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Chip and Dale are two chipmunk brother cartoon characters created in 1943 at Walt Disney Productions. Their names are a pun based on the name "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 goofy, dim-witted one. Originally, the two were of a very similar appearance, but as a way to tell them apart, some differences were introduced. 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 is who) and two centered protruding teeth, 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.

In the 1950s, they were finally given their own series, but only three cartoons were made; Chicken in the Rough (1951), Two Chips and a Miss (1952), and The Lone Chipmunks (1954). Later, they served as the two titular main protagonists of both the 1988-1990 Disney Channel series, Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers, as well as its 2022 sequel film of the same name.

As Chip, he is voiced by John Mulaney. As Dale, he is voiced by Andy Samberg.

Background[]

Private Pluto 5

Chip and Dale in their first appearance, Private Pluto

Chip and Dale first appeared in a 1943 Pluto cartoon titled Private Pluto. In this appearance, they look a lot more like realistic chipmunks and di

Donald Chipmunks Pancakes

Chip and Dale with Donald Duck

d not have names. The two then-nameless twin chipmunks were never intended to be used again after that short, but when Walt Disney needed new characters to challenge Donald Duck, Walt decided to revive these two chipmunks, leading them to acquire their now-familiar names and personalities. Ever since, they have appeared primarily in Donald Duck and Pluto cartoons.

Chip and Dale became so popular that they were able to star in their own series of cartoons, joining Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy and Pluto. Only three shorts were created in that series. The first was Chicken in the Rough, where Dale becomes trapped in a chicken coop. The next and most famous one was Two Chips and a Miss, where they go out to a night club and battle for the attention of female chipmunk Clarice. The last was The Lone Chipmunks, where Chip 'n' Dale foil the outlaw Pete.

Their names are a pun on the name "Chippendale" (a reference to furniture-maker Thomas Chippendale). This was suggested by Bill "Tex" Henson, a screenwriter at the studio.

Voices[]

The classic voices of Chip and Dale were mostly provided by Helen Silbert, Dessie Flynn/Dessie Miller and James MacDonald. The earliest voices of the chipmunks were provided by female office staff, without credit. In Private Pluto, the chipmunks' speech was created by speeding up sound clips of normal speech. In a number of the shorts that followed, many of these same sound clips were re-used again and again, though later shorts used new dialogue specifically recorded for them.

At one point in Winter Storage, Chip and Dale get into an argument while caught in a trap. When the scene switches to an outside view of the box (with Donald Duck sitting on the box), the dialogue being heard is actually a sped-up segment of the voice-over narration from the Goofy short A Knight for a Day.

Since 1988, Chip has been voiced by Tress MacNeille and Dale has been voiced by Corey Burton. However, in Mickey Mouse WorksHouse of Mouse and the Have a Laugh! versions of the classic shorts, Tress voiced both chipmunks.

Personalities[]

Chip has darker fur with a small black nose. Chip is the brains of the duo and thus is shown to be clever, fearless and a little bossy. Unlike his best friend, he's a fast thinker and far more active. When dealing with Donald, Chip shows to be much more of a threat than Dale, both mentally and physically. In Rescue Rangers, Chip constantly thinks about being on duty to the point where he is thought to not know how to be fun; because of such, Dale's blundering causes him nothing but headaches.

Dale is much lighter than his partner. He sports two buck teeth as a symbol of stupidity and a seemingly large red nose. He is lazy, dim-witted and clumsy. In earlier appearances, he was completely foolish to the point where he can truly be called an idiot. In later years, that aspect of his personality was toned down to just being carefree and fun-loving. In Rescue Rangers, Dale wears a Hawaiian shirt, possibly to show how relaxed his personality is; he gets along easier with Monterey Jack and Zipper than Chip.

While the two are nearly inseparable and count each other as their closest friends, the one thing that can tear them apart is a romantic interest. They have been known to have feelings for the same girl most of the time and battle each other for the affections of the girl in question. In Rescue Rangers, both are in love with Gadget, but can't seem to be open about their feelings.

Disney Parks[]

Chip 'n' Dale HKDL

Chip and Dale posing for a photo at Disney Park appearances

In the Disney parks, Chip and Dale are some of the most common and popular characters.

Chip and Dale can be found for meet-and-greets in a wide variety of locations, including Main Street, USA and Mickey's Toontown. They appear in almost every parade and live show, including Mickey's Soundsational Parade, SpectroMagic, Fantasmic!, One Man's Dream II: The Magic Lives On! and many others.

They have a small statue dedicated to them in the central hub, surrounding the "Partners" statue.

Mickey's Toontown features the Chip 'n' Dale's Treehouse attraction.

In Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom, the two have their own spell card called "Chip and Dale's Bag of Tricks". This card was only available to guests that attended Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party in the fall of 2012.

Mickey & Duffy's Spring Voyage[]

Chip and Dale make their appearances at both Mediterranean Harbor's Lido Isle and American Waterfront's Waterfront Park for Mickey & Duffy's Spring Voyage to celebrate the arrival of Spring.

The Disney Afternoon Live!: Plane Crazy[]

In this stage show that ran at Disneyland in 1991, Chip and Dale are recruited along with Baloo and Launchpad McQuack to recover the X-22 spy jet when it is stolen by Don Karnage and Fat Cat. At one point, Chip has a brief sword fight with Don Karnage, tricking the pirate into believing he's fighting Dale.

Chip 'n' Dale's Cool Service[]

At Tokyo DisneySea, Chip and Dale are the stars of a water spectacular. They go around the Mediterranean Harbor and get everything soaking wet with water squirters from their boats.

Disney's Summer Oasis Splash[]

Chip and Dale, along with Mickey, Donald, the Genie, Aladdin and Abu, make their appearance in the summertime park event at Mediterranean Harbor.

Star Tours: The Adventures Continue[]

Chip and Dale make a cameo appearance among the baggage claim scans at the ride Star Tours: The Adventures Continue, when they appear on-screen, the robot G2-9T remarks that the two are "clones", although their noses don't make them perfect clones.

Friends[]

Enemies[]

  • Sweet Pete
  • Captain Putty
  • Bob the Viking
  • Jimmy the Polar Bear
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