Now that Disney is running out of iconic animated movies to turn into live-action features, they are digging deeper into their vault to turn classic Disney television shows into films next. Recently, the Mouse Empire announced on Twitter that the upcoming live-actionRescue Rangersfilm has cast John Mulaney in the lead role as Chip, while Andy Samberg has been cast as Dale.
“Chip and Dale are back in a hybrid live-action-animated feature directed by Akiva Schaffer and starring John Mulaney N’Andy Samberg. Chip N' Dale: Rescue Rangers, an Original Movie, is coming soon to #DisneyPlus.”
In case the details of the franchise have grown hazy in your memory,Chip ‘n’ Dale’s Rescue Rangerswas part of the iconic “Disney afternoon” block of programming that first aired in the late 1980s, that also includedDuckTales,Darkwing Duck, andTaleSpin.
Chip ‘n’ Dale’s Rescue Rangersfeatured the titular Chip and Dale as a couple of chipmunks who ran a detective agency for the animal kingdom. Also part of their team was the hot-headed but kind-hearted mouse Monteray Jack, the genius inventor Gadget Hackwrench, and the enterprising fly Zipper.
Together, the team of diminutive investigators solved police cases involving animals and faced off against an array of enemies, including a crime boss feline known as Fat Cat, a mad inventor called Professor Nimnul, and many other odious characters and mysteries.
The show was immensely popular with kids, so much so that the Rescue Rangers went on to feature in a range of comics, video games, and other Disney merchandise from that period. More recently, they made a cameo appearance in the second season of the 2017 reboot ofDuckTales, and are set to reappear in the third season as well.
From the sound of it, the upcomingRescue Rangersmovie will be along the lines of theAlvin and the Chipmunkslive-action films, instead of being a fully animated offering. The director of the project, Akiva Schaffer is part of theLonely Islandcomedy group along with Andy Samberg. Schaffer, Samberg, andJohn Mulaneyhave all spent years working together atSaturday Night Live.
It will be interesting to see ifDisneywill roll out any other live-action movies based on classic shows next. The story of theRescue Rangersis set in the real world, where humans and animals live side by side. That makes the show easier to adapt as a live-action movie. But it would be trickier to give a similar treatment to other shows likeDuckTalesandTaleSpin, which take place in a world of anthropomorphic animals.
In any case, fans of the originalRescue Rangersare thrilled to find out about the live-actionDisney+movie. While Samberg will be a good fit as the voice of the goofy, good-natured Dale, Mulaney as the fast-talking Chip seems like a bigger stretch. Still, considering the level of comedic talent attached to the project, the film appears to be in good hands.
