explosives expert" who would later on be developed into who is known today as Monterey Jack
- Gadget, a blond-haired inventor mousette wearing purple coveralls and red sandals
- Chirp Sing, a baseball-loving cricket of Asian origin with martial arts skills whose name was used for a one-shot character of an entirely different species later
- Camilla, a chameleon and the team's secretary
- Eagle Eye, a far-sighted eagle who was supposed to be the team's outlook
Some concept art was created, digital copies of a few pieces of which with Kit, Colt, and Gadget on them ended up in the hands of Rangerphiles later. Only one drawing is known with the whole team of six on it, it can be seen in the making-of documentary Chip 'n Dale's Excellent Adventure.
Again, the concept did not get Jeffrey Katzenberg's and Michael Eisner's approval. Known characters (except Bernard and Miss Bianca, that is) would work best. For obvious reasons, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Pluto, and the like didn't work at all, though. But finally, Eisner himself suggested Chip 'n Dale, and Katzenberg gave his trademark comment, "Home Run!" The name Metro Mice was abandoned, chipmunks replaced Kit Colby, and the non-rodent characters were discarded in favor of the housefly Zipper. Still, all five characters had to be worked on before the first episodes could be produced, Gadget's appearance in particular; this can be seen in the differences between the characters' appearances in the show and in the concept art.
On August 27, a movie version of To the Rescue was aired on Disney Channel to test the show's public acceptance. Some scenes which can be seen in the five episodes are missing in this version, and other scenes were cut out when the five episodes were produced.
On March 5, 1989, season 1 premiered on Disney Channel with Piratsy Under the Seas as the first episode. Later the same year, the entire show was added to the Disney Afternoon line-up. On November 19, 1990, They Shoot Dogs, Don't They? was the last episode to have its premiere, and the other episodes were re-aired. In 1993, the show was taken off syndication and replaced by Bonkers. The last episode was aired on September 3.
Characters
You can view the full list here, but below is a list of primary characters:
The Heroes
The Villains
The Episodes
65 episodes were created in total. Each episode ran for approximately 22 minutes.
Here is a complete listing:
- Piratsy Under the Seas
- Catteries Not Included
- Dale Beside Himself
- Flash the Wonder Dog
- Out to Launch
- Kiwi's Big Adventure
- Adventures in Squirrelsitting
- Pound of the Baskervilles
- Risky Beesness
- Three Men and a Booby
- The Carpetsnaggers
- Bearing Up Baby
- Parental Discretion Retired
- To the Rescue (Part 1)
- To the Rescue (Part 2)
- To the Rescue (Part 3)
- To the Rescue (Part 4)
- To the Rescue (Part 5)
- A Lad in a Lamp
- The Luck Stops Here
- Battle of the Bulge
- Ghost of a Chance
- An Elephant Never Suspects
- Fake Me to Your Leader
- Last Train to Cashville
- A Case of Stage Blight
- The Case of the Cola Cult
- Throw Mummy From the Train
- A Wolf in Cheap Clothing
- Robocat
- Does Pavlov Ring a Bell
- Prehysterical Pet
- A Creep in the Deep
- Normie's Science Project
- Seer No Evil
- Chipwrecked Shipmunks
- When Mice Were Men
- Chocolate Chips
- The Last Leprechaun
- Weather or Not
- One Upsman-Chip
- Shell Shocked
- Love Is A Many Splintered Thing
- Song of the Night 'n Dale
- Double O'Chipmunk
- Gadget Goes Hawaiian
- It's a Bird, It's Insane, It's Dale
- Short Order Crooks
- Mind Your Cheese and Q's
- Out of Scale
- Dirty Rotten Diapers
- Good Times, Bat Times
- Pie in the Sky
- Le Purrfect Crime
- When You Fish Upon a Star
- Rest Home Rangers
- A Lean on the Property
- The Pied Piper Power Play
- Gorilla My Dreams
- The S.S. DrainPipe
- Zipper Come Home
- Puffed Rangers
- A Fly in the Ointment
- A Chorus Crime
- They Shoot Dogs, Don't They
Episode Zero: Two Chips and a Miss
The classic Chip 'n Dale cartoon Two Chips and a Miss from 1952 is often referred to as "Episode Zero" and considered a prototype for Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers. While Chip and Dale spend their other cartoons being a nuisance to either Donald Duck or Pluto, this is the only one showing a small animal society in which Chip and Dale wear clothes and meet a female chipmunk singer at a nightclub.
Official Video Releases
VHS Tapes
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers: Crime Busters VHS tape
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers: Undercover Critters VHS tape
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers: Super Sleuths VHS tape
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers: Danger Rangers VHS tape
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers: Double Trouble VHS tape
Laser Discs
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers: Danger Rangers/Super Sleuths Laser Disc
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers: Crime Busters/Double Trouble Laser Disc
US DVD Boxes
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers Volume 1 DVD box
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers Volume 2 DVD box
European DVDs
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers Volume 1 DVD
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers Volume 2 DVD
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers Volume 3 DVD
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers Collection 1 DVD box
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers Collection 2 DVD box
UK DVD boxes
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers Volume 1/2/3 UK DVD box
Spin-Offs
Games
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers (Video Game) for Nintendo Entertainment System.
