Chip 'n' Dale

Chip and Dale (also spelled Chip 'n' Dale) are a cartoon duo of anthropomorphic chipmunks created in 1943 by The Walt Disney Company.[5][6]

This article is about the characters. For the film, see Chip an' Dale.
For other uses, see Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers and Chippendale.

Chip 'n' Dale
Chip 'n' Dale and Mickey Mouse & Friends character
Chip (left) and Dale (right)
First appearancePrivate Pluto (1943)
Created byBill Justice
Designed byBill Justice
Voiced byChip:
Dale:
  • Nora Corcoran (1943)[1]
  • Milt Neil (1946)[1]
  • Dessie (Flynn) Miller (1948–1960)
  • John Brown (1949)
  • Anne Lloyd (1950)[2]
  • Helen Silbert (1956)[1]
  • Gloria Wood, Robie Lester or Teri York (1972)[2]
  • Corey Burton (1988–present)
  • Tress MacNeille (1999–2006)
  • Andy Samberg (Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers; 2022)
Developed by
In-universe information
Alias
SpeciesChipmunks
GenderMale
Significant other
Rival(s)

Concept

The characters were first drawn by Bill Justice[6] and introduced in the 1943 Pluto short Private Pluto, directed by Clyde Geronimi. In the short, they fight with Pluto about whether they can store their nuts in a military base cannon. Three years later, director Jack Hannah decided to use them as co-stars in Donald Duck shorts. Hannah said:

I believe Gerry Geronimi did a picture with two impish little chipmunks that just squeaked and chattered with a speeded-up soundtrack but no words. He used them with Pluto… I wanted to use them with the Duck but with a little more personality in them. So we decided to put words into their mouths but speed 'em up so you could just barely understand them… We gave them both the same personality—but something was missing. Bill Peet came up with the suggestion of making one of them a little goofball to give them two different personalities. Immediately I saw the advantage of that and took the suggestion.[7]

Of the two, Chip is portrayed as being safe, focused, and having a mind for logical scheming. Dale, by contrast, is more laid-back, dim-witted, and impulsive, and has a very strong sense of humor. Originally the two had a very similar appearance, but as a way to tell them apart, some differences were introduced: Chip has a small black nose and two centered protruding teeth, whereas Dale has a large dark red nose and a prominent gap between his buckteeth. Chip is also depicted as having smooth hair on top of his head while Dale's tends to be ruffled.

In most cartoons, they are paired with Mickey Mouse, or most often, Pluto and Donald Duck, whom they usually battle when they see an activity they do out of curiosity or when they try to get food without getting caught by them. They were given their own series in the 1950s, but only three cartoons resulted under their name: Chicken in the Rough (1951), Two Chips and a Miss (1952) and The Lone Chipmunks (1954). The duo was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film three times in four years: in 1946 for Squatter's Rights (against Mickey and Pluto), in 1947 for Chip an' Dale and in 1949 for Toy Tinkers (both against Donald Duck). In the 1980s, they became the lead characters of a half-hour television series, Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers, in which they have adventures as leaders of a detective agency.

Their names may be a pun on the name of the 18th-century cabinet maker and furniture designer Thomas Chippendale, as suggested by Bill "Tex" Henson, a story artist at the studio.

List of Chip 'n' Dale shorts

Chip and Dale appear in the following 23 animated short films.

