Chip an' Dale
Encyclopedia
Chip an' Dale is an animated
short film produced in Technicolor
by Walt Disney Productions
and released to theaters on November 28, 1947 by RKO Radio Pictures. The film depicts Donald Duck's
first showdown with the two chipmunks Chip and Dale as he unknowingly chops down their tree for firewood. The title of the film is the first appearance of the names of the two chipmunk characters. They had only twice appeared previously in Private Pluto
and Squatter's Rights
in which they were unnamed. Chip an' Dale is also the first time that Chip and Dale are distinguishable from each other, both physically and in personality.
Along with another Disney film, Pluto's