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers 2 (Video Game) for Nintendo Entertainment System.
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers: The Adventure in Nimnul's Castle for DOS ([1])
Comics
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers by Disney Comics, officially abbreviated CDRR
Mini-comics in Disney Adventures magazine
The Secret Casebook, a set of standalone stories
Disney's Colossal Comics Collections, compilations of Disney Adventures and Secret Casebook stories
Others
Rescue Rangers Fire Safety Adventure
Title in Other Languages
Bulgarian: Чип и Дейл: Спасителен отряд
Chinese: 救難小福星(Jiù Nàn Xiǎo Fú Xīng, Taiwan&Hong Kong) 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
Kannada: ಚಿಪ್ಪು ಮತ್ತು ದೇಲು (chippu mattu delu)
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: Brygada RR also known as 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: Guardianes Rescatadores
Swedish: Piff och Puff - Räddningspatrullen
Turkish: Walla Balla Jaap - RedzingsRapla
Ukrainian: Чіп і Дейл поспішають на допомогу (Chip i Deil pospishayut na dopomogu)
Theme Song
Original
Sometimes some crimes
Go slipping through the cracks
But these two gumshoes
Are picking up the slack
There's no case too big
No case too small
When you need help just call
Ch-ch-ch-Chip 'n Dale
Rescue Rangers
Ch-ch-ch-Chip 'n Dale
When there's danger
No, no, it never fails
Once they're involved
Somehow whatever's wrong gets solved
Ch-ch-ch-Chip 'n Dale
Rescue Rangers
Ch-ch-ch-Chip 'n Dale
When there's danger
No, no, it never fails
They'll take the clues
And find the wheres and whys and whos
Ch-ch-ch-Chip 'n Dale
Rescue Rangers
Ch-ch-ch-Chip 'n Dale
When there's danger
Ch-ch-ch-Chip 'n Dale
Behind The Scenes
The Staff
Produced by Walt Disney Television Animation
PRODUCERS: Ken Koonce, Tad Stones, David Wiemers, Alan Zaslove
SUPERVISING DIRECTOR: Tad Stones
DIRECTORS: John Kimball, Rick Leon, Jamie Mitchell, Bob Zamboni
SUPERVISING STORY EDITOR: Tad Stones
STORY EDITORS: Jymn Magon, Bryce Malek, Ken Koonce, Tad Stones, David Wiemers, Mark Zaslove
STORY BY: Buzz Dixon, Kevin Hopps, Ken Koonce, Sindy McKay, Bruce Reid Schaefer, Tad Stones, Larry Swerdlove, David Wiemers, David Wise, LuAnne Wood
TELEPLAY BY: Buzz Dixon, Kevin Hopps, Ken Koonce, Julia Jane Lewald, Dev Ross, Bruce Talkington, David Wiemers, David Wise, Linda Woolverton.
WRITTEN BY: Burt Brown, Alan Burnett, Art Cover, Mark Edens, Michael Edens, Kevin Hopps, Doug Hutchinson, Ken Koonce, Eric Lewald, Jymn Magon, Bryce Malek, Lydia Marano, Sindy McKay, Michael Price Nelson, Julia J. Roberts, Dev Ross, Bruce Reid Schaefer, Dean Stefan, Tad Stones, Somtow Sucharitkul, Larry Swerdlove, Bruce Talkington, Len Uhley, David Wiemers, David Wise, Mark Zaslove.
