Friends or brothers Chip and Dale and other secrets of the popular animated series that conquered the world 30 years ago

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The generation, whose childhood fell on the decline of the Soviet era, has kept memories of this series for three decades already - like a warm and sweet greetings from the past, in which there was no current abundance of cartoons, and every Sunday became a holiday when a favorite melody was heard in the evening and the heroes of the animated series "Chip and Dale Rush to the Rescue" appeared on TV screens.

Four decades from the appearance of Chip and Dale to the creation of the series

For the first time, Chip and Dale saw the light of day in 1943 - these characters appeared in the cartoon "Private Pluto". The two dexterous chipmunks are named after the English furniture designer Thomas Chippendale, Europe's most successful eighteenth-century master, whose style never ceased to be in demand in the twentieth. Chip and Dale played the role of minor characters for a long time - they acted as the antagonists of the heroes - Pluto, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck - dragged what was bad or made trouble for others for their own benefit. In those days, it was almost impossible to distinguish Chip from Dale - the chipmunks did not yet "wear" clothes and looked like twin brothers (by the way, later the creators of the series claimed that Chip and Dale were not relatives, not brothers, but friends).

In the late eighties, Disney studios started thinking about producing a new animated series, and Ted Stones, its creator, named the working project Miami Mice. He invented the main character Keith Colby the mouse, an Indiana Jones-style character, who was accompanied on his adventures by a chameleon and two other assistants, who would later become the prototypes of Gadget and Roquefort.

But the producers did not like Keith Colby, and then it was decided to take the already existing characters from Disney cartoons - Chip and Dale, slightly changing and complementing their images. The image of Indiana Jones passed from Keith to Chip, this chipmunk invariably appeared on the screen in a leather flight jacket with a fur collar, in a wide-brimmed hat, and in general, by his behavior, he persistently made it clear that he was the leader here.

Unlike Chip, Dale received for his serial image a bright red and yellow Hawaiian shirt - apparently, referring to the detective Magnum, who was popular in those years, and his character was much more impulsive, lazy, frivolous than his friend, the chipmunk, who was focused on business. … Dale spoke in a husky voice, was constantly fooling around, adored comics, console games, and also turned out to be a big sweet tooth. Chip, against the background of his friend, seemed confident, serious, logical thinking and even, perhaps, a bit boring.

It became easier to distinguish chipmunks - not only by their clothes: Chip got a small black nose, and Dale got a big red one, and he always has a crest on his head, and a large gap between his teeth.

New series and its characters

The series was titled "Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers", translated in the Soviet Union as "Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers." The Rangers, or Rescuers, acted like a detective agency, coming to the rescue of anyone in need. And in addition to its two founders, the agency included three more characters. They were invented specifically for the new project - the Australian mouse Roquefort, the mouse Gadget and the fly Zipper.

Roquefort, or Rocky, originally bears the name Monterey Jack, or Monty - after a popular variety of American cheese. Since this brand was not heard in the USSR, they chose a more recognizable one - and also suitable for a character who fell into a trance when he smelled cheese. Roquefort, according to his own stories, was raised by a kangaroo family, his parents were on constant travels, and his best friend for a long time was Guigo, who tragically died and left his daughter Gaika an orphan.

Nut, in the original Gadget Hackwrench, that is, Gadget Wrench, is a mechanic and pilot, an inventor who knows how to drive and repair any vehicles. Gadget wears a work - or flight - overalls, canned glasses, she is completely passionate about the business and does not show any interest in the fact that both chipmunks, Chip and Dale, are in love with her. And the heroes constantly compete with each other for Gadget's attention, up to fights, which, however, do not spoil their friendly relations.

The fifth member of the Rescue Team is Zipper, a fly that can make an indistinct buzz - only Rocky understands him. Due to its small size and at the same time enormous physical strength, it is often Zipper who becomes the one who saves the whole company. Zipper and Roquefort are connected by a long experience of traveling the world.

The team of rescue rangers constantly confronts the villains - among them the cat Fat Cat, the godfather of the local mafia, his gang - the red cat Mells, the lizard Wart, the mole Mole and the rat Sopatka. Permanent plans for how to conquer the world, or at least seriously harm it, are made by the mad scientist Professor Norton Nimnul.

Once Roquefort had to meet with Desiree de Lure, once his great love, but in the present, alas, a villain. And in the "Nut in Hawaii" series, the heroes meet Gadget's double - Lavainey, who uses the unsuspecting ranger for her own purposes, striving to become the local queen.

"Rescuers" and spectators of the USSR

The action was eventually moved from the beaches of Miami to New York. A total of 65 series of "Rescuers" were produced. Chip and Gadget were voiced by actress Tress McNeill, Dale by Corey Burton, Rocky and Nimnula by Jim Cummings. The series aired on Disney during 1989-1990, paired with Duck Tales. Together with them, the audience of the USSR saw and fell in love with him.

In 1990-1991, 52 series of "Rescuers" were translated into Russian and dubbed. The role of Chip went to Natalya Zashchipina, an actress who played in childhood in the film "The Elephant and the Rope". She, by the way, voiced the role of Mrs. Kluvdia in "Duck Tales".

Dale on the territory of the USSR "spoke" the voices of Alexander Lenkov, and Rocky was voiced by Vsevolod Abdulov. To achieve the desired effect, the parts of Chip and Dale, as in the original, were processed - the playback speed was increased.

The show of the Russian-language version of "Rescuers" began on January 1 and ended on December 22, 1991. Every Sunday at 6.10 pm, the children of the Soviet Union met with the amazing world of Disney characters - now, of course, this is perceived as exotic.

But even in the modern world, Chip and Dale are not lost - in the immediate plans of the Disney Channel to restart the series, releasing several dozen new episodes.

By the way, not only Rocky has such a passion for cheese: it's not for nothing that this product has such a long and glorious history.