Chip 'n' Dale short
Donald Duck short
Mickey Mouse short
Pluto short
# Title Release date Author Summary
1Private PlutoApril 2, 1943Clyde GeronimiPrivate Pluto has been assigned to guard a pillbox from saboteurs. But, Chip and Dale are the saboteurs who occupy it, while using the cannon to crack acorns on Pluto's head. In the end, the chipmunks fire Pluto out of the cannon and crack the remaining acorns, leaving him to whine.
2Squatter's RightsJune 7, 1946Jack HannahIn a house, Chip and Dale inhabit a stove when Mickey and Pluto return and get in their way. Determined to keep their home, Chip and Dale get Pluto in trouble with Mickey. The chipmunks manage to drive the two out after they make Pluto seem like he was shot badly.
3Chip an' DaleNovember 28, 1947Being cold and lacking wood, Donald heads off to chop down a tree which happens to be inhabited by Chip and Dale. Chip and Dale try to get him out of luck by stealing his firewood, causing Donald to kick them out. In the end, they roll a giant snowball on him.
4Three for BreakfastNovember 5, 1948When Chip and Dale catch sight of Donald's pancakes, they decide to steal them from Donald. Donald protects his breakfast by tricking them with a rubber cement pancake. Soon, Chip and Dale get Donald into a long stretch with the rubber pancake jamming him in the chimney.
5Winter StorageJune 3, 1949Chip and Dale try to store acorns for the coming winter but run out on their tree. The chipmunks swipe Donald's acorns he is using for a seeding project, getting trapped in Donald's box trap and then get into a squabble. Chip and Dale challenge Donald in a game of hockey with the acorns and overwhelm him with a huge pile of acorns.
6All in a NutshellSeptember 2, 1949Donald has run out of nuts for his nut butter sales and gets some out of Chip and Dale's tree. The chipmunks think Donald's stall is a giant walnut. Dale injures Chip in his clumsy attempts but the two both break into Donald's store and find nut butter tastes good. They swipe Donald's jars and after a chase dispose of Donald, they shoot him into the lake.
7Toy TinkersDecember 16, 1949Donald chops down a pine tree, to set as his Christmas tree. Chip and Dale follow him to his house, and steal Donald's nut supply, with the use of his toys. Donald sets to protect it all, tricking them with a Father Christmas guise trap drawing a pistol at them. Donald and the chipmunks engage in a toy gun war until Donald gets blown with a firework.
8Crazy Over DaisyMarch 25, 1950Chip and Dale antagonize Donald Duck, as he attempts to deliver a present to Daisy, even managing to destroy his penny-farthing. Donald forces the chipmunks to transport him and Daisy, who, outraged with the way Donald treated the chipmunks, dumps him.
9Trailer HornApril 28, 1950Chip and Dale follow a trail of footprints to Donald's campsite, and honk the car's horn to cause trouble and wake Donald up. The chipmunks then harass Donald by preventing him from trying to swim. The chipmunks pelt Donald with pine cones. Donald tries to get at them with his car but totals it.
10Food for Feudin'August 11, 1950Charles NicholasChip and Dale gather hazelnuts, but Pluto buries a bone in the tree and loses all the nuts in his dog house. Chip and Dale camouflage themselves in gardening gloves and lure Pluto to their tree, retrieving their nuts. The chipmunks and Pluto play a Plam Pile game getting their fingers tied.
11Out on a LimbDecember 15, 1950Jack HannahDonald works as a tree surgeon, and notices Chip and Dale storing nuts and prunes their branch. Donald tails the chipmunks with a branch cutter but they knock Donald with a stone. Donald chases the chipmunks, getting their crowns shaved with a lawnmower, but runs into an electric line.
12Chicken in the RoughJanuary 19, 1951Chip and Dale drop their acorns in a chicken farm and go in after them. In the henhouse, Dale mistakes the eggs for walnuts. He meets a hatched chick and is forced to impersonate a chick to hide from the cockerel, his cover almost blown and staying stuck in the nest.
13Corn ChipsMarch 23, 1951Donald clears the snow from his yard, and Chip and Dale clears theirs into his yard, angering him. The chipmunks then enter Donald's house to get hold of some of his popcorn, but get mixed in his popcorn when Donald comes back. Chip and Dale swipe Donald's popcorn and he tries to get it back. After a chase, Donald lights a fire in the tree and the chipmunks fill Donald's yard with popcorn.
