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  1. - Top - End - #1
    Orc in the Playground
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    Default Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers is better than you might expect

    First big caveat, is that it's better than average only if you're in your mid-30's to mid-40's. Yes this is utterly mad that Disney made a film so exclusively catering to such an age bracket featuring two rodents but it happened, and it's pretty great.

    Two other caveats.

    There's some angry noise on social media that it is disrespectful to the real life story of how Disney treated the actor who played Peter Pan. I'd make the case that I didn't know that story before, now I do thanks to this film alluding to that story, and I'd call that a good thing rather than something to be mad at the film about.

    Other is that it's not hand drawn animation. While obviously not being cell shaded would be better. Thing is though is that this is a straight to Disney Plus film and hand drawn animation is expensive, really, really expensive. Even more so to do Roger Rabbit again to that level of quality to be found in that wonderful film, and the cell shading is at least servicible most of the time so I can deal. This is probably the closest we're ever going to get to a Roger Rabbit 2 so I don't see a lot of point complaining that it's not an imaginary idealized film that likely these days could never be made anyway. It's also not got the alluding to real life history that Roger Rabbit played off so well. It does at least though dip its toe into enough implied darkness for me to call it a valiant effort.

    Okay one more is the hostility to anything overly 'meta' these days. I get that, it's overused, and often done badly. I really do think it's done well here. I've seen other people say this elsewhere and I'll repeat it here is that this feels like Ready Player One or Space Jam 2 made by creatives who actually care. It's no where near to being an all Disney over celebratory fest either like Wreck It Ralph 2 and instead seems more intent on celebrating the medium that is animation in general.

    Leaving those caveats aside this thing is worth watching alone for the sheer number of deep cuts to be found in this that are just incredible. Try not to spoil yourself by looking them up before hand as then you're losing a lot of the fun to be found here by catching them as you go. Plot is basically whatever. The film's humour and those deep cuts though more than make up for it.
    Last edited by Trixie_One; 2022-05-25 at 05:12 PM. Reason: typo, extra clarity

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    Default Re: Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers is better than you might expect

    I saw this movie and really enjoyed it. I think it helps that it was self-aware; the jokes mostly land well enough and some of the Easter eggs/cameos we're pretty fun.
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    Ettin in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers is better than you might expect

    Quote Originally Posted by Trixie_One View Post
    First big caveat, is that it's better than average only if you're in your mid-30's to mid-40's. Yes this is utterly mad that Disney made a film so exclusively catering to such an age bracket featuring two rodents but it happened, and it's pretty great.
    I'm not sure that I agree with this premise. IF Disney had done a straight-up reboot/movie version of the 90's Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers cartoon show, and populated it with nothing but references to that series, and didn't include enough kids-show aesthetic that today's kids couldn't enjoy it as just a kids movie, then it would be catering exclusively to that age bracket. They didn't, and instead made it a meta take on Hollywood and fleeting fame and what it means to be a post-peak celebrity (to the chagrin of those who just wanted the RR gang back for a two-hour adventure).

    Regardless, I think it was fine. Agree that it suffered in when it came out amongst a recent cavalcade of movies with 'your childhood' cameos for Gen Xers and Millennials, rather than actually being worse at it than the rest of them (that title I bestow on Ready Player One). The worst I will say about it is that it is yet another in a long line of films, shows, or even characters that are Hollywood writers writing about the trials and tribulations of being in Hollywood*. Much moreso than the meta stuff, this is ground we've all seen covered before -- to rise above the baseline it has to really stand out. This one... well, it doesn't. It's fine. Probably won't be quoting lines from it a decade from now or anything, but fine.
    *Or New York, but still in TV and Movies

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    Default Re: Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers is better than you might expect

    Went into the movie fully expecting NOT to like it. In fact, if I'm honest with myself, I was fully prepared to force myself not to like it, at least a little.

    After 20 minutes, I was at "It's ok-ish, but I still would've preferred a series reboot a la Duck Tales". After the movie I hat to scrap the "-ish" postfix, still would've preferred a reboot. After almost a week of the movie rolling around in my head, I'd say it's surprisingly good, way better than I thought it'd be. It's not OK, it's good. Not great, but still good. Solid fun, did not regret the watch or the rewatch. Still would've preferred a reboot, but the movie does not preclude that, canon-wise.

    Also, at 38 I'm squarely in the middle of the above mentioned age bracket. Take that as you will.

    Definitely worth a watch, IMHO.

  5. - Top - End - #5
    Orc in the Playground
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    Default Re: Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers is better than you might expect

    Quote Originally Posted by Willie the Duck View Post
    Probably won't be quoting lines from it a decade from now or anything, but fine.
    That's a pretty high bar to clear

    Saying that I might well make a case for "A message on my landline. I don’t like that." sticking around at least for as long as people still have them due to being so very spot on for anyone of a certain age.

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    Pixie in the Playground
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    Default Re: Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers is better than you might expect

    JK Simmons wears that same hat in every damn movie he's in. Even as a Gumby type character lol.

