(The Disneycember logo is shown, before showing clips from Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers)
Doug (vo; singing): Ch-ch-ch-Chip and Dale! Movie Spoilers! (Speaks normally) Yeah, if you want to know my thoughts about this without spoilers, go ahead and watch my episode of Untitled Review Show. But, for this one, I'm gonna talk about all the stuff I couldn't in that video. With that said, Ugly Sonic is clearly the best part of the movie. And this is a good movie, but, by God, this was genius. Okay, I'll go into that in a second. First, let's set up the story.
Story[]
Doug (vo): Chip and Dale, as you're probably aware, had a hit TV show in the 90s called Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers. The show got cancelled, though, because Dale wanted a spin-off career, based on a character that actually was in one of the episodes...I kind of forgot about that...which gets the show cancelled, and on top of that, Dale's career doesn't go as big as he would hoping. Looking to make some sort of comeback, he contacts Chip, who's now got an office job, and talks about... (Speaks in a 90s "dude" tone) ...putting the band back together. (Speaks normally) The band, though, in its entirety, is not in this movie entirely. Monterey Jack is kidnapped, along with a bunch of other cartoon characters, and it's up to Chip and Dale and this really boring-ass cop to go and find them.
Review[]
Doug (vo): So I think, like a lot of people, when I saw the trailer to this, I was thinking, "Man, this could easily work, but it could easily bomb, too." A lot of people were laughing at the self-aware jokes, but as a lot of reboots have shown nowadays, you can be too self-aware. There is a way to do this wrong. Actually, there's a lot of ways to do it wrong. Thankfully, though, this movie does most of the things right.
(Several clips focusing on Chip and Dale are shown)
Doug (vo): On top of all the satires of the show, the 90s, and just Hollywood life in general, there is a good heart at the center of the story, with the connection between Chip and Dale. Yes, this is very familiar territory and we've seen it in a lot of other movies and shows, but the film's very clever at showing Chip and Dale when they're little kids, going to school, and getting along with each other, and seeing they're both kind of outcasts, and they kind of help each other out. And even that kind of comes back into the story, when you see the different ways they interpret the past, even back to when they first met.
(Various clips resume showing, with dozens of clips primarily focusing on Chip, who is showcased with 2D animation brought to life with CG technology)
Doug (vo): Everyone seemed to lose their minds about how funny this movie was and how legitimately touching it was. And, yeah, I really liked it, too, I don't think quite on the same level as everyone else, though. I did have problems with this movie. One of them is, the 3D animation trying to look like 2D animation. I'm sorry, we're just not there yet. I think this looks phony, ugly, and like a puppet being moved around. There's other characters that legit look like they were hand-drawn, and I'm not sure if they were or not. It looks like they were, and if not, if it turns out this was the 3D-to-2D animation, that's what they should've done more, because Chip looks hideous. He doesn't look finished, he looks unrendered, he's trying to look like he's hand-drawn, and we know he's not hand-drawn. So why lie to us like this? I'll tell you why, because it saves time and money. And, yeah, I get that. I guess that's just where a lot of animation is going, and maybe the people behind the scenes wanted to do it hand-drawn, but Disney said no. If you want this to happen, you gotta do this to cut budget costs. I mean, you're getting a ton of other copyright characters...we'll get to that in a second. But this was hugely distracting to me. The choice of John Mulaney as Chip, I'm also on the fence about, because I love John Mulaney. I think he's really funny, and he can turn in some really good performances that have both a comedic and dramatic edge. (An image of Big Mouth is shown) In something like Big Mouth, it works, because it is self-aware in a way that compliments that voice. But in this, I feel like there are supposed to be a lot more genuine moments that just don't sound as genuine from him. He's not bad, he's just not quite there.
(Clips focusing on the film's antagonist, Sweet Pete, are shown)
Doug (vo): There's also some controversy about the Peter Pan character in this, and a lot of people pointing out, rightfully so, that it does eerily mimic the life of the actual actor who played Peter Pan. (An image of Bobby Driscoll is shown) Honestly, I can see both sides of the argument. I can see them writing this role, saying it's the original Peter Pan, and all this happened because there's literally a syndrome named after Peter Pan, people who don't want to grow up and want to stay in the past, and that's kind of what the movie is about. But on that note, how can the people making this, who work for Disney, not be aware of the life of this actor? Nobody raised their hand and said, "You know, this sounds eerily a little too close to home here." I don't know. I think there's enough of a disconnect to argue that not everybody would think of this or reference this, but if you do know the story of this guy, it is a tad uncomfortable.
(Footage focusing on the cameo appearances of various cartoon characters, Disney and non-Disney alike, is shown)
Doug (vo): On that note, let's talk about what I'm sure everybody wants to hear me talk about: the copyrighted characters in this. It is bizarre how many different IPs are in this movie, and for, sometimes, seemingly no reason. We know Disney owns Fox and Marvel and Star Wars, and getting them is not a problem, but there's, like, Shrek merchandise in this, and a South Park character in the background, and He-Man and Skeletor sitting at a table. I will admit, I was constantly laughing at just how many unexpected characters were gonna be around the corner. With that said, though, looking back, it does seem a little pointless. I think, like, in Roger Rabbit, when Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny met up for the first time, and that was mind-blowing. You actually saw them interact off each other, and you kind of knew you would never see this again. Here, My Little Pony just runs across the screen, and that's it. They don't really interact with them or anything. There's also some characters that you know were meant to be someone else. (A shot of Tigra is shown) Like, I am positive this was gonna be Cheetara, but they couldn't get the rights to her. You know Gumby was supposed to be the bad guy in this, and those would've been hilarious, but clearly, they couldn't get the legal rights. And honestly, it's amazing they got as many as they did.
(Clips focusing on Ugly Sonic are shown. A double image of Sonic's early appearance and current appearance from Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) is also shown, as well as the posters for Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) and Sonic the Hedgehog 2)
Doug (vo): And let's be honest, it's all worth it for that incredible Ugly Sonic cameo. Not only was it unexpected and hilarious, but the way they use him is so clever. It isn't just a throwaway joke. He actually plays kind of a big part in the story, but not in a way that's distracting or takes up too much time. When he comes back into the story, it's actually really welcomed, and you're kind of rooting for this dude, because you remember how we all made fun of how he looked. And the idea of giving him this has-been personality that's trying to pretend like he's in on the joke, is he or is he not, it's hard to tell, makes it all the more fun when he comes through in the end and saves the day. I'm one of the few people that was totally ready to embrace Ugly Sonic and how terrible this movie was going to be. "Gangsta's Paradise" in the trailer? What the hell are you doing? I was so ready to have a good time with this and embrace the cringe. But they changed it, and we got a good Sonic movie...eventually. Controversial thoughts. But it's great to see the potential of how uncomfortable this character is exploited in the best way, actually in kind of a heartfelt way.
Final thought[]
Doug (vo): Do I wish there was more of the actual Rescue Rangers in this, like Gadget, Zipper and Monterey Jack? Yeah. Do I wish the human characters were more interesting and some of the lesser jokes were punched up a bit? Of course. But what we got, I still think is very entertaining. Some people are saying it's the next Roger Rabbit. I can't go that far. But I can say it is very original, the way they work in these characters. And while I do wish some were utilized more, the ones they do utilize are pretty fantastic. I had a good time, I thought it was really funny and had the emotion in there, surprisingly. What did you all think, particularly with the copyrighted characters? Do you think it was worth getting all these other little side cameos, like My Little Pony and South Park and so forth, just for little walk-on roles? Do you feel like they should've just saved that money instead of putting into making Chip look hand-drawn? Or do you think it was totally worth it for the characters they did dive into? Let me know your thoughts, and I'll see you on the remake of...TaleSpin, or whatever they're gonna do next.
(A scene showing Chip, Dale, and the entire Rescue Rangers team posing for a photo on a magazine is shown)