14Test Pilot DonaldJune 8, 1951Donald tries out his control line model airplane finding it works fine. When it gets caught in a tree, Dale hitches a ride in it to Chip's disapproval. When Dale crash lands, Donald traps him in a jar, but he escapes and drives the plane again. Donald tries to catch Dale with a fishing rod, but Dale traps him with the plane on a building spire.
15Out of ScaleNovember 2, 1951Donald is having fun with his small train set but removes Chip and Dale's tree after declaring it "out of scale". As the chipmunks try to get their tree back, Donald chases them. The chipmunks make themselves comfy in a miniature house. Donald finds their scale fits with the house and torments them with weather changes. Chip and Dale retrieve their tree and make it fit to scale as a giant redwood tree. This episode is unique because it is a take on Walt Disney's backyard railroad: the Carolwood Pacific. The engine is modeled after the Lille Belle, his live steam engine and Canyonville was one of the towns the Carolwood Pacific Railroad serviced in Walt's back yard.
16Donald ApplecoreJanuary 8, 1952Donald is annoyed Chip and Dale are replacing his apples with eaten cores and Dale tricks him into disposing of them. They resist Donald's insect powder and Donald takes back the apples with his helicopter. The chipmunks empty the apple silo and Donald goes after them with chemical bombs, but gets blown underground to China.
17Two Chips and a MissMarch 21, 1952In New York, Chip goes for his secret date with Clarice. Dale himself has also been invited to meet Clarice. When they cross each other at the Acorn Club they bicker and fight for Clarice's love and affection. They stop to watch her act. The chipmunks compete for Clarice with their music, both receiving a kiss and all three sing together.
18Pluto's Christmas TreeNovember 21, 1952Chip and Dale tease Pluto and hide in a pine tree which Mickey is chopping down for Christmas. In Mickey's house, Chip and Dale are fascinated by the sparkling balls. They try to get the candy canes but Pluto spots them. After Chip and Dale have a long and mischievous tackle with Pluto, the tree gets destroyed, but Mickey is delighted to have the chipmunks. Donald, Goofy and Minnie come to greet Mickey with carols.
19Working for PeanutsNovember 11, 1953Chip and Dale come across a peanut - and check out the zoo which hosts Dolores the elephant, and all those peanuts. Dolores however prevents the chipmunks getting any. As Dolores' handler, Donald chases them after they thwack Dolores. Chip and Dale attract some people to get some peanuts, then cover themselves in whitewash and trick Donald into thinking they are albino chipmunks.
20The Lone ChipmunksApril 19, 1954Jack KinneyBlack Pete is wanted for terrorising and robbing towns. Chip and Dale find Pete has been stashing stolen money in their tree and take the opportunity for the reward. They fail to get Pete twice and he finds them and shoots at them. Chip and Dale put up a tricking fight with Pete and get him captured by the cavalry. Chip and Dale ride off to town known as the Lone Chipmunks.
21Dragon AroundJuly 16, 1954Jack HannahDale is fascinated by medieval fantasy and drags Chip into it when they spot a dragon which is actually Donald's refuse tractor. Donald is intent on building a freeway through their tree. Chip as a knight and Dale as his stead get swallowed by the tractor grabber but they escape and disable its teeth. Before Donald can smash the tree the chipmunks sabotage the tractor. Donald tries to blow them up with dynamite but they blast him in the sky instead.
22Up a TreeJune 3, 1955Donald is a lumberjack intending to saw a tall tree, which happen to be inhabited by Chip and Dale. Chip causes Donald to fall three times before he cuts off the top and finds out about the two. Donald cuts down the tree and the chipmunks fail to keep it standing. Chip and Dale get Donald in a run from the logged tree until it is catapulted with dynamite along with Donald's house.
23Chips AhoyFebruary 24, 1956Jack KinneyChip and Dale spot an island with abundant acorns but have no way to get to it. They steal Donald's ship in a bottle to get there, with Chip as captain and Dale as a sailor. Donald tries many ways to stop them and get his boat back, until he ends up stuck there, and the chipmunks are accidentally pushed back home. While the chipmunks enjoy their acorns, Donald tries to build a dugout canoe.