VOICE DIRECTION: Andrea Romano, Dev Ross
ASSISTANT PRODUCER: Maia Mattise
ANIMATION DESIGNER: Toby Shelton
KEY LAYOUT ARTISTS: Michael Spooner, Ed Wexler
CHARACTER DESIGN: Ken Boyer, Kenny Thompkins
PROP DESIGN: Terry Hudson, Rob Laduca, Marty Warner
OVERSEAS ANIMATION SUPERVISERS: Dale Case, Russell Mooney, Bob Zamboni
TOKYO ANIMATION PRODUCER: Russell Mooney
STORYBOARD DESIGN: Kurt Anderson, Barry Caldwell, Rich Chidlaw, Larry Eikleberry, Holly Forsyth, Sharon Forward, Jim Gomez, Jan Green, Warren Greenwood, Larry Latham, Michael O'Mara, John Norton, Frank Paur, Dave Schwartz, Rhoydon Shishido, David Smith, Robert Taylor, Lonne Thompson, Keith Tucker, Byron Vaugns, Roy Wilson, Monty Young
KEY BACKGROUND STYLING: Gary Eggleston, Bill Lorencz
COLOR KEY STYLING: Janet Cummings, Robin Draper, Debra Jorgensborg
SUPERVISING TIMING DIRECTOR: David Brain
TIMING DIRECTORS: Robert Alvarez, Vonnie Batson, Carol Beers, Becky Bristow, Myrna Bushman, Brad Case, Joan Drake, Jeff Hall, Terence Harrison, John Kimball, Marsh Lamore, Rick Leon, Mircea Mantta, Mitch Rochon, Ernie Schmidt, Bob Shellhorn, Mike Stribling, Mike Svayko, Bob Treat, Richard Trueblood, James T. Walker, Neal Warner, Bob Zamboni
CONTINUITY SUPERVISOR: Marlene Robinson May
CONTINUITY COORDINATORS: Vonnie Batson, James Finch
TRACK READING: Skip Craig
SCRIPT COORDINATORS: Marie Sager, LuAnne Wood
PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS: Jeffrey Arthur, Jacaleen Cotter, Barbara Ebel, Wade Nassir
PRODUCTION ARCHIVE ADMINISTRATOR: Krista Bunn
ART COORDINATOR: Karen Silva
POST PRODUCTION MANAGER: Sara Duran
POST PRODUCTION COORDINATORS: Barbara Beck, Rick Finn
TALENT COORDINATOR: Olivia Miner
MANAGING EDITOR: Rich Harrison
SUPERVISING EDITORS: Cecil Broughton, Charlie King
SOUND EFFECTS EDITORS: Brian Baker, Rick Hinson, Mark Orfanos, Jerry Winicki
ASSISTANT EDITORS: Theresa Gilroy, David Lynch, Bob Martell, Thomas Needell, Craig Paulsen
CHIP 'n' DALE'S RESCUE RANGERS THEME SONG: Words and music by Mark Mueller.
MUSIC COMPOSED AND CONDUCTED BY: Glen Daum for Score Productions
SONGS: Kevin Hopps, George Khan, Silversher and Silversher, Tad Stones, Diana Zaslove
ANIMATION PRODUCTION BY: A-1 Productions, Sun Woo Animation, TMS Entertainment, Wang Film Productions Co. Ltd, Cuckoo's Nest Studio
The Voices
Greg Berger (Wild Bill Hiccup)
Corey Burton (Dale, Zipper, Snout, Mole, Bud Snake, Moe, Pop Top, Chief of the Kiwis, Normie Nimnul, Macduff, Bric, Roger Baskerville, Dr. Piltdown, Euripides, Davey, Jeebee, Stormy the Pi-Rat, Wexler, Ratatouille, Robocat)
Hamilton Camp (Chief Beetlebreath)
Pat Caroll (Kookoo the Gorilla)
Peter Cullen (Monterey Jack, Mepps, Officer Kirby, Officer Muldoon, Ignatz Stanislavsky, Nemo, Voltaire, Chief Hermit Crab, Mr. Gribbish, Brac, Restaurant owner, The Pharaoh's Demon, Mr. Hancock, Ratso Ratskiwatski)
Brian Cummings (Arnold Mousenegger)
Jim Cummings (Monterey Jack, Fat Cat, Wart, Sergeant Spinelli, Professor Norton Nimnul, Stan Blather, Jolly Roger, Spud, Conrad Cockatoo, Mr. Whizzer, Steggy, Clyde Cosgrove, Butch the bulldog, Pepto Gizmo, Hubert, Elmer, Barnacle Bill, Lord Howie Baskerville, Mr Quigley, Sir Colby, Rocco, Dr. Crockery, Hiram the mummy, Chirp Sing, Heinrich von Sugarbottom, Cheddarhead Charlie, Bubbles, Lou Spider, Dr. Hibbleman, Baby Thaddeus, Hoo You, Monsieur Le Sewer, DTZ)
Danny Gans (Seymour the travel agent, Fry, Moose, Muscles, Sparky, Buzz, Groucho Marx Pigeon)
Joan Gerber (Zsa Zsa Labrador)
Patti Howeth (Druella O'Midas)
Tress MacNeille (Chip, Gadget Hackwrench, Siamese Twins, Winifred, Cassandra the fortune teller, Mrs. Squirrel, Joy Rider, Spunky, Kismet, Existentialist Mouse, Jeremy, Jimmy, Harriet Wolf, Lady Richmore, Mrs. Hancock)
Jimmy Macdonald (Humphrey the Bear)
Chuck McCann (Sugar Ray Lizard, The Red Badger of Courage)
Sindy McKay (Queenie Bee, Irweena Allen, Su Lin, Elliot the Elephant, Ming Ting, Desiree D'Allure)
Howard Morris (Maltese de Sade)
Alan Oppenheimer (Aldrin Klordane, Plato, Captain Kernel)
Rob Paulsen (Flash the Wonder Dog, Detective Donald Drake, Percy, Frenchie, Police Chief, Darby Spree, Tito, Harry Wolf, Myron, Heebee, Don Quijole, Clarence Dudley, Dim Sun, Ting-a-Ling, Errol, Shaka Baka, Captain Finn, Dirk Suave, Louie)
Pete Schrum (Sewernose De Bergerac, Chief Hubba-Hubba, Francis, El Emenopio)
Deborah Walley (Foxglove, Lahwhinie, Buffy Ratskiwatski)
Diana Zaslove (Female human opera singer)
