23 interesting facts about the animated series "Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers" (23 photos)

At the beginning of 1991, along with DuckTales, another cult Disney animated series, Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers, was released, which became no less a hit than the animated series about Scrooge McDuck.





1. As you all know, Chip and Dale first appeared on the screens long before the release of the animated series "Chip 'n' Dale to the Rescue", namely in the 1943 cartoon "Private Pluto", where these two chipmunks mocked Mickey Mouse's dog.

Initially, the chipmunks were no different from each other, and generally did not look like the heroes we are used to. Moreover, they did not even know how to talk, but only made incomprehensible squeaking sounds. And only a couple of years later they acquired more or less recognizable features.



Chip 'n Dale (1943)

Chip and Dale managed to appear in a couple of dozen cartoons, but they acted there rather as negative characters who played dirty tricks on Pluto or Donald.





Chip 'n Dale (1947)

After 1956, the chipmunks disappeared from the screens and did not appear until it was decided to make a separate animated series about them, which was released in 1988.

2. According to the original idea of ​​the author of the animated series, Ted Stones, the rescue team should have consisted of other characters. The team was to be led by a mouse named Keith Colby. The remaining members would be a lizard, a chameleon, a short-sighted eagle with glasses, an obese mouse (Roquefort's prototype), a technician mouse (Gadget's prototype), and a fly (Zipper's prototype).



But the studio bosses rejected such a cast, because they did not want the team to be led by a mouse, and in general, they did not believe in the success of the animated series if it did not include already known characters.

Then it was decided to cast in the main roles characters who had not appeared on screens for more than 30 years, but were still recognizable to the audience. They also added Roquefort, Gadget and Zipper to their team, the prototypes of which already existed in the initial outlines, but were slightly reworked.



True, the creators assured that they should not correlate Chip and Dale of the 40s with characters from the animated series of the late 80s. These are not the same characters.

3. Chip 'n' Dale's clothing references famous movie characters such as Indiana Jones (Chip) and private detective Magnum (Dale).



By the way, Chip's clothes are not the only reference to Indiana Jones. Chip is a fan of detective novels about Sherlock Jones, which refers us to Indiana Jones and, of course, Sherlock Holmes.

4. Many viewers debated whether Chip and Dale were brothers or just friends. The creators themselves answered that they were just friends since childhood.

5. Among all the characters, only Nut has a surname, namely Hackwrench, that is, “Wrench.” In at least one episode it is mentioned that this was the last name of her deceased father. Therefore, it is logical that she bears the same last name. The names of the other characters are not mentioned.

6. Gadget's look was inspired by Jordan Cochran's character from the movie True Genius.



7. Remember such a cool villain as Professor Nimnul? Personally, I was always amused by this short mad scientist. So, his image was also not invented from scratch. He got his appearance thanks to cartoonist Bruce Talkington.



By the way, despite the fact that Nimnul is a smart (if mad) scientist, he believes that he is very afraid of bats, as he believes that they bite into the neck and turn people into vampires.

8. Only Roquefort’s relatives appear in the animated series, both father and mother. Also, we saw a photograph of Gadget's deceased father. But nothing is known about the relatives of other characters (as well as about Gadget’s mother).



9. In total, three video games were released based on the animated series “Chip ‘n’ Dale Rescue Rangers”:

"Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers" (1990, NES);

"Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers 2" (1993, NES);

Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers: The Adventures in Nimnul's Castle (1990, MS-DOS).

10. Local localizers did not touch the names of Chip and Dale themselves, but in other countries they did a lot of work on their names. So, for example, in France they are called Tick and Tock, in Spain - Chip and Chop, and in Sweden - Pif and Poof.

But the localizers worked hard on the names of other characters. For example, Roquefort's name is actually Monterey Jack or simply Monty. Monterey Jack is a type of cheese known in the USA. But since few people have heard about him, local localizers decided to name the “cheese addict” in honor of the more famous variety of cheese - Roquefort.



Nut's name is actually Gadget. But now we know very well what this word means, but in the early 90s in Russia this word was known to few people. That's why they gave her a simpler and more feminine name - Gaika. Although, initially they wanted to give her a different name - Mausi.



Zipper's actual name is nothing more than "Zipper", which translates as Lightning (fastener). He received this name for the characteristic sound during his flight.

The fat belly is simply called Fat Cat, that is, Fat Cat. But here I’m just shaking hands with our localizers. Well chosen funny name. And not as boring as just "Fat Cat".

11. In the early 90s, the authors wanted to create a full-length cartoon about rescuers, but after the failure of the full-length DuckTales: The Treasured Lamp, it was decided to postpone this issue.

However, at the beginning of the second season, 5 episodes from the series “The Stolen Ruby” were released, which told the story of how all the characters met (including the main villains) and showed the history of the formation of the rescue team itself. And unlike “DuckTales,” where a similar technique was also used, here the episodes were seamless, that is, they were a single full-length film divided into 5 parts.



12. In 2022, a full-length feature film about CHIP and Dale was released. True, it was not exactly a film about rescuers. According to the plot of the film (yes, this is a film, not a cartoon), Chip, Dale and the rest are not heroes, but simply the actors who played them. True, they will still have to become real heroes in order to stop the villain, who is...Peter Pan.



Many people did not like this film, in particular due to the fact that Chip and Dale turned out to be actors. But what excited everyone even more was the fact that Gadget got along with Zipper and bore him a bunch of children. Although, in my opinion, the film turned out to be quite good, in particular thanks to the fan service.



13. The most popular villain of the animated series is Tolstopuz. He was shown in 18 episodes out of 65. And for good measure, you can add one more episode, where Tolstopuz himself, although he did not appear, but his twin cousin from France named Maltese de Sade acted as the villain.

14. In the series “Cult of Ku-Ku Cola” the creators decided to touch on a real problem that exists all over the world. We are talking about cults where scammers brainwash desperate people and force them to voluntarily (allegedly) give up all their property. I absolutely loved this series as a kid and I think everyone should watch it.



By the way, “Ku-Ku Cola” soda is also found in the animated series “Black Raincoat”.

15. I almost forgot. The characters Chip and Dale themselves received their names in honor of the famous 18th century furniture maker - Thomas Chippendale.

16. The full Rescue team briefly appeared in the reboot of the animated series “DuckTales” (2017), where they helped Zigzag get out. Here they have their classic appearance.



A little later, another series about chipmunks called “Chip and Dale. Life in the Park” was released. This cartoon series has rather cheap art and I personally didn't find it interesting. But it’s worth considering that this is not a restart of the animated series about rescuers, but rather a reference to the very first cartoons of the 40s, which featured chipmunks.



17. If you watchedand the film "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", then you remember that it featured cartoon characters from different studios, such as Mickey Mouse, Buggs Bunny and Druppi.

Chip and Dale were supposed to appear in the same film, but in the end they were cut from the final version.

But in the film “Chip 'n Dale” (2022), which is also filled with famous cartoon characters from different studios (and to an even greater extent), we can see Roger Rabbit.



18. Even during the creation of the first drafts of the animated series, the creators decided on the approximate age of the main characters (translating all this into human years, since rodents do not live that long). So, for example, Chip and Dale are 18 years old, Gadget is about 20 years old, and old Roquefort is about 50 years old.

19. In one of the episodes of the animated series we can see a crocodile. So, this same crocodile was copied from a similar character from the cartoon "Peter Pan".



20. In the series of episodes “The Stolen Ruby,” one of the main characters are detective Donald Drake and his dog Plato. These names are a reference to other Disney characters Donald Duck and Pluto.



21. The animated series contains many references to popular actors, real people, etc.

For example, Capone the rat is a reference to the gangster Al Capone, and Billy the Octopus is a reference to the famous criminal Billy the Kid.

Also, in one of the episodes you can meet two cats, whose names are Jack and Nickels. It's easy to guess that this is a reference to actor Jack Nicholson.

In the episode "Flies Separately", Professor Nimnul switches heads with the fly Zipper. This is a parody of the film "The Fly" (1958). And there are many more similar references and parodies in the animated series.

The band "Iron Goose", present in one of the episodes, is a parody of the famous British heavy metal band "Iron Maiden".



22. Kitten Brave, whom the heroes rescue in the first episode of the animated series, is a reference to the kitten Oliver from the Disney cartoon "Oliver and His Company." The external resemblance is obvious. By the way, the same kitten appeared for a second in one of the episodes of the animated series “Miracles on Bends.”



23. Almost every episode of the animated series "Chip 'n' Dale" ends with the main characters laughing. The theme was even satirized in a 2022 feature film.