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21 reviews in total

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17 out of 18 people found the following review useful:
Clever, well-developed, and subtly deep, 21 January 2005
Author: ajolipa (ajolipa@gmail.com) from USA

In brief, this is a cartoon show about a gang of animals--two chipmunks, two mice, and a common housefly--who live together in a tree and solve crimes and have various adventures together. But it's so much better than it sounds from that simple description. The writing is witty with sharp, consistent characterizations, both of the Rescue Rangers themselves and of all the various villains and minor characters. The background music is catchy and the plots are inventive, random, silly and at the same time serious, without being preachy or heavy-handed in giving "morals" at all.

As for the basics of the show, the Rescue Rangers are composed of Chip--intelligent and determined with a streak of mischief that only occasionally surfaces; Dale--goofy and often trying to prove himself, and also to bring out Chip's goofy side; Monterey Jack--worldly and generally in control of the situation, except of course when it comes to cheese; Gadget--brilliant and absent-minded and sometimes startlingly wise; and Zipper--plucky and enthusiastic and loyal. But all of that can be found in any summary of the show; it doesn't capture what is so great about the show. None of the characters are even close to one-dimensional, and their interactions are complex, witty and fascinating, and can't even be summarized briefly.

Just as interesting are the "bad guys"--the main recurring ones are Fat Cat and his gang, and Professor Nimnul, a self-proclaimed unappreciated genius. The villains are witty, entertaining, ironic, outrageous, and just plain funny. And in general the show avoids the issue of "good vs. evil" directly; the plots typically revolve around the Rescue Rangers thwarting some scheme of a villain to gain power or wealth in unlawful ways (although some episodes don't even have an identifiable villain), but you're not made to hate the villains at all, only to disapprove of their selfishness or greed. In terms of subtle moral messages, I would say that this show shows (not preaches) the value of teamwork, the idea that everyone deserves help, and that selfishness and greed will get you nowhere in the end.

But the moral messages are not the main reason to watch this show, although they're important to the charm of the show. I started watching it when I was about four, and it's stuck with me throughout my life, becoming a central part of our family culture even when we go years without actually watching an episode. If a show can be judged by how often it gets quoted or referenced in everyday life, then Rescue Rangers has been the best and most important show in my life. So many of the lines and references have worked their way into my regular vocabulary, lines that are witty or clever or insightful or just plain funny. So often my dad and I find ourselves making analogies to RR episodes while having serious discussions. On the surface the plots may seem entertaining but not "deep" in a traditional dramatic sense, but believe me, the wit of the plots and characters and dialogue seeps into your thoughts in ways that will surprise you. It's fun and entertaining, and in a subtle way, very meaningful.

Overall, I wouldn't be who I am now without this show. I find that it's written with a depth of cleverness, references, wit, and character development that isn't quite matched in any of the other Disney Afternoon shows (with Gummi Bears coming closest). It's funny, entertaining, and deep, and I'd recommend it to anyone of any age who's willing not to be cynical about watching a show about crime-solving rodents. It's more than worth it.

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11 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
The Mother Of All Cartoons, 31 May 2005

Author: guerillagorilla from SLC, UT

Everybody has a series of some sort that started them on a path of what they come to expect from nearly everything else in the genre proceeding it, whether it be a "Batman", a "Star Wars", or more aptly in my case, "Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers". It was released in '89 to be one of 4 original series on a new 2-hour block of cartoon TV known as the Disney Afternoon. Perfect timing for me, what being around 7 years old. Upon first seeing it I became enthralled. It seems that everyone also has a character whom they feel they can identify with in some degree. I remember being a somewhat scatterbrained kid...goofy, funny, if even also bucktoothed. And I want(ed) a shirt like Dale's pretty bad.

Over the years, I've found that, even having evolved into supposed adulthood, good cartoons are hard to come by and stay with. When I saw the series as a little kid, there was no way I could've pointed out all the little nagging errors in it, like sometimes slippery animation, thoroughly worn music and tired sound effects. Rather, they were counter-balanced with interest by the intriguing concept of a band of tree-residing rodents out to further the cause of justice, no matter how seemingly small the battle.

Just how could the police solve crimes like widespread cheese disappearances, mysterious weather patterns or potential citywide destruction...from a record player? Well, they can't. They don't have the necessary perspective. They aren't 2 and a half inches tall. Naw, these cases are best left for Chip, Dale, Gadget, Monterey Jack and his winged pal, Zipper. Of course, not every team is a perfect unit. Chip might over-analyze a case, leading to missing out on an opportunity to act. Gadget's latest gadget is liable to act in an un-anticipated way. Monty's next rush to action might get the gang in a bit of a pinch. And Dale...well, a "creative" solution is a creative solution, after all. Might just not work, though.