Home media
  • The Adventures of Chip 'n' Dale – Includes Two Chips and a Miss, Chicken in the Rough, Chips Ahoy, Donald Applecore, Up a Tree, and The Lone Chipmunks plus various song scenes in between cartoon shorts sung by Chip 'n' Dale
  • Classic Cartoon Favorites, Vol. 4: Starring Chip 'n' Dale (DVD)– Includes Chicken in the Rough, Chip an' Dale, Out of Scale, Two Chips and a Miss, Food for Feudin', Working for Peanuts, Out on a Limb, Three for Breakfast and Dragon Around
  • Nuts About Chip 'n' Dale – Includes Food for Feudin', Trailer Horn and Two Chips and a Miss
  • A Tale of Two Chipmunks – Includes Chicken in the Rough, Chips Ahoy and The Lone Chipmunks (Also released on Laserdisc as a double feature along with "The Unsinkable Donald Duck")
  • Disney Cartoon Classics Vol. 9: Starring Chip 'n' Dale – Includes Working for Peanuts, Donald Applecore and Dragon Around plus short scenes in between the cartoon shorts narrated by Jiminy Cricket, and is the only animation where Donald addresses the chipmunks by their names.

Comics series

Chip 'n' Dale also had their own comic book title, first from Dell Comics with Four Color Comics #517, 581, and 636, then their own title for issues #4–30 (1955–62), which was then continued by Gold Key Comics with #1–64 (1967–80), and later under its brand Whitman with #65–83 (1980–84).[8]

TV series

Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers
Main article: Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers (TV series)

In 1989, Chip and Dale became the title characters in a new animated television series, Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers, in which they formed a detective agency with new characters created for the show: female mouse inventor Gadget Hackwrench, muscular adventuring Australian mouse Monterey Jack and Zipper the fly. While in the original shorts, the duo is frequent troublemakers who are concerned only with themselves. In Rescue Rangers, they are crime fighters who help them less fortunate.[9]

In this series, the personality differences between the two are more pronounced, with Chip as the serious, heroic leader and Dale as the quick-witted, hard partying reluctant hero. Additionally, they wear clothes in this series which reflect their personalities; Chip wears a leather jacket and fedora (much like Indiana Jones), while Dale wears a Hawaiian shirt (much like Magnum, P.I.).

DuckTales

Chip 'n' Dale, based on their Rescue Rangers iterations, made an appearance in the 2017 TV series DuckTales.[10] Making their debut in the season 3 episode, "Double-O-Duck in You Only Crash Twice!", Chip 'n' Dale are depicted as ordinary chipmunks used as lab rats for an intelligence ray developed by the organization F.O.W.L. After becoming much smarter and anthropomorphic, they teamed up with two mice and a fly to escape their confines as well as help Launchpad McQuack defeat one of F.O.W.L.'s agents.[11] They also make a cameo appearance alongside the other Rangers in the series finale, "The Last Adventure!".[12]

Chip 'N Dale's Nutty Tales
Main article: Mickey_Mouse_Mixed-Up_Adventures § Chip_'n_Dale's_Nutty_Tales

Chip 'n Dale star in a CGI preschool short series, spin-off of Mickey Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures.

Chip 'n' Dale: Park Life
Main article: Chip 'n' Dale: Park Life

The characters have a French-American animated series called Chip 'n' Dale: Park Life, which was released on Disney+ on July 28, 2021,[13][14] which was co-produced by The Walt Disney Company France and Xilam Animation. Unlike other iterations of the characters, the series is non-verbal, similarly to other shows produced by Xilam.[15] The series portrays Chip 'n' Dale's adventures living in a park where they often interact with Clarice, Donald Duck, Pluto, and other mostly Duckburg-centric Disney characters. The chipmunks are portrayed in only semi-humanized form, much as in late-1940s cartoon shorts.

Film
Main article: Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers (film)

A hybrid live-action/computer-animated film, Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers, was released in 2022, with animation of the characters provided by Moving Picture Company and their voices by John Mulaney and Andy Samberg.

Other appearances

Chip 'n' Dale were planned to appear as a cameo in the 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit. They were supposed to be in the scene called "Acme's Funeral". However, the scene was cut from the final film. Storyboard artwork for this sequence survives, where they can be seen alongside characters such as Goofy, Horace Horsecollar, Clarabelle Cow, Tom Cat, Jerry Mouse, Herman and Katnip, Popeye, Bluto, Felix the Cat, Porky Pig, Petunia Pig, Sylvester the Cat, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, Casper the Friendly Ghost and Droopy.[16]

They can also be spotted in the 1983 featurette Mickey's Christmas Carol where they are seen dancing to the music inside Fezziwigs. They also appear at all the Disney Parks as well. Chip 'n' Dale occasionally appeared in the television series Mickey Mouse Works and House of Mouse.

