Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers Vol. 2 1989 - 1990 Buena Vista Home Entertainment   Buy It Now

It isn’t often that I hear anyone say that their favorite Disney character(s) are Chip ‘n’ Dale...however, it is nearly impossible to find a single person who doesn’t have some sort of fond affection for these guys.  This is just the sort of relationship these zany chipmunks have had with Disney fans since they first appeared on the scene back in 1943 terrorizing Mickey’s best pal, Pluto, in a cartoon called “Private Pluto”.  A few more appearances until the cartoon “Chip ‘n’ Dale” bestowed upon them their names, and then it was a life long run as everyone’s favorite rodent slapstick artists...never fully carrying the fanbase of say Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck, but always upstaging them in their own productions!

When Chip ‘n’ Dale finally got their chance in the spotlight with 1989’s animated television series, Rescue Rangers, even then it was in an ensemble cast of characters.  Chip, ever the smart and dominant one of the pair, and Dale, the dim-witted troublemaker, joined forces with two mice and a housefly in starting their own Private Investigation firm and solving all manner of crimes.  One part detective agency, two parts high adventure and three parts comedy, the group never failed to entertain as they took us along on their amazing cases. 

Monterey Jack is the Ranger’s rough and tumble, muscle-bound thick head; a large mouse that has a debilitating weakness for cheese that borders on the ludicrous!  Gadget is the group’s real brain power; an absolute Einstein of any and all mechanical issues.  She can build a tank out of an Easter Basket, a rocket out of a garbage can and just about anything else that the Rangers could possibly need to help them solve their case.  Rounding out the group is Zipper, a housefly who makes up what he lacks in size and strength with pure determination and fierce loyalty to his friends.

A group of flamboyant and memorable bad guys was always around to make life tough for the Rangers.  Whether it was Fat Cat, the dapper crime boss with a flare for the elaborate, commanding his ruffian gang to silence the Rangers forever or Professor Norton Nimnul utilizing tap-dancing penguins to sink ships (this is NOT your usual Happy Feet!), the Rangers were always up to their chubby cheeks in dangers!  In the episodes contained on this DVD set the guys will be pitted against thieving monkeys, toxic mosquitoes, a leprechaun enslaving banshee, and even a midget disguised as a baby to carry out his criminal acts undiscovered. 

As you no doubt can tell from a list of villains like that, Rescue Rangers was a zany show that never had a dull moment.  But even beyond the hijinks and slapstick moments that enthrall a younger audience and cause even the most grizzled adult to chuckle, are the pop-culture references.  The shows are SO packed with inside jokes, nods to feature Hollywood films, tributes to other Disney characters and series and the like, that adults of all ages can enjoy watching these episodes (with or without young ones!) and picking out all the winks to their generation.  Heck, even the episode titles themselves are often witty plays on words such as “When Mice Were Men”, “Mind Your Cheese And Q’s”, “Love Is A Many Splintered Thing”, or “One-Upsman-Chip”.

Surprisingly, the show ran for only one full season, but given the longer production schedule for cartoons versus, say, a sitcom, there were 65 great episodes made during this time.  What you get on Rescue Rangers: Volume 2 are episodes 28-51, including at last the five-part pilot episode!  Now I know what you are thinking...and if you read my review for Volume 1, you know I was thinking it too.  Why in the heck is the PILOT episode on a second volume set which includes episodes 28-51??

Well, in a surprising move Disney has decided to release many of their Disney Afternoon shows in the production order versus the order in which they aired.  But to thoroughly confuse matters even MORE, and unlike the first volume, the episodes on this second volume seem to be following the air-dates...that is except the pilot...which is still out of order, regardless.  All of this is subjective however to what reference you choose to believe, as almost every one has a different accounting of production vs. air dates.  It also doesn’t help that thirteen episodes of the series aired first on the Disney Channel, BEFORE the pilot episode was shown to audiences when it hit syndication.  I have fully given up trying to figure out just how these episodes all fit together, and I am not taking that as a good sign.  Seems to me that shows as beloved as Rescue Rangers or Duck Tales should be treated a little better, and I know that the Duck Tales releases are fairing almost as bad.

