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| “ | We're just a couple of crazy rascals out to have some fun! | „ |
| ~ Chip and Dale |
| “ | The biggest risk is not taking any risk. | „ |
| ~ Chip and Dale’s motto in the movie |
Chip 'N Dale are two chipmunk brother cartoon characters created in 1943 at Walt Disney Productions. Their names are a pun based on the name "Chippendale". This was suggested by Bill "Tex" Henson, a story artist at the studio.
According to Disney, Chip is the logical schemer, and Dale is the goofy, dim-witted one. Originally, the two were of a very similar appearance, but as a way to tell them apart, some differences were introduced. An easy way to visually tell them apart is that Chip has a small black nose (it looks a bit like a chocolate "Chip" as a way to help people remember who is who) and two centered protruding teeth, whereas Dale has a big red nose and his two prominent buck teeth exposed. Chip is also depicted as having smooth, short fur atop his head while Dale's tends to be ruffled.
In the 1950s, they were finally given their own series, but only three cartoons were made; Chicken in the Rough (1951), Two Chips and a Miss (1952), and The Lone Chipmunks (1954). Later, they served as the two titular main protagonists of both the 1988-1990 Disney Channel series, Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers, as well as its 2022 sequel film of the same name.
Portrayals[]
Chip was first voiced by Jimmy MacDonald, Billy Bletcher, Anne Lloyd, Helen Silbert, Gloria Wood, Robie Lester and Teri York in the classics and currently voiced Tress MacNeille, who also voices Daisy Duck, Jan Johns from onward in Mickey Mouse Funhouse and John Mulaney in the 2022 movie, who also voiced Peter Porker in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
Dale was first voiced by Dessie (Flynn) Miller, Billy Bletcher, Anne Lloyd, Gloria Wood, Robie Lester and Teri York in the classics and currently voiced Corey Burton, who also voices Ludwig Von Drake and briefly Tress MacNeille and by Andy Samberg in the 2022 movie, who also voiced Jonathan Loughran in the Hotel Transylvania franchise, Brent Mchale in the Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs franchise, Junior in Storks and Rip Digman in Digman and Han Solo Berger in That's My Boy.
Biography[]
Early cartoons[]
Pluto shorts[]
Chip 'n' Dale first appeared in the cartoon Private Pluto (1943), though they did not have their names or distinguishing characteristics. Pluto has been assigned to guard a pillbox where the two chipmunks are storing their nut supply, with the large gun being used as a nutcracker. However, various portions of Pluto's anatomy (such as his head) are realized as useful nutcracking implements. Eventually, they retreat into the pillbox, leaving Pluto weeping outside.
In their second short Squatter's Rights, they are once again against Pluto, though this time with Mickey Mouse along (though the latter never realizes the chipmunks' presence). The chipmunks have been hibernating in Mickey's hunting cabin when he and Pluto arrive, they are less than thrilled. Various gags ensue, culminating with Pluto almost having his head blown off by a shotgun.
With the aid of a bottle of ketchup, the chipmunks manage to make Mickey think his dog has been critically wounded. Exit one Mouse, leaving the chipmunks once again the sole occupants of the cabin. (Interestingly, though the two chipmunks have no physical distinctions, certain elements of the two chipmunks' later personalities can be recognized.
Donald Duck shorts[]
Chip 'n' Dale did not get their names (or the traits that separate them) until the cartoon Chip an' Dale (1947) where they antagonize Donald Duck. They continued to appear in animated cartoons, usually annoying, tricking, and terrorizing Donald that they became far more famous for antagonizing Donald and are possibly best known for appearing in his shorts (though sometimes it is justified since Donald picks on them), having gained their trademark appearances and personas when acting as Donald's antagonists, until the mid-1950s.
Chicken in the Rough[]
Chip 'n' Dale wanders into a farmyard to collect as many acorns as they can but Dale mistakes an egg for a nut and is in turn mistaken for a hatching egg. Upon investigation by the rooster, Dale is forced to impersonate a newly hatched chicken.
Donald Applecore[]
In this short, Donald is an apple farmer, and Chip 'n' Dale are wreaking havoc on his apples. A battle for supremacy on the farm ensues, with many apples getting destroyed in the process. The word rhyme "Applecore - Baltimore" is used in this short.