Chip and Dale are part of the Walt Disney Animation Studios characters that take a group photo at the end of the 2023 short film Once Upon a Studio.[17]

Voice actors

The classic voices of Chip 'n' Dale were mostly provided by Jimmy MacDonald, Dessie (Flynn) Miller and Helen Silbert. The earliest voices were provided by female office staff, without credit. In Private Pluto, the chipmunks' speech was created by speeding up sound clips of normal speech. In a number of the shorts that followed, many of these same sound clips were used again, though later shorts used dialogue specifically recorded for that short.

At one point in Winter Storage, Chip and Dale get into an argument while being caught in a trap. When the scene switches to an outside view of the box (with Donald Duck sitting on the box), the dialogue being heard is actually a sped-up segment of the voice-over narration (done by John Brown) from the Goofy short A Knight for a Day.

Since 1988, Chip and Dale have been voiced by Tress MacNeille and Corey Burton respectively, although MacNeille has provided the voice for both in Mickey Mouse Works and House of Mouse. John Mulaney and Andy Samberg voiced the two in the Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers live-action film.[18] In the film, the high-pitched voices of the television series were explained as an act by the otherwise normally speaking chipmunks.

See also

References
  1. Scott, Keith (October 3, 2022). Cartoon Voices of the Golden Age. Vol. 2. BearManor Media.
  2. "A Groovy Happy Birthday to Dippy the Goof!". Cartoon research. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
  3. "Norma Swank-Haviland, Disney Ink-&-Paint Artist And Early Chip Voice Actor, Dies At 97". Cartoon Brew. May 4, 2022. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  4. "Finding Treasure! / Witchy Worries". DisneyNow. November 18, 2022. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
  5. Justice, Bill (1992). Justice for Disney. ISBN 978-0-91429313-2. [Chip and Dale are] simply little brothers
  6. Disney Trivia from the Vault: Secrets Revealed and Questions Answered: Secrets Revealed and Questions Answered. Disney Electronic Content. July 3, 2012. p. PT73. ISBN 978-1-42317857-6. though Bill Justice, who first drew Chip and Dale, mentioned… that he thought of the two as "simply little brothers," the company has never officially acknowledged that. In the cartoons they were always depicted as friends.
  7. Grant, John (1998). Encyclopedia of Walt Disney's Animated Characters (2nd ed.). Hyperion. p. 96. ISBN 978-0-78686336-5.
  8. "Chip 'n' Dale (Volume)". Comic Vine.
  9. "Boom! and Ian Brill Retrieve Chip 'n Dale rescue rangers". Newsarama. Retrieved January 10, 2011.
  10. "DuckTales surprises Comic-Con with Rescue Rangers, Daisy Duck, and Lin-Manuel Miranda". Entertainment Weekly. July 19, 2019.
  11. "Double-O-Duck in You Only Crash Twice!". DuckTales. Season 3. Episode 50. April 11, 2020.
  12. "The Last Adventure!". DuckTales. Season 3. Episode 69. March 15, 2021.
  13. Peterson, Erik (February 24, 2021). "Disney+ Sets Premiere Dates, First Images For 'Turner & Hooch', 'Mysterious Benedict Society', 'Chip 'N' Dale: Park Life' & 'High School Musical: The Series'". Deadline. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  14. "Opening Title Sequence for Disney+'s Chip 'n' Dale: Park Life Revealed". Comingsoon.net. June 16, 2021.
  15. Zahed, Ramin (June 11, 2019). "First Look : Disney+ Unveils Pics from New 'Chip 'n' Dale' Series at Annecy". Animation Magazine. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
  16. Hill, Jim (August 2, 2011). "From the JHM Archives: Scenes that were cut out of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit"". Jim Hill Media.
  17. Reif, Alex (October 16, 2023). "Disney's "Once Upon a Studio" – List of Characters in Order of Appearance". Laughing Place.
  18. "Disney Investor Day: Animation and Marvel and Star Wars, Oh My". Animation magazine. December 10, 2020.
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