    Movies were you have to freeze frame every few seconds to catch a joke are the best! I'm really enjoying this one a lot.

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    Default Re: Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers is better than you might expect

    Quote Originally Posted by Kazuo View Post
    JK Simmons wears that same hat in every damn movie he's in. Even as a Gumby type character lol.
    On the one hand, he does seem to get typecast like this, but on the other, he's so dang good at it.
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    Default Re: Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers is better than you might expect

    I adored this! I only watched it because Samberg and Mulaney were doing the voices, and I usually get a chuckle out of those guys. It helped that I was feeling "happy" already, I don't think I would have watched it in any other state. There really is an easter-egg every other second in this movie, and so many of the references would only mean something to people my age, growing up in the early 90's. I will say, that the weak point was the human detective character, her dialogue was written poorly and acting unfortunately didn't make up for any deficiency in the script, there. Of course, no actor has an easy time when they aren't actually acting with other people, so I feel for her- I imagine she was staring at something like ping pong balls on a green screen while people read lines at her from off camera.

    I'm glad it wasn't just a reboot of the show. This was much more creative. How they integrated the cartoon characters into the human world was fantastic, especially how they dealt with the scale of tiny characters. I love that it wasn't just cartoons, too - there's stop motion characters, muppets, CGI, of course. Some of the funniest details to me were how they had a human-sized car rigged up for a chipmunk to drive it, and it looked like a practical effect. And the scooter, so the little claymation police chief can move along with the human police officers, another practical effect that looked like an actual prop. Thinking about how they filmed that is what made me laugh the most. I wonder if Mulaney and Samberg had any input into the film apart from voicing the characters, because many of the gags in the film feel like they could be a version of both their styles of humor.

    A bit like Roger Rabbit, the humor is mostly a mix of the absurdity of the setting where cartoon characters live along side humans, kids-show characters existing outside their shows and behaving like adults, passing references to old shows and characters purely for the "I remember that guy!" moments. Like I said, it's a good time if you're in a "happy" mood. I don't imagine it will spawn a franchise, it's basically a 1.5 hour long gag that I think would lose it's charm if they tried to push it much farther. Another film featuring some different old cartoon characters living in this setting could be fun if they had a good enough story, there's certainly no end to the references you could throw in...but no, it's probably best they leave it as a one-off.

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    Default Re: Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers is better than you might expect

    The biggest takeaway from this thread for me is that someone in the universe thought Space Jam 2 was a good movie and not a soulless cash grab.
    Last edited by Anteros; 2022-05-27 at 10:39 PM.

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    Default Re: Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers is better than you might expect

    Quote Originally Posted by Willie the Duck View Post
    The worst I will say about it is that it is yet another in a long line of films, shows, or even characters that are Hollywood writers writing about the trials and tribulations of being in Hollywood*.
    Funnily enough I often find those types of things quite good. Because at least Hollywood people know Hollywood. Rather than trampling all over history and all kinds of things I know are wrong cause they can't be bothered to learn enough to make it believable cause that'd be an imposition on their high and mighty selves.

  11. - Top - End - #11
    Orc in the Playground
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    Default Re: Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers is better than you might expect

    Quote Originally Posted by Anteros View Post
    The biggest takeaway from this thread for me is that someone in the universe thought Space Jam 2 was a good movie and not a soulless cash grab.
    If you're talking about me then you entirely got the wrong end of the stick of what I said. I was saying that to me it felt like this was a film was made by creatives who cared about what they were bringing in while the makers of Space Jam 2 and Ready Player did not in the slightest.

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    Default Re: Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers is better than you might expect

    I dunno.

    This still has the stench of "here's a story we've had lying around for ages and an IP we weren't using, lets bash them together and plaster the screen in referential in-jokes and hope nobody notices". You can love a thing and still not do it justice.

    The comparisons to Roger Rabbit are, I think, unfounded. Who Framed Roger Rabbit was a story written for the characters that are in it and the cameos are a consequence of the fact that some of those characters are animated and some are not (and *that* is an allegory for the treatment of real world minority groups in the Hollywood hills, not purely an excuse for references).

    This is a story that could have been told with *any* characters. "Actors from an old show have to return to their glory days but for real this time", and indeed has been told with other characters when it was called Galaxy Quest (which, again, used the conventions of its own genre for humour and drama).

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    Default Re: Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers is better than you might expect

    Quote Originally Posted by GloatingSwine View Post
    I dunno.

    This still has the stench of "here's a story we've had lying around for ages and an IP we weren't using, lets bash them together and plaster the screen in referential in-jokes and hope nobody notices". You can love a thing and still not do it justice.

    The comparisons to Roger Rabbit are, I think, unfounded. Who Framed Roger Rabbit was a story written for the characters that are in it and the cameos are a consequence of the fact that some of those characters are animated and some are not (and *that* is an allegory for the treatment of real world minority groups in the Hollywood hills, not purely an excuse for references).

