Rescue Rangers V1

There was a time when afternoon television programming was the highlight of the day for millions of young people across America. The reason for all this after-school joy: a very special programming block known simply as "The Disney Afternoon." Of course, the Disney Afternoon did not simply materialize out of thin-air. It was a gradual process to develop, and it all started with two very special animated shows, "Duck Tales" and "Chip `n' Dale: Rescue Rangers." First came "Duck Tales," which blew fans away with animation and stories far superior to the programming that was standard afternoon cartoon TV fare at the time. Working with the classic comic book stories of Duck Family creator Carl Barks as a basis, Disney created a memorable and much-loved series that raised the bar for animated TV programming to a new high that later shows were frequently expected to reach. Two years later, Disney once again took classic characters and redefined them for the small screen, this time in the form of "Chip `n' Dale: Rescue Rangers." Rescue Rangers was an excellent follow-up to Duck Tales, maintaining the high animation and writing standards, and doing a superb job developing new and classic characters as well. Chip `n' Dale were every bit the same characters we all new and loved from their old exploits with Donald Duck, but now they were more distinct and "real" than ever before! Chip was more than ever portrayed as the bold and serious leader, while Dale took on his role as the adventurous slacker with all the seriousness of his crime-solving counterpart. Rounding out the team of miniscule crime-solving heroes were new characters Gadget Hackwrench, the beautiful mouse inventor, Monterey Jack, the burly Australian adventurer with a serious weakness for cheese, and Zipper, the tiny housefly with a gi-normous heart. Together, the little gang traveled to and from Ranger Headquarters in the Ranger-Wing, solving unsolvable crimes and helping poor souls in need with their individual skills and teamwork combined. Their enemies were often random nitwits and evil-doers, but they did have recurring baddies in the form of mad scientist Professor Nimnul and ruthless animal kingpin "Fat Cat" and his cronies.

"Chip `N' Dale: Rescue Rangers," just like its predecessor, "Duck Tales," has finally and thankfully been released in its first DVD set. This three disc "Volume One" collection includes the first 27 episodes of the classic animated series from Walt Disney Television Animation Japan. The episodes are detailed below.

Disc 1:
Catteries not Included: When the Rangers investigate the case of a little girl's missing cat, they discover a scheme by the nefarious Professor Nimnul to use static electricity to power his newest evil invention! His source for the static charge: Kidnapped cats courtesy of his robot dogs!
Three Men and a Booby: During a disastrous trip to the local supermarket, the Rangers stumble onto the case of a nervous Booby Bird's egg-napped egg! Chip, Dale, and Monterey soon find themselves clueless egg-sitters, and now they must rescue the mother bird from a maniacal egg collector!
The Carpetsnaggers: While the Rangers attempt to thwart a rash of robberies involving seemingly "magic" flying carpets, Monterey and Gadget debate the nature of the mysterious circumstances.
Piratsy Under the Seas: Frustrated with having to pick up after himself and follow rules, Dale is thrilled when the gang comes across the sea dwelling Pi-rats who live as they please and are eagerly seeking new members!
Adventures in Squirrelsitting: After an encounter with Fat Cat results in the Rangers wrecking the home of some local squirrels, our heroes volunteer for babysitting duty to make up for the error. Things go awry, however, when teen Squirrel Tammy's crush on Chip lands her and her baby sister in the claws of Fat Cat himself! This episode features a rousing musical number and is a fan favorite!
Flash the Wonder Dog: Flash the Wonder Dog is a TV star and hero to fans everywhere, especially Dale, so when Fat Cat and his gang frame the animal actor in an attempt to ruin his career and take the canine populace down a notch, it's Rescue Rangers to the rescue! Another fan and personal favorite, in no small part due to the gorgeous actress character in the opening scene with Flash.
The Pound of the Baskervilles: To help a dog and his owner regain their rightful ownership to a vast family estate, the Rescue Rangers consult the books of Chip's own hero, Sureluck Jones, for help in finding the will and chasing off the greedy brother that has taken control.
Parental Discretion Retired: Monterey Jack's father, Cheddarhead Charlie, blows into town for a visit and attempts to teach the Rangers a thing or two about adventurin' the Cheddarhead Charlie way!
Risky Beesness: Zipper falls head over heels for a pretty but snooty queen bee in search of her swarm. The Rangers soon find the bees in the control of an exterminator with dreams of being a female rock star with a Queen Bee theme.

Disc 2:
Bearing up Baby: In a real treat for classic Disney fans, Chip, Dale, and the gang encounter another old adversary of Donald Duck's, Humphrey the Bear, as he adopts the toddler son of a careless camping couple. It's up to the Rangers to save the baby from the well-intentioned bear and then save the bear from a trigger-happy posse of campers!
Out to Launch : A visit to a space-shuttle launching lands the Rangers in some real trouble when Chip `n' Dale end up abandoned in outer space!
Dale Beside Himself: Dale thinks he's living the sweet life when he convinces a visiting, shape-shifting space alien to take over his chores, but the alien has developed a taste for Earthly-living and suddenly wants to take over Dale's life on a more permanent basis.
Kiwi's Big Adventure: The Rangers have to convert their plane into a boat during an attempt to flee from an angry tribe of Kiwi birds with dreams of flight, but Dale is too busy faking an injury to help out in the difficult escape.
A Lad In A Lamp: Monterey Jack discovers a magic lamp on the docks that was meant for Fat Cat's evil clutches. After wasting his first two wishes on cheese and transportation, the genie within tricks him into trading places with his final wish. Now, Monty is the genie of the lamp, and Fat Cat is hot on his trail.
The Battle of the Bulge: The Rangers put Monterey on a strict diet and exercise regiment and quickly regret it while on the case of some fruit bat jewel thieves.
Ghost of a Chance: The Rescue Rangers trail Fat Cat to London in order to prevent him from stealing the crown jewels, and, in the process, discover the ghost of one of Monty's long-dead ancestors.
An Elephant Never Suspects: When peanuts go missing at the local zoo, a bull elephant names the Rangers as the culprits. To clear their name, the Rangers must discover the real peanut pinchers.
A Case of Stageblight: A night at the opera makes the Rangers prey to an insane, sewer-dwelling alligator with dreams of theatrical stardom. They'll have to play-along if they're going to make it out alive!

Disc 3:
The Luck Stops Here: A pitiful inventor with a troublemaking cat blames his failures on pure bad luck, but Gadget is determined to show this kindred spirit the light.
Fake me to Your Leader: Wicked Professor Nimnul invents a ray-gun that causes things to grow and uses it on some local pill-bugs in an elaborate alien invasion hoax. To make matters worse for the Rangers, Zipper gets zapped too!
Last Train to Cashville: Investigating a little boy's missing train set, the Rangers track it to yet another of Fat Cat's robbery schemes, this one at least partly inspired by the 1955 film "The Ladykillers."
The Case of the Cola Cult: Just as Gadget is questioning her usefulness to the team, the Rangers encounter a disturbing cult of rats who worship the fizz of "Kookoo Cola."
Throw Mummy From the Train: On a vacation to mysterious Egypt, the Rangers agree to help a mummy retrieve a ring from a thieving archaeologist's assistant before he mistakenly brings a demon sphinx to life!
A Wolf in Cheap Clothing: Dale's obsession with horror comics causes him to jump to supernatural conclusions when the team's investigation into some strange robberies put them on the track of a wolf who spends his nights as a free-wheeling human. A fave among wolf and werewolf lovers like myself!
Prehysterical Pet: In his eagerness to have a pet of his own and prove he can handle the responsibility, Dale secretly takes in a tiny Dinosaur visiting from another planet, but the more the Dinosaur eats, the bigger he gets!
Robocat: The Rangers discover a mechanical cat and attempt to find him a home, until Fat Cat reprograms him for his own purposes.
Does Pavlov Ring A Bell?: Chip `n' Dale are becoming more aggressive in their competition for Gadget's affections, and things only get worse when a lab rat named Sparky seems to be beating them both.

Featuring some of the best voice talent in the business and spanning a total of 65 episodes, "Chip `n' Dale: Rescue Rangers" is high-quality Disney entertainment that can appeal to all ages, so long as the viewers are young at heart. Full of great memories for those of us who grew up with these fantastic programs, this 3 disc set is a must own, even if it is not everything the hardcore fan has been longing for. The source material could do with some restoration, white marks do appear frequently, and there is not an extra to be found (a crime in the case of a DVD boxed set). Of course, what concerns many of us the most is the lack of the five-part premiere, "To the Rescue." As with the "Duck Tales" DVD set, the 5-part premiere story is not included, which is most distressing, particularly since the 5-part premieres set up the entire series and are usually the best stories in the entire run. The only bit of hope I can offer the readers of this review is that some online episode guides for this show that seem to follow the same order as the DVD set list the series premiere eps as episodes 41 through 45, which WOULD put them in the second volume, assuming a second volume is released. I can only assume the case is the same for "Duck Tales." Regardless, this set is fantastic if you are a fan of the show, even without any extras. A twenty-seven episode set for twenty-six bucks is a steal! Let's hope the remainder of the series follows, and let's hope it has some extras, but, in the meantime, I suggest you pick this one and Duck Tales Volume One up right away. I've heard that very few were made and production has already been cut off. I don't know if that's just a rumor or not. I was simply told by the retail store employee where I bought them that what are on the shelves now are all that are going to be sold. I'm sure glad I didn't take any chances! I've been enjoying these shows enormously since I picked up the sets the day they came out!

Watching Rescue Rangers again for the first time since a good 17 years ago, it's surprising how much I actually remember of the show. It's not like I thought of the show every day since watching it, but my love for the show was apparently stored away in my brain, because upon watching the shows, I remembered what would happen in each episodes, even most of the lines, precisely. This is the kind of Disney cartoon that was made when the people involved making the show ACTUALLY cared enough to make an interesting show. I mean, the plots are still unique and enjoyable for my adult mind, even more so, because now I understand all the subplots, in-jokes, and hidden messages in the show that I would have never caught in my youth. It's not that the show had anything dirty, it's just that my young mind couldn't comprehend it at the time. Parents, pick this up for your kids. It's much better than anything they're watching on Cartoon Network. Cartoons today are made to sell the merchandise related to the show, and thusly, little thought goes into making a show with substance. Disney was the exception with these cartoons. Yes, these shows had merchandise, but it was not the focus. Disney made these because they wanted to keep constant appeal with their target audience, the children. Rescue Rangers is like an animated series of serial novellas, like the Allan Quartermain, or Tarzan books, but for children. Why are you still reading this? Buy it!

Man. . . Normally, I don't do reviews, but for this, I make an exception. CDRR is arguably the best animated series ever produced by Walt Disney Company. Anyone that doesn't buy this is missing out!

And for those that would argue that this isn't #1 out of the Disney vault, need I remind you that this series spawned the only character ever created exclusively for a Disney Afternoon show that got their own ride at Disneyland: Gadget!

For parents, many of you may remember this series from when you were younger. Share it with your children. Disney, once upon a time, was a family company, and that meant the whole family, not just those under 7. You'll enjoy this as much as your children do, believe me :)

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