So then, why are the chronicles of diminutive crime-fighters so awesomely excellent? I find that, among many reasons, there don't seem to be many cartoons that can practice what they preach without doing just that. Teamwork, detective work, creativity and tolerance can be extolled without preaching, and to boot, while having fun! Cunning and eccentric baddies like the aptly named Fat Cat don't stand a chance against this well-oiled machine...no matter how well-thought out a devious star constellation rouse is.

It's really quite amazing how Disney's bargain-basement cartoon of the bunch came to be one of the most well-received of them. Of other Disney Afternoon favorites like "Duck Tales", "TaleSpin", and "Darkwing Duck", this is the least expensive to produce, and as aforementioned, my favorite. It just goes to show that a mix of the old-fashioned Disney magic and awesome character interactions make the show over "special effects". About 16 years after the fact, I find this show has not aged, despite my more discriminating tastes, and has remained my all-time favorite cartoon series. Whenever my inner child wells to the surface, I still pop in a long-ago-recorded VHS episode. And dare I say, I hold the series in such high regard that if the latest and greatest can't stack up to the Rescue Rangers, it's just not old-fashioned enough.

"Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers" gets a well-earned 10 of 10 stars.

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8 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
"Sometimes, some crimes...", 29 August 2006

Author: Seth Nelson from (Near) D/FW Airport, Texas, USA

Disney reigns the animated television series king in 1989 with "Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers," a cartoon about Chip, Dale, Gadget, Monterey Jack, and Zipper, all having lots of fearless adventures and having lots of fun!!!!!

They all live in a tree, ala the Keebler elves, and they have things like a big screen TV with Christmas Lights and a round sofa, an "R/R" flag, a tire/Tinker Toy slide, dominoes for stairs, a mailbox garage, a kitchen, and just about everything that you could find in their home/ headquarters!!!!!

As a child of the early 90s, I've watched this on the Disney Afternoon, and played the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) game from Capcom, like what everyone else always did back in the day!!!!! Man, both were so much fun! I wish times like this were here again! Oh well; guess I'll have to invest in a time machine!!!!! LOL

"Rescue Rangers" is a wonderful show; fun for the whole family!!!!!

10 stars!

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7 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Resue Rangers away!, 26 May 1999
Author: Vornoff-2 from Washington

The Rescue Rangers is one of those rare children's programs that actually gets better as the viewer gets older. The writing is clever, the characters are easily likeable, and the capers the furry heros solve are delightfully absurd. Movie fans will also find parodies of films like The Fly and The African Queen as well as numerous pop references. The surprisingly three-dimentional heros are best part. Chip is dutiful, quick-witted, and resourceful. Of course, this means he often plays the straight-man for the others' antics. Dale, in many ways, is Chip's antithesis. He's fun-lovng and goofy, and he has a penchant for playing practical jokes.

Gadget is about the most atypical female character in all of cartoons. She's an absent-minded if brilliant mechanic who tends to solve most of the team's more urgent problems with her lever, unusual, and often dangerous inventions. Monterey Jack is an adventureous Aussie with a love for brawling and an even greater love for cheese. The really cool thing about Monterey is that he can both be a leader like Chip and a joker like Dale. Monterey's "little pally" Zipper rounds out the team as the courageous and surprisingly strong musca domestica.

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5 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Fun, but could be better, 15 July 2004
Author: masterbrain_27 from earth

Chip and Dale's Rescue Rangers was pretty good, with nifty vehicles made of old toys and garbage, quality animation and good voice acting. However, it could have stood a few more episodes. The balance of characters was strong enough to carry out another season's worth of plots without any slowdown.

There was Gadget, unaware of her genius and beauty, Monteray Jack, tough guy with a cheese fetish, Zipper, a fly who frequently acted as a parachute for the various rangers, and Chip 'n Dale, constantly bickering and talking incredibly fast.

Disney did occasionally add new episodes to their animated shows, Gargoyles for example. I've seen Chip 'n Dale and I've seen Gargoyles. And I think Chip 'n Dale could have produced more episodes than Gargoyles.

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6 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Deserves Better, 27 March 2007

Author: colinsrestinn from United Kingdom

This is one of the best DVDs I've ever bought, this is a beauty that hasn't been given the credit it deserves. I was lucky to get it at all! There've been various TV series with the same number of episodes as this and most of them got their own cinema films and/or extra series, yet all this got was a small fan-base. What was it that drove people away, especially since Thunderbirds has been popular for so long and they both share the same basic plot-line? They just don't make them like this anymore, it's all fancy 3D stuff now and that can often make the animation look worse, less realistic in various ways. The series itself is brilliant, but the homage is just too low.

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4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Chip N' Dale at their best., 24 November 2006

Author: montagrappa from United States

Next to Gummi Bears, I would say that this is Disney's best cartoon series ever. Although the production values weren't as high as the other Disney shows. The animation wasn't as good, and the music was good but repetitive(although the theme song is only 2nd to Gummi Bears), but they were countered & matched by the interesting concept of noble minded rodents and a house fly engaged in a never-ending battle to right wrongs, no matter how big or small the case seems, completely disregarding the fact that they may not get thanks for helping people and, eventually, overshadowed by the fun, funny & genuinely cute (but not too cute) stories.

