Chipmunk brothers Chip ‘N’ Dale have become iconic cartoon characters ever since they were created in 1943 by the Walt Disney Company. Now, the tiny troublemakers are back in Chip ‘N’ Dale: Park Life, a 12-part animated series on Disney+. We will join the pair as they are trying to live their best lives in a big city park.
As usual, the brothers are on a constant quest for acorns but their mission often lands them in trouble and they find themselves having to face down bullies, both big and small.
Here’s everything you need to know about Chip 'N' Dale's latest run on Disney Plus…
Chip ‘N’ Dale: Park Life release date
Chip ‘N’ Dale: Park Life is a 12-part series that arrives on Disney+ on July 28 with a new episode debuted each week. Each episode is comprised of three seven-minute stories.
Is there a trailer Chip ‘N’ Dale: Park Life?
A full trailer for Chip ‘N’ Dale: Park Life hasn't been released by Disney, but they've given us a teaser with the opening title sequence, so take a look at the pair in action right here...
Chip ‘N’ Dale: Park Life — the new adventures
This new Chip 'N' Dale series focuses on the two tiny creatures trying to make it in the big city. Although the pair are best buddies, Chip is a nervous worrier while Dale is a laid-back dreamer so they often drive each other nuts. The pair, now living in a big city park, find themselves having giant-sized, sky-high adventures alongside Pluto, Butch, and other Disney favorites. They may not speak, but they definitely know how to land themselves in trouble! There's plenty of slapstick and comedy in each of the seven-minute episodes.
Who are the voice cast in Chip ‘N’ Dale: Park Life?
The voice cast in Chip ‘N’ Dale: Park Life are Matthew Geczy (Chip), Kaycie Chase (Dale), Bill Farmer (Pluto), Sylvain Caruso (Donald Duck), David Gasman (Butch) and Cindy Lee Delong (Clarice). The executive producer is Marc du Pontavice, while it is directed by Jean Cayrol. Vincent Artaud is the series composer.
The history of Chip ‘N’ Dale
The chipmunk brothers Chip 'N' Dale were created in 1943 and got their name when story artist Bill ‘Tex’ Henson suggested a pun on the name of 18th-century furniture designer Thomas Chippendale. The characters were first introduced in the short film Private Pluto, where they fought with Pluto about whether they could store their nuts in a military-based cannon.
Three years later director Jack Hannah decided to use them as co-stars in Donald Duck shorts. "I believe Gerry Geronimi did a picture with two impish little chipmunks that just squeaked and chattered with a speeded-up soundtrack but no words. I wanted to use them with the Duck but with a little more personality in them. So we decided to put words into their mouths but speed them up so you could just barely understand them," recalled Hannah.
"We gave them both the same personality but something was missing. Bill Peet came up with the suggestion of making one of them a little goofball to give them two different personalities. Immediately I saw the advantage of that and took the suggestion."
Originally the two looked similar but some differences were introduced so viewers could tell them apart. Chip has a small black nose and protruding teeth while Dale has a dark red nose and a gap between his teeth. Dale’s hair on the top of his head tends to be ruffled.
You can watch many Chip 'N' Dale adventures on Disney Plus.
Chip ‘N’ Dale — the early television shows
At first the chipmunks were generally paired with Pluto, Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck in short films but in the 1950s they were given their own TV series. Their first solo cartoon was Chicken In The Rough in 1951 where Dale finds a chicken’s egg and ends up having to pretend to be a chick to avoid the wrath of the rooster. Chip was voiced by Jimmy MacDonald while Dessie Flynn voiced Dale. There were two more cartoons in Season Two — Chips and a Miss (1952) and The Lone Chipmunks (1954).
Chip ‘N’ Dale — the 1980s cartoon series
In 1989 the chipmunks became the lead characters in Chip ‘N’ Dale: Rescue Rangers where they led their own detective agency. The series was hugely popular but was axed after 65 episodes in 1990 as the thinking at the time was that cartoons were only successful for sale in syndication packages and the minimum number for this was 65 episodes. This time Corey Burton was Dale while Tress MacNeille was Chip. The chipmunks typically found themselves going up against Mad Cat and mad scientist Norton Nimnul. Their outfits were based on those worn by Indiana Jones and Thomas Magnum from the crime series Magnum PI.
Chip ‘N’ Dale — later TV shows
The chipmunks starred in the third series of Duck Tales in 2017, where they were super-evolved lab animals. The same year they were in Chip ‘N’ Dale’s Nutty Tales, eight short films about their adventures in Hot Dog Hills.
The Chip ‘N’ Dale movies
In 1989 the pair were stars of the movies Chip ‘N’ Dale’s Rescue Rangers to the Rescue and Chip ‘N’ Dale’s Excellent Adventures. A live action adaptation of Chip ‘N’ Dale: Rescue Rangers is currently in production and the stars are voiced by Andy Samberg and John Mulaney. This is slated for a release date in 2022.