    This is a story that could have been told with *any* characters. "Actors from an old show have to return to their glory days but for real this time", and indeed has been told with other characters when it was called Galaxy Quest (which, again, used the conventions of its own genre for humour and drama).
    Actually, an interview I read with the director mentioned that the original writers came up with the idea of doing a "Roger Rabbit-esque meta-take on Chip n' Dale, which would find the animated chipmunks as washed-up actors in the real world...". So it sounds like it was written for these specific characters. That is believable, given how many gags and plot points involve the difference in scale between the tiny cartoons and the human world. Monterey Jack's uncontrollable attraction to stinky cheese is relevant to a major plot point, and they make use of other elements from the TV show as well.

    Also, I recall Roger Rabbit having lots of cameos of random Warner Bros. and Disney characters, or knockoff versions of them, that weren't directly serving a role in the allegory...they were just there to establish the setting. This is the same thing.

    There's some legitimately funny stuff in it and it is technically well done. I guess I don't care about the IP enough to take "justice to the original" into consideration. Have elements of this story been done before in other films? Yes. But it hasn't been done quite this way before, and they did a decent job with what they had. Decent - not great. I found it good enough that I could still chuckle at the gags, and there are enough of them that I ignored whatever flaws were in the story and just had a good time. I was also in a particularly silly mood that night, and that is a big component in being able to enjoy stuff like this.

    My position on the film, as an adult who generally doesn't watch kids shows or films anymore: Not good enough to buy a ticket for it, don't buy a subscription just for it. If you already have the subscription, and you're in a silly mood, it's watchable. Maybe worth renting for a few dollars, again only in the silliest of moods.
    Last edited by Thrudd; 2022-05-29 at 07:27 PM.

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    Pixie in the Playground
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    Default Re: Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers is better than you might expect

    I had a sleepless night, so I watched this at 5 am. I didn't see the original series.

    I was entertained, there were some interesting world-building ideas like "turning yourself into 3D CGI" which is kind of horrible, cynical and funny at the same time. I liked looking for the cameos and I thought the voice acting was very good, such as Will Arnett.

    It's free on streaming, it's a good rainy Sunday movie.

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    Default Re: Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers is better than you might expect

    Quote Originally Posted by GloatingSwine View Post
    lets bash them together and plaster the screen in referential in-jokes and hope nobody notices".
    That may be Ironic to say; my interpretation of the movie is that they want you to notice because that was part of the joke. Now that may not be a funny joke to some people, but the film is self aware of what it is.
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    Ogre in the Playground
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    Default Re: Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers is better than you might expect

    I'm just glad it's given me hot takes about Gadget and Zipper to laugh at.
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    Default Re: Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers is better than you might expect

    Quote Originally Posted by Thrudd View Post
    Actually, an interview I read with the director mentioned that the original writers came up with the idea of doing a "Roger Rabbit-esque meta-take on Chip n' Dale, which would find the animated chipmunks as washed-up actors in the real world...". So it sounds like it was written for these specific characters. That is believable, given how many gags and plot points involve the difference in scale between the tiny cartoons and the human world. Monterey Jack's uncontrollable attraction to stinky cheese is relevant to a major plot point, and they make use of other elements from the TV show as well.

    Also, I recall Roger Rabbit having lots of cameos of random Warner Bros. and Disney characters, or knockoff versions of them, that weren't directly serving a role in the allegory...they were just there to establish the setting. This is the same thing.
    It feels like the movie as a whole would be much nicer if it had the room to be a new (if firmly inferior) take on the Roger Rabbit concept - it's coming out alongside a wave of middling films that feel like they're meant more to either refresh some copyrights or hope there are enough in-jokes that something is attractive to a given viewer and it pulls in enough cash. This means that showering the background with cameos, instead of reinforcing the setting or giving a nice easter egg, starts to feel more like a hurried zoo attraction showing photos of other animals while only three are really involved in the whole event.
    The basic idea seems palatable enough, and I've heard it's a decent film overall. But it can't stand out as well with other films less sturdily made on the same premise crimping its vibe.
    Last edited by Squire Doodad; 2022-05-31 at 10:44 PM.
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    Default Re: Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers is better than you might expect

    Quote Originally Posted by DigoDragon View Post
    On the one hand, he does seem to get typecast like this, but on the other, he's so dang good at it.
    Typecast? Dr. Emil Skoda, J. Jonah Jameson, Tenzin, the yellow M&M? That guy? Typecast?
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    Default Re: Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers is better than you might expect

    Quote Originally Posted by Peelee View Post
    Typecast? Dr. Emil Skoda, J. Jonah Jameson, Tenzin, the yellow M&M? That guy? Typecast?
    He voiced the yellow M&M at one point?
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    Dragon in the Playground Moderator
     
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    Default Re: Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers is better than you might expect

    Quote Originally Posted by DigoDragon View Post
    He voiced the yellow M&M at one point?
    At most points. Still does, I think. Red M&M is Billy West.

    ETA: looked it up, he started as Yellow M&M in 96 and still occasionally does it. So a quarter century.
    Last edited by Peelee; 2022-06-01 at 06:43 AM.
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