Chip 'n' Dale
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Chip 'n Dale are two animated chipmunks created by The Walt Disney Company. Their names are a pun based on the name "Chippendale" (see Thomas Chippendale). This was suggested by Bill "Tex" Henson, a story artist at the studio.
According to Disney, Chip is the logical schemer, and Dale is the dumb schemer. An easy way to visually tell them apart is that Chip has a small black nose (it looks a bit like a chocolate "Chip" as a way to help people remember who's who) and one centered protruding tooth, whereas Dale has a big red nose and his two prominent buck teeth exposed. Chip is also depicted as having smooth, short fur atop his head while Dale's tends to be ruffled.
Early Cartoons
Antagonists of Pluto
Chip 'n Dale first appeared in the cartoon Private Pluto (1943), though they did not have their names or distinguishing characteristics. Pluto has been assigned to guard a pillbox where the two chipmunks are storing their nut supply, with the large gun being used as a nutcracker. However, various portions of Pluto's anatomy (such as his head) are realized as useful nutcracking implements. Eventually, they retreat into the pillbox, leaving Pluto weeping outside.
In their second short Squatter's Rights, they are once again against Pluto, though this time with Mickey Mouse along (though the latter never realizes the chipmunks' presence). The chipmunks have been hibernating in Mickey's hunting cabin, when he and Pluto arrive, they are less than thrilled. Various gags ensue, culminating with Pluto almost having his head blown off by a shotgun. With the aid of a bottle of ketchup, the chipmunks manage to make Mickey think his dog has been critically wounded. Exit one Mouse, leaving the chipmunks once again the sole occupants of the cabin.
(Interestingly, though the two chipmunks have no physical distinctions, certain elements of the two chipmunks' later personalities can be recognized.)
Antagonists of Donald Duck
Chip 'n Dale did not get their names (or the traits that separate them) until the cartoon Chip an' Dale (1947) where they antagonize Donald Duck. They continued to appear in animated cartoons, usually annoying/terrorizing Donald, until the mid-1950s.
Chicken in the Rough
Chip 'n Dale wander into a farmyard to collect as many acorns as they can but Dale mistakes an egg for a nut, and is in turn mistaken for a hatching egg. Upon investigation by the rooster, Dale is forced to impersonate a newly-hatched chicken.
Two Chips and a Miss
Although Chip 'n Dale are almost always united in a common goal, "Two Chips and a Miss" was one of their only shorts to see them working against each other, this time for the affections of another chipmunk, Clarice, a performer at the Acorn Club, in "Two Chips and a Miss" (1951). After much battling between the two, she chooses neither one.
The Lone Chipmunks
Chip 'n Dale are in the old west and try to bring Black Pete to jail.
List of Chip 'n Dale Shorts
Walt Disney animated shorts starring or featuring Chip 'n Dale:
- Private Pluto (Clyde Geronimi/Apr 2, 1943)
- Squatter’s Right (Jack Hannah/June 7, 1946)
- Chip an’ Dale (Jack Hannah/Nov 28, 1947)
- Three For Breakfast (Jack Hannah/Nov 5, 1948)
- Winter Storage (Jack Hannah/Jun 3, 1949)
- All In A Nutshell (Jack Hannah/Sep 2, 1949)
- Toy Tinkers (Jack Hannah/Dec 16, 1949)
- Crazy Over Daisy (Jack Hannah/Mar 25, 1950)
- Trailer Horn (Jack Hannah//Apr 28, 1950)
- Food For Feudin’ (Charles Nichols/Aug 11, 1950)
- Out On A Limb (Jack Hannah/Dec 15, 1950)
- Chicken In The Rough (Jack Hannah/Jan 19, 1951)
- Corn Chips (Jack Hannah/Mar 23, 1951)
- Test Pilot Donald (Jack Hannah/Jun 8, 1951)
- Out Of Scale (Jack Hannah/Nov 2, 1951)
- Donald Applecore (Jack Hannah/Jan 8, 1952)
- Two Chips And A Miss (Jack Hannah/Mar 21, 1952)
- Pluto’s Christmas Tree (Jack Hannah/Nov 21, 1952)
- Working for Peanuts (Jack Hannah/Nov 11, 1953)
- The Lone Chipmunks (Jack Kinney/Apr 19, 1954)
- Dragon Around (Jack Hannah/Jul 16, 1954)
- Up A Tree (Jack Hannah/Sep 23, 1955)
- Chips Ahoy (Jack Kinney /Feb 24, 1956)
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers
In 1989, Chip and Dale became the title characters in a new animated 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 are frequent troublemakers who are concerned only with themselves, in Rescue Rangers they are crime fighters who help the less fortunate.
In this series the personality differences between the two are more pronounced, with Chip as the responsible, no-nonsense leader and Dale as the goofy, laid back free spirit. Additionally, they wear clothes in this series which reflect their personalities; Chip wears a coat and fedora, while Dale wears a Hawaiian shirt.
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 (1967-78).
Other Appearances
Mickey Mouse Works
Chip 'n Dale occasionally appear on Mickey Mouse Works, House of Mouse and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
Goofy Gophers
A recurring schtick often mistakenly attributed to Chip 'n Dale is the characters' alleged use of politeness: "After you," … "No, I insist, after you!" This gag, from the early-1900s Alphonse and Gaston comic strip, is used by another studio's characters: Warner Bros' Mac and Tosh as the Goofy Gophers.
Voice Actors
Today, Chip is voiced by Tress MacNeille and Dale is voiced by Corey Burton. The classic voices of Chip 'n Dale were mostly provided by Helen Silbert, Dessie Flynn/Dessie Miller, and James "Jimmy" MacDonald. The earliest voices were provided by female office staff, without credit.
Video games
- Chip 'n Dale appear in a Rescue Rangers spin-off video game that was produced for the Nintendo Entertainment System by Capcom in 1990. A sequel was released in 1994.
- Chip 'n Dale appear in Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II as mechanics for the Gummi Ship, the game's form of transportation from one world to another.
- Chip 'n Dale appear in Disney's Toontown Online as non-playable characters.
External links
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