But to be truthful, the order that the episodes appear on the discs takes a back seat to the fact that there are NO extra features...at all...none...nada...not a thing.  This is absolutely ridiculous when we all are aware that the Disney Vaults are packed with information and materials which COULD be supplied if the gumption was there.  Almost all the voice talent is still active today, the characters are represented in the theme parks (Gadget’s Go Coaster in Disneyland’s Toontown?), there were promos for Disney Afternoon galore, and on and on.  At the VERY least, there are all of those pop-culture references I mentioned filling each episode.  How about a pop-up-video style feature highlighting all those?  How about ANYTHING? 

The entire collection is treated with this same disdain and lack of respect, and it is noticeable from the first moment you pop it in.  The menus are astoundingly horrible; featuring only a blurry static image from the show which looks like a 30^th generation VHS tape on pause, and a scratchy dub-tape version of the shows theme.  It is such a shame simply because the majority of people who pick these Disney Afternoon shows up are already fans from their younger days.  So in essence, the bare-bones and in some cases BROKEN-bones approach is knowingly delivered to a group of clamoring, devoted fans.

Regardless of the conditions of these releases, it IS great to see them available.  Those late 80’s/early 90’s days of Disney TV were great ones, and this is definitely a case of “better how it is, than not at all”!  If you have picked up the first volume, then you simply must grab this one to get your hands on the five-part pilot episode; and if you haven’t added Volume One into your collection, I would just start with this one and work your way back!  With the odd structuring of the episodes, it would make more sense to begin here, find out how these critters became the Rescue Rangers, and then catch up on the remainder of their classic episodes later.

Rescue Rangers is a terrific show, plain and simple.  Great writing, quirky characters, over the top adventures, and an episodic format that makes checking out the series in bite sized pieces possible, add up to a desirable addition to your collection.  Flawed as the release might be, the material itself remains unchanged...and this is a show guaranteed to bring a smile to your face over and over.

-aaron-
 

Directed by: All Episodes by John Kimball & Bob Zamboni Except Episodes 2:01, 2:02, 2:03, 2:04, 2:05 – John Kimball, Rick Leon, Jamie Mitchell & Bob Zamboni   Written by: Episode 2:01, 2:02, 2:03, 2:04, 2:05 – Jymn Magon, Tad Stones, Mark Zaslove & Kevin Hoops Episode 2:20, 2:21, 2:35– Mark Edward Edens Episode 2:22, 2:28, 2:29, 2:33 – Julia J. Roberts Episode 2:23 – Kevin Hopps Episode 2:24 – Eric Lewald Episode 2:25, 2:34 – Dev Ross & Tad Stones Episode 2:26, 2:37 – David Wise Episode 2:27 – Dev Ross Episode 2:30 – Len Uhley Episode 2:31 – Tad Stones Episode 2:32 – Julia J. Roberts & Tad Stones Episode 2:36 – Michael Price Nelson & Burt Brown Episode 2:38 – Dev Ross, Ken Koonce & David Wiemers   Voice Cast: Tress MacNeille (Chip, Gadget, Spunky) Corey Burton (Dale, Zipper, Mole, Snout, Roger Baskerville, Kiwis Chief, Poptop, Dr. Wexler, Robocat) Jim Cummings (Monterey Jack, Fat Cat, Professor Nimnul, Wart, Sergeant Spinelli, Sir Colby, Hiram, Steggy, Butch) Peter Cullen (Monterey Jack, Meps, Officer Kirby, Officer Muldoon)

DVD Features: Full Frame - 1.33:1 Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0 Disc 1 Episodes: 2:01 – Rescue Rangers to the Rescue - Part One 2:02 – Rescue Rangers to the Rescue - Part Two 2:03 – Rescue Rangers to the Rescue - Part Three 2:04 – Rescue Rangers to the Rescue - Part Four 2:05 – Rescue Rangers to the Rescue - Part Five 2:20 – A Creep in the Deep 2:21 – Normie's Science Project 2:22 – Seer No Evil Disc 2 Episodes: 2:23 – Chipwrecked Shipmunk 2:24 – When Mice Were Men 2:25 – Chocolate Chips 2:26 – The Last Leprechaun 2:27 – Weather or Not 2:28 – One-Upsman-Chip 2:29 – Shell Shocked 2:30 – Love Is A Many Splintered Thing Disc 3 Episodes: 2:31 – Song of the Night 'N' Dale 2:32 – Double 'O' Chipmunks 2:33 – Gadget Goes Hawaiian 2:34 – It's a Bird, It's Insane, It's Dale! 2:35 – Short Order Crooks 2:36 – Mind Your Cheese and Q's 2:37 – Out of Scale 2:38 – Dirty Rotten Diapers