In Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers, animated characters live alongside live-action people — and not just Disney characters. The film follows the two cartoon chipmunks, voiced by John Mulaney and Andy Samberg, as they get back together years after their show rescue driver was canceled. Their adventure takes them across Hollywood in search of a missing co-star from the series, where they meet cartoon characters from throughout animation history. Virtually every screenshot of Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers is packed with Easter eggs and visual references, from Seth Rogen’s Pumbaa from the “live-action” CG Lion King make new to My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic‘s Mane Six runs on a convention floor.
But one of the director’s favorite cameos — and certainly the one he’s most proud of — is a smaller hat tip that could get lost among the larger, flashier references. It also pays homage to one of the original creators of the Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers TV show Tad Stones.
“He created with another guy called Alan Zaslove in the ’90s,” explains director and Lonely Island member Akiva Schaffer. “Alan was much older than the mentor and he has since died of old age. Tad is still alive and doing well. And I went to Zoom with him a few times and asked tons of questions.
Besides creating Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue RangersStones also wrote and produced Darkwing duck and produced other Disney shows, such as Buzz Lightyear from Star Command and the Hercules and Aladdin animated TV spinoffs. He has worked on a number of direct-to-video Disney sequels such as Aladdin 2: The Return of Jafar and Aladdin and the King of Thieves.
Stones does not appear physically in the film. Instead, his guest appearance comes in the form of a phone call, a tiny little reference that might go unnoticed unless you’re familiar with late 1980s and early 1990s animator voices.
“There is a moment in the film when [Chip and Dale] are in [their] early Hollywood days and they’re trying to get their careers off the ground and they get the call,” Schaffer tells Polygon. “And there’s a voice on the other end saying like a Disney executive Chip, Dale, how would you like your own show? And this is Tad [Stones]s voice.”
Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers Coming to Disney Plus on May 20th.