Two Chips and a Miss[]
Although Chip and Dale are almost always united in a common goal, this was one of their only shorts to see them working against each other, for the affections of Clarice, a performer at the Acorn Club.
List of Chip 'n' Dale shorts[]
The 1940s[]
- Private Pluto (1943)
- Squatter's Rights (1946)
- Fun and Fancy-Free (1947) (cameo)
- Chip an' Dale (1947)
- Three for Breakfast (1948)
- Winter Storage (1949)
- All in a Nutshell (1949)
- Toy Tinkers(1949)
The 1950s[]
- Crazy Over Daisy (1950)
- Trailer Horn (1950)
- Food for Feudin(1950)
- Out on a Limb (1950)
- Chicken in the Rough (1951)
- Corn Chips (1951)
- Test Pilot Donald (1951)
- Out of Scale (1951)
- Donald Applecore (1952)
- Two Chips and a Miss (1952)
- Pluto's Christmas Tree (1952)
- Working for Peanuts (1953)
- The Lone Chipmunks (1954)
- Dragon Around (1954)
- Up a Tree (1955)
- Chips Ahoy (1956)
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers[]
In 1989, they became the two main characters/heroes in a new animated series, Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers. They formed a detective agency with new characters created for the show: female mouse inventor Gadget Hackwrench, muscular adventuring Australian mouse Monterey Jack, and Zipper the fly. While in the original shorts, the duo are frequent troublemakers who are concerned only with themselves, in Rescue Rangers, they are crime fighters who help the less fortunate.
In this series, the personality differences between the two are more pronounced, with Chip as the responsible, no-nonsense leader and Dale as the goofy, laid back free spirit. Additionally, they wear clothes in this series which reflect their personalities; Chip wears a leather jacket and fedora (much like Indiana Jones), while Dale wears a Hawaiian shirt (much like Magnum, P.I.). Also, Burton gave Dale a slightly raspier voice not heard in any incarnations before or since.
In the series pilot, "To The Rescue", Chip and Dale join their old friend, police K-9 Plato and his human partner, Detective Donald Drake, with pursuing a suspect that stole the Clutchcoin ruby necklace. When the suspect ditches his getaway car in a lumber yard as Drake and Plato arrive, backed up by Officers Kirby and Muldoon, Chip and Dale help recover the necklace, but the suspect escapes. At the precinct, Chip, Dale, and Plato are shocked when they find that Fat Cat, whom Plato thought drowned a year ago with his master, Aldrin Klordane, has shown up to cause trouble. After Plato, Chip, and Dale chase Fat Cat through the station house, drawing the attention of Drake, Kirby, Muldoon, Sgt. Spinelli, the police captain, and the SWAT team, Fat Cat knocks over the coat tree that Drake hung his coat on, revealing evidence Fat Cat planted in the coat to frame Drake and Plato, including the Clutchcoin necklace, minus the ruby, airline tickets, and gambling debts. The police captain has no choice but to have the SWAT team arrest Drake, disarm him of his service weapon, and lock him and Plato up, much to the devastation of the entire precinct at the belief Drake and Plato had gone bad so close to their retirement, which was only a month away. However, knowing that Drake and Plato were framed for the ruby's disappearance, Chip and Dale volunteer to find Fat Cat and recover the ruby and prove Drake and Plato's innocence.
Their pursuit of Fat Cat leads them to meet Monterey Jack and Zipper, who soon join Chip and Dale after Fat Cat throws their home overboard from the ship Monty was living on, enraging Monty over the loss of his house. Though Fat Cat escapes, Monty takes Chip and Dale to meet his old friend, Geegaw Hackwrench, to help them pursue Fat Cat. They find that Geegaw isn't home, but his daughter, Gadget Hackwrench, is, and she somberly reveals that her father was lost over a year ago. Using her father's old aircraft, the Screaming Eagle, Gadget takes Chip, Dale, Monty, and Zipper to Glacier Bay to pursue Fat Cat and his master, Aldrin Klordane, discovering that they've hired Professor Norton Nimnul to carve a large glacier out of the ice to take back to the city. However, as they continue the chase, Monty and Zipper temporarily split off due to Monty's personal revenge for his home but rejoin the gang later as they pursue Klordane into the old subway tunnels under the city, where Plato is captured after Klordane kidnapped Drake from his jail cell earlier.