Although stories are usually what make or break shows, the characters have a big part in making them work too. And, as some people have stated here, all 5 of the Rescue rangers were three-dimensional. They're easily likable & much easier to sympathize with than in some of the other Disney shows. And, more so than in any other Disney show (even Gummi Bears), they were a team. They would all contribute something in an episode that would help save the day. My favorite was Dale. His episodes are great (my #1 favorite focuses on him), and he's the one I relate to the most. I loved all the other Rangers too. The main villains were also entertaining. Fat Cat & his amusingly dim henchmen & especially Professer Nimnul were very funny and easy to root against. And the guest characters were great as well. My favorite heroe was Foxglove, a bat who is Dale's true love (I'm a romantic) & appears in my favorite episode. I also liked Sparky the absent-minded lab rat (from another favorite of mine, Does Pavlov Ring a Bell?), and many others. My favorite guest villain was Sewernose de Bergerac (from A Case of Stageblight). He was funny yet at the same time a little tragic, although I didn't feel too sorry for him (he IS a bad guy after all), plus I have a thing for thespian villains. Unlike in Ducktales where the guest characters don't do very much, helping to move the story along but not really standing on their own (there are some exceptions, Gladstone Gander & Dijon coming first to mind), the ones in RR practically scream "Bring me back!" at the end of the ep.

Of course the stories were excellent too. My favorite episodes were Pound of the Baskervilles, Risky Beesness, A Case of Stage Blight, Last Train to Cahville, Prehysterical Pet, Does Pavlov Ring a Bell?, A Creep From The Deep, Chocolate Chips, Weather Or Not, Shell Shocked, Love Is a Many Splintered Thing, Double O' Chipmunk, The Pied Piper Power Play, A Fly in the Ointment, and my #1 favorite Good Times Bat Times. These & most of the other episodes were funny, clever, well-done, interesting & best of all moral.

I honestly don't know how else to praise this series. Just buy the DVDs so that Disney will release volume 3 & finish up this great series.

BOTTOM LINE: 10/10 7th best cartoon ever.

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4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
A fun cartoon, 12 June 2004

Author: SonicStuart from Kansas City, MO

Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers was a fun cartoon and it was one of my favorites that was on the Disney Afternoon along with Darkwing Duck, Bonkers, DuckTales, Tale Spin, Mighty Ducks, Gargoyles, Timon and Pumbaa and Quack Pack. Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers would be solving improbable mysteries and crimes in every fun filled episode! I always liked Dale because he is so goofy and nuts like I am. I remember that this was one of the shows that I would sometimes watch with my older sister. This show came out a year after I was born. This is another good cartoon that brings back so much good memories of my childhood. It's too bad now a days Disney has crappy cartoons on the air that are just unoriginal and suck! But overall great cartoon.

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4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Funny and intelligent family fun, 21 May 1999
Author: Vornoff-2 from Washington State

Though essentially a children's program, Chip N' Dale's Rescue Rangers possesses that wonderful quality which makes it enjoyable to both young and old alike. The story follows four noble-minded rodents and a house fly who solve mysteries and generally help people, and others, in need. The villains are often hysterical and their diabolical schemes hilariously absurd. There is physical comedy aplenty and enough action to keep the wee ones interested. Meanwhile, the not-so-wee ones will be recognizing referenes to everything from Rocky and Bullwinkle to The Fly. The voice acting is clever, and the charaters are easy and likeable.

Of the five main charaters, Chip is the sharp-witted, responsible one. That of course means he often has to play the unfortunate straight man to the others' hijinks. Dale is the silly, fun-loving one who likes to play jokes (usually on Chip) and basically have a good time. Monterey Jack's the affable, adventurous Aussie wth a nose for trouble and even more so for cheese. Monterey's "little pally" Zipper the housefly courageosly performs feats above and beyond the call of duty of a "household pest." Gadget is the MacGyver of the group. She's an absent minded, though unquestionably brilliant, engineer who can make just about anything out of practically nothing.

It's fun. It's funny. It's the Rescue Rangers. Enjoy!

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4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Great children's TV show, 1 December 2006

Author: Titanium Dragon from United States

Unlike most of the modern, horrible cartoons people put out for children these days, Chip n' Dale's Rescue Rangers is a genuinely good show. Like much of the older Disney stuff, it is actually watchable by adults, and is very cute. The five main characters all have interesting interactions, and the stories are well done. All of the characters have depth of personality, and Gadget, far from being arm-candy, is one very independent. Unlike almost every other show, the independent female character never ends up with one of the other characters and all five characters remain single.

It is an excellently done show, and is great for children but still enjoyable for adults. I gave it a 10/10, as it is one of the greatest shows, particularly animated shows, of all time.

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