Chip and Dale

In this Akiva Schaffer interview, the Lonely Island comedian talks about directing Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers, helping with the script, and crossovers.

I think I’ll celebrate the Disney+ release, but I do wish, if I knew it was going to be a crowded theater, that people could have that experience. Jorm was stuck in New York and Andy was stuck doing his thing, and I was doing this movie. Every day, we would have iPads on set and I would be able to have the crew gather around and be like, “Here’s what we’re filming today.” They could see a rudimentary version of it and we could go, “Okay, let’s do shot 1.” I’m trying to think of the fastest way to tell it all, but on set it was the fun of having dolls of Chip and Dale—you have eye line things that are like LED lights on little sticks so people know where to look. I color-corrected on a big screen, just the way you would for a theatrical movie. It was not easy and I keep giving big shout-outs to the lawyers—I always keep making a special point of that. I think we’re going to wait and see how people enjoy this film, but I think you can put in your request straight to Bob Chapek. Just write him an email. That’s part of what I was so excited to learn—getting to work with storyboard artists, creating animatics, and just do what you think of as classic animation the exact same way you would if you were making a Pixar movie. I love the Sonic movie and I’m very excited to see the second one. The producers dug it out because they always loved it and were like, “This has gotta go somewhere.” When they brought it to me, I definitely had a lot of things I wanted to do with it, and I was lucky that Dan and Doug agreed to come back on. The whale rap is definitely me and Andy. Dan Gregor and Doug Mand wrote it so I want to be careful about not taking any ownership away from them having written it, because their script was so good and that is what attracted me to it. I thought it was super funny and clever, and then I was also excited about learning modern filmmaking which is the live-action hybrid stuff. For Schaffer—who got his start by directing and editing goofy videos of Samberg and Jorma Taccone fake-rapping when they were just teenagers—it was a legal headache that was worth it.

A Shrek for a new era, as Disney lets Lonely Island go nuts (in PG fashion).

Dale, as part of a running gag in the film, has gotten "CGI surgery" and emerges as a fully 3D-rendered chipmunk. We get to see each lead character move on from early '90s fame to their "adult" lives for the next 25 years or so before they're forced to reunite. So much so, in fact, that I watched the entirety of the credits to see exactly who got thanked for allowing their biggest franchises to be either passive-aggressively mocked or outright, er, melted in this film.

It wouldn't be a Disney movie without some Marvel references throw in but Rescue Rangers went for some deep cuts.

Sadly in the Rescue Rangers verse the title was changed to Ant-Man, though in the closing credits we do see a poster for the fictional film: Paul Rudd in his Ant-Man costume, minus the helmet, poses with several aunts. In the Rescue Rangers movie, it seems Tigra never got much acting success outside of the short lived series, the banner at her booth features nothing but photos from the short-lived series and the inviting statement, “Meet the Were-Woman In Person!” No, Rescue Rangers goes for the deepest of deep cuts.

The satirical movie comes from The Lonely Island comedy team. "Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers" is exclusive to Disney Plus and won't be in theaters.

You can also download movies and shows from Disney Plus to watch offline later. If you buy them, we may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our partners. You can download the Disney Plus app on iOS, Android, PlayStation, Xbox, and most smart TV and streaming player brands. For more details, check out our full Disney Plus guide. Disney Plus costs $8 a month or $80 per year. The pair have been separated for years at the start of the film, but find themselves thrust back together when a former member of their show disappears.

Sonic, South Park, He-Man and Seth Rogen are among the surprising cameos in the Disney+ animated movie Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers.

The best part of the cameo is that Charles Fleischer reprises the character he voiced in the Robert Zemeckis classic starring the legendary Bob Hoskins. (Additional fun fan note: Eddie Murphy once said that Who Framed Roger Rabbit was the only film on which he ever regretted passing.) Toward the end of the film, in the same convention scene with He-Man and Skeletor, Pete bumps into one of the classic Disney Peter Pan Lost Boys. After he notes, shocked, that Peter grew up, Peter responds: “Yeah, death is coming for us all, kid.” One of the funniest moments in the film is between He-Man and Skeletor, who appear together at a fan convention. Rendered in their classic He-Man and the Masters of the Universe ’80s animation, the duo is at a table signing pictures when Chip and Dale run underneath to avoid trouble. The fan-favorite South Park character is seen briefly hanging out in a bathhouse sauna while Chip and Dale are on a mission. The poor guy is trying to get by in the industry as best he can — but it’s pretty clear opportunities have dried up and cons are his main source of income.