There, the gang find that Klordane intends to use the ice and lime Jell-O to make a massive earthquake generating device to crack open the vaults of the Global Gold Reserve and steal all of the gold coins and ingots stored inside. Though Klordane succeeds in his plan, encouraged by Plato, and with Plato calling them "Rescue Rangers" for the first time, Chip and Dale and their friends are able to bring the entire building down so the cops within, including Kirby and Muldoon, can arrest Klordane, Nimnul, and all their men, but Klordane escapes with his train full of stolen gold and Plato, causing a cave-in with dynamite to prevent the police from following him. The Rescue Rangers are able to catch up to him, and manage to cause enough of a distraction attacking and injuring him, such as covering him in coal dust, that they are able to divert the train onto a dead end track, causing it to roar back up to the surface, slam into a building, and send Klordane, with Plato administering his patented Crime Bite to Klordane's backside, flying right into the police captain's office, where Klordane returns the ruby and confesses to his crimes, thus vindicating Drake and Plato.
With their names cleared, Drake and Plato are able to retire as originally intended with the rest of the precinct relieved that they are innocent and Klordane framed them out of personal revenge, and Plato presents his police badge to the Rescue Rangers as a token of thanks for their heroism. When a young child then asks Sgt. Spinelli for help finding her missing puppy, the Rescue Rangers are more than ready for their next adventure.
Comics series[]
Chip 'n' Dale also had their comic book title, first from Dell Comics with Four Color Comics #517,581, and 636, then their title for issues #4-30 (1955–62), which was then continued by Gold Key Comics with #1-64 (1967–80), and later under its brand Whitman with #65-83 (1980–84).
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers (2022 Flim)[]
Both Chip and Dale were given unique story elements in the film, contradicting the characters' actual history in films and television outside of Rescue Rangers.
Chip was originally an introvert who was nervous enough to beg his mother to let him stay home. However, he gave in to her words and saw a new classmate, Dale, attempt a gag by stabbing him in the eye with a pencil, which was poorly received by the others. The pair later met over lunch and after that began hanging out much more often, becoming almost brotherly in demeanor. After performing a high school talent show to great acclaim, the Chipmunks went to Hollywood to star in their own series, Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers. The show would become a raging success and the cast and crew felt the show would run for many years. However, during the writing of the show, Dale revealed that he had been offered his own Double-O-Dale series. This went down badly with Chip, who saw it as an act of betrayal of their friendship. Although Dale was adamant that his own show would not interfere with The Lifeguards, it ultimately never left the pilot stage, and constant arguments between the chipmunks led to The Lifeguards being canceled after less than a year on the air. The cast eventually went their separate ways.
After their breakup, Chip became a salesman for an insurance company and excelled to the point of winning several employee of the month awards. The job also provided him with a quiet abode where he lives with his pet dog, Millie, although apart from that he tended to be a loner, turning down his co-workers' numerous offers to join them at events at their homes. Dale remained in the acting business and attempted to continue his career without Chip, but even after receiving CGI Surgery to stay relevant with the times, he eventually resigned himself to signing autographs at the convention booth. However, he rarely received much attention, even though he got along with other failed actors who were also in his situation (Lumiere, Tigra, and Ugly Sonic).
The two chipmunks are unexpectedly brought together by their old colleague, Monterey Jack, who started suffering from smelly cheese ingredients and ended up with a huge debt on the Valley Gang's payroll. Although Chip was willing to help, he ultimately refused when Dale stepped in, still trying to relive his glory days, and Monty ended up kidnapped. The duo quickly became involved in a police investigation and met Ellie Steckler, a fan of their show.
TBA…
Other appearances[]
Chip and Dale occasionally appeared in Mickey Mouse Works and House of Mouse. They can also be spotted in the 1983 featurette Mickey's Christmas Carol where they are seen dancing to the music inside Fezziwigs. They also appear at all the Disney Parks as well.
More recently, they appear in the 2017 DuckTales show alongside the other Rescue Rangers. There, they are regular chipmunks who were mutated to gain enhanced intelligence (similar to Pinky and the Brain). They help Launchpad McQuack fight off Steelbeak and Black Heron.
Mickey Mouse Works[]
Chip and Dale are recurring characters in Mickey Mouse Works, where they are remade as enemies of Donald Duck. One of their most notable appearances in the series is the short "Mickey's Mixed Nuts", where the Chipmunks fight Mickey Mouse (someone they haven't usually bothered with in past productions) over the last bag of nuts at the supermarket.
Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas[]
Chip and Dale appear in the segment Donald Duck: Stuck on Christmas. The two are briefly seen several times throughout the story. In the beginning, they are seen opening their presents. They reappear when Huey Duck hits them with a snowball, which Chip then hits back. Their next appearance is at the end when an object is thrown into their house and turns out to be a bag of nuts wrapped as gifts from Huey, Dewey and Louie. Finally, they are last seen putting away the Christmas decorations and cleaning up.
House of Mouse[]
Chip and Dale have recurring roles on House of Mouse, primarily as guests at the club. Both chipmunks are seen shaking hands with Donald in the show's intro.
Their most prominent appearance, "Chip 'n' Dale", centers around the chipmunks spending the evening stealing bags of nuts from guests while avoiding Donald. At the end of the episode, a commercial is shown in which it appears that they have their own storage organization where they store "everything you don't need".
In "Ladies' Night", Minnie hires them to perform an act as the "Chip and Dale Dancers", a parody of the American strip dance troupe the Chippendales.
In "Ask Von Drake", the Chipmunks can be seen briefly during Ludwig Von Drake's census among all the guest Disney characters.
The duo also appear in "House of Turkey", where Donald complains about how he doesn't understand what they're saying, but Daisy retorts that she doesn't understand him either.
He also makes a brief appearance in Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at House of Mouse. Right after Pluto's Christmas Tree is shown, Chip and Dale jump out of a small artificial tree and catch Pluto's attention. Pluto starts barking at them, but in a repeat of the final gag from the previous short, they slap a "Do not open until Christmas" sticker over his mouth.
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse[]
Chip and Dale are recurring characters in this computer-animated series. They are some of Mickey's friends. Unusually, the two don't seem to have a rivalry with Donald and Pluto. Most of the chipmunks' roles in the series are minor, with the exception of the episode "Goofy's Coconutty Monkey", where they are the culprits behind the mysterious disappearance of coconuts from the jungle. They ended up returning their stash because they thought they were giant nuts. They play another prominent role in the episode "Goofy's Thinking Cap", where Mickey, Donald and Goofy need twelve nuts for Clarabelle's scavenger hunt, which the Chipmunks happily oblige.
Other versions of the duo also appear, playing the roles of Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum in Mickey's Adventures in Wonderland, and in some episodes where Mickey and the gang go on a trip to space, their "Moon Men" counterparts usually appear, acting as Pete's sidekick the "Moon Man" counterpart.
Mickey Mouse (2013)[]
Chip and Dale first appeared in the episode "Space Walkies", where during a trip to space, Mickey and Pluto exit their spaceship to allow Pluto to relieve himself. Afterwards, Mickey tries to speed Pluto back to the ship using a miniature frisbee-like spaceship. The disk, it turns out, is a craft owned by an angry Chip and Dale, who berate Mickey until Pluto instinctively attacks the chipmunks, leading to a chase through space. However, on the planet's rings, Chip and Dale manage to escape Mickey and Pluto, giggling at their success and the misfortune of their opponents.
Chip and Dale reappear in "The Birthday Song", as guests at Mickey's birthday party.
In "New Shoes", Chip and Dale appear alongside some of Donald's other adversaries to share in Donald's daily dose of torture. They also appeared in the short "Our Floating Dreams", which is set in Thailand.
The Chipmunks also appear in the middle segment of "The Wonderful Spring of Mickey Mouse".
Mickey Mouse Mixed Up Adventures[]
Chip and Dale appear as supporting characters in the series (which is a spinoff of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse), working as crew members in Mickey's garage. Just like the Clubhouse series, they are allies of Mickey and his friends, including Donald and Pluto.
Although they are normally supporting characters in the series, there are several episodes that center around Chip and Dale, such as "The Chip 'N Dale 500", "Tree House Trouble", and "Dale's New Pal".
The duo are commonly seen wearing their signature pit crew style outfits throughout most of the series, especially when helping out at Mickey's Garage or during races. Chip wears a turquoise mechanic's uniform with a yellow circle with a red outline on the right side, while Dale wears a yellow shirt with green overalls and a backwards blue cap.
The duo is usually seen shirtless outside of races or events or when not helping out in the garage, much like many of their previous appearances. However, since the second season, she wears casual clothes on most occasions. In this case, Chip is wearing a light blue t-shirt with white stripes on the sleeves, while Dale is wearing a green button-down shirt.
DuckTales (2017)[]
Chip and Dale appeared in the episode "Double-O-Duck in You Only Crash Twice!", based on their depictions of the Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, along with Gadget Hackwrench, Monterey Jack, and Zipper. In the context of this new version, Chip and Dale are super-evolved lab animals. They helped Launchpad and Dewey escape from F.O.W.L and foil SteelBeak's plan.
They appear briefly along with Gadget Hackwrench, Monterey Jack, and Zipper in "The Last Adventure!" where they are revealed to be one of the many adventurers or people related to the adventure captured by F.O.W.L. for eradication. Along with many other characters, they cheer on Launchpad as he goes up against Steelbeak and his brainwashed allies.
Goofy Gophers[]
A recurring shtick often mistakenly attributed to Chip 'n' Dale is the characters' alleged use of politeness: "After you," … "No, I insist, after you!" This gag, from the early-1900s Alphonse and Gaston comic strip, is used by another studio's characters: Warner Bros' Mac and Tosh as the Goofy Gophers. However, in 1950 short "Out on a Limb," Chip 'n' Dale do engage in a round of this (possibly about the Goofy Gophers) before Chip stops it from getting out of hand with a swift kick to Dale's rear end.
Voice actors[]
The classic voices of Chip 'n' Dale were mostly provided by Helen Silbert, Dessie Flynn/Dessie Miller, and James MacDonald. The earliest voices were provided by female office staff, without credit. In "Private Pluto" the chipmunks' speech was created by speeding up sound clips of normal speech. In a number of the shorts that followed, many of these same sound clips were used again, though later shorts used dialogue specifically recorded for that short.
At one point in "Winter Storage", they get into an argument while caught in a trap. When the scene switches to an outside view of the box (with Donald Duck sitting on the box) the dialogue being heard is a sped-up segment of the voice-over narration from the Goofy short "A Knight for a Day".
Since 1988, Chip has been voiced by Tress MacNeille and Dale by Corey Burton.
In the 2017 DuckTales show, they are both voiced by Jeff Bennett.
In the 2022 CGI/Live-action film, Chip was voiced by John Mulaney, Spider-Ham in Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse, and Dale by Andy Samberg, who also played Jonathan in Hotel Transylvania.
Video games[]
- Chip and Dale appear in a Rescue Rangers spin-off video game that was produced for the Nintendo Entertainment System by Capcom in 1990. A sequel was released in 1993.
- Chip and Dale appear in Disney's Toontown Online in Chip & Dale's Acorn Acres. Toons can go there to play miniature golf. This place has access to Donald's Dock and Bossbot Cog Headquarters.
- Chip and Dale appears in "Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers: The Adventure in Nimnul's Castle" a DOS game produced by Hi-Tech Expressions, Inc. in 1990.
- Chip and Dale appear in "Walt Disney World Quest: Magical Racing Tour".
Kingdom Hearts series[]
In the Kingdom Hearts series, Chip and Dale reside in Disney Castle as operators of the Gummi Ship garage. While Tress MacNeille and Corey Burton resume their respective roles, the latter uses a deep-sounding voice for Dale. Though making voiceless cameos in the first game, play a larger role in Kingdom Hearts II. The two also appeared in the prequel game, Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep.
External Links[]
- Chip and Dale (2022 Film) on the Near Pure Good Wiki
- Chip 'n' Dale on the Wikipedia
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