Chip n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers is definitely not a reboot that many are sued to, especially as Disney somehow brought this film to life on Disney+. It looks like the film’s screenwriters Doug Mand and Dan Gregor also have no idea how they got away with every random idea that came to mind. In an interview with Discussing Film, they got a chance to share how they approached the film, most notably, paying tribute to the classic Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
We had this take on it and it’s definitely more meta, poking fun at the franchise and at the world of reboots. And to their credit, they were like, “Do it, we love it. Let’s go for it.” We wanted to do a send-up to Roger Rabbit. It was one of our favorite movies of all time and it’s been over 30 years since that movie was made. That’s how it really came about.
Doug Mand
Dan Gregor goes on to highlight that their entire premise was dependent on the idea that Chip and Dale were actors in Hollywood, to really draw in the Roger Rabbit comparisons. All focusing on a way to even defy the trope of self-awareness at the same time.
Yeah, elemental to the concept of them being actors who played parts who now live in Hollywood, we felt like we really wanted it to be in-universe to Roger Rabbit. So it had to be a live-action/animation hybrid in a fun way. But again, that’s also one of those things that has become a bit of its own trope in movies. We wanted to be self-aware as to like, “Why another live-action/animation hybrid?”
Dan Gregor
When they presented their meta-take on what many would assume you’d get with a reboot, they expected the usual conservative Disney to not follow through. To their surprise, they went with it and even managed to give us the Disney+ Original that defies all expectations. Of course, it also helps that Roger Rabbit actually appears in the film as well.
They gave us the green light to go write this kind of weird movie that went a little against the grain and we just wrote it thinking that they would never make it. We were writing this movie that we actually really do enjoy. We relate to these characters, we relate to this concept, this underlying story about a friendship that has gone through different phases and now these two people are living different lives. We loved it and we just didn’t think they actually would make it. But they did!
Doug Mand
Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers definitely brought the goods in a creative manner and it’ll be interesting to see if this film potentially also becomes a point of no return as Disney allows many of their properties to go a little weirder moving forward. While Marvel Studios seemingly has the most freedom due to their financial success, other properties have been a bit more focused on retreading old ground rather than innovating. With Rescue Ranger’s success, it could inspire a new era of reboots and remakes.
Source: Discussing Film
