Chip 'N Dale: Rescue Rangers Teaser: Disney Nostalgia Gets The Lonely Island Treatment
Sometimes, some crimes go slipping through the cracks, but these two gumshoes are picking up the slack ... and by "these two gumshoes," I mean Akiva Schaffer and Andy Samberg.
Yes, two of the three members of The Lonely Island (sans Jorma Taccone, who's been busy with other projects of late) have reunited to make "Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers," a live-action/animated action-comedy based on the beloved animated Disney series that many, like myself, watched via reruns as part of the Disney Afternoon lineup in the early 1990s. The film stars Samberg and John Mulaney as the voices of Chip and Dale, who must team up to solve another mystery 30 years after their heyday as small stars of the, uh, small screen. Akiva Schaffer called the shots on the movie from a script by Dan Gregor and Doug Mand ("Crazy Ex-Girlfriend"), making this his first feature-length directorial effort since he and Taccone co-helmed their and Samberg's 2016 cult comedy "Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping."
No need to spend any more time wondering what the heck the guys (well, two of them) behind the earworm that is "I'm So Humble" — as well as the masterwork of cinema that is the killer bees scene from "Popstar" — would make of a reboot of a nostalgic Disney property: The "Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers" teaser trailer is now online and it's as outlandish and self-aware as you surely hoped it would be.
Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers Teaser Trailer
Joining Samberg and Mulaney in the "Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers" cast are KiKi Layne, Will Arnett, and Eric Bana, as well as Dennis Haysbert, Keegan-Michael Key, J.K. Simmons, Chris Parnell, and Seth Rogen. The film's official synopsis reads as follows:
"In 'Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers,' Chip and Dale are living amongst cartoons and humans in modern-day Los Angeles, but their lives are quite different now. It has been decades since their successful television series was canceled, and Chip (voice of Mulaney) has succumbed to a life of suburban domesticity as an insurance salesman. Dale (voice of Samberg), meanwhile, has had CGI surgery and works the nostalgia convention circuit, desperate to relive his glory days. When a former cast mate mysteriously disappears, Chip and Dale must repair their broken friendship and take on their Rescue Rangers detective personas once again to save their friend's life."
For the most part, I dig this "Rescue Rangers" trailer. The meta angle of the film's story recalls "Popstar" and its mockumentary format, complete with all the in-jokes and bizarre humor I would expect from any project involving most of The Lonely Island — like the bit with Rogen voicing a bearded, uncanny valley motion-capture character that looks like it came straight out of Robert Zemeckis' 2007 "Beowulf" movie. Speaking of which, this trailer is also a reminder of just how many beloved IPs and franchises the House of Mouse owns, allowing it to include a gag involving Dale's Indiana Jones-style costume amidst the cameos by characters like Roger Rabbit and Scrooge McDuck (specifically, the one from the '90s "DuckTales" TV show). It's both amusing and kind of horrifying at the same time, so I'm all for Schaffer and his team mocking Mickey Mouse's empire to their hearts' delight.
"Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers" premieres May 20, 2022 as a Disney+ exclusive.