Before watching this film, I had to go back and watch Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, which I understood to be the spiritual predecessor. You can read my review of that separately, but suffice it to say that I do recommend it. While the plots are in no way connected, they both take place in the same universe, and there are a handful of cameos/references that you'll get to appreciate if you've seen it.
This film did not disappoint. It took the genius high concept premise of Roger Rabbit and expanded/evolved it to the modern day, adding CGI, puppets, and claymation characters to the mix while incorporating our tech/social media fueled modern culture. As before, the film is perhaps most impressive from a licensing perspective (I would love to hear the story behind the inclusion of Ugly Sonic, which is doubly impressive given that he is only a couple years old). The scope of characters that make appearances has increased dramatically. Eagle eyed viewers will have no shortage of fun cameos to pick out amongst the crowded shots of classic characters.
As with the best kids movies (and with Roger Rabbit), there is plenty here for an adult to enjoy. Even though its told through the POV of two chipmunks and obfuscated by clever writing and humor, the story is surprisingly adult. A twisted criminal kidnapping ring being lead by a classic Disney character is not necessarily what you'd expect out of Disney. But, it's good. Great even. The pacing is snappy, the action scenes are creative, the writing is fiendishly clever/hilarious, and most importantly, the voice acting is all around excellent thanks to an absolutely stacked cast. Of course, things aren't perfect. Not every joke lands and there are some elements that might be leaning too heavily on younger internet/meme culture for me (the rapping sequence was a bit much). But even these elements are done with creative flair and usually sneak in some laughs for older audiences to appreciate.
One thing to note, I have absolutely no prior exposure to Chip 'n Dale. Honestly, I wasn't entirely sure they even were real legacy characters. Point being, this movie completely stands on its own and you don't need to know anything about these characters to enjoy it.
Review by SkinnyFilmBuffVIP 8BlockedParent2022-05-28T19:08:07Z
Before watching this film, I had to go back and watch Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, which I understood to be the spiritual predecessor. You can read my review of that separately, but suffice it to say that I do recommend it. While the plots are in no way connected, they both take place in the same universe, and there are a handful of cameos/references that you'll get to appreciate if you've seen it.
This film did not disappoint. It took the genius high concept premise of Roger Rabbit and expanded/evolved it to the modern day, adding CGI, puppets, and claymation characters to the mix while incorporating our tech/social media fueled modern culture. As before, the film is perhaps most impressive from a licensing perspective (I would love to hear the story behind the inclusion of Ugly Sonic, which is doubly impressive given that he is only a couple years old). The scope of characters that make appearances has increased dramatically. Eagle eyed viewers will have no shortage of fun cameos to pick out amongst the crowded shots of classic characters.
As with the best kids movies (and with Roger Rabbit), there is plenty here for an adult to enjoy. Even though its told through the POV of two chipmunks and obfuscated by clever writing and humor, the story is surprisingly adult. A twisted criminal kidnapping ring being lead by a classic Disney character is not necessarily what you'd expect out of Disney. But, it's good. Great even. The pacing is snappy, the action scenes are creative, the writing is fiendishly clever/hilarious, and most importantly, the voice acting is all around excellent thanks to an absolutely stacked cast. Of course, things aren't perfect. Not every joke lands and there are some elements that might be leaning too heavily on younger internet/meme culture for me (the rapping sequence was a bit much). But even these elements are done with creative flair and usually sneak in some laughs for older audiences to appreciate.
One thing to note, I have absolutely no prior exposure to Chip 'n Dale. Honestly, I wasn't entirely sure they even were real legacy characters. Point being, this movie completely stands on its own and you don't need to know anything about these characters to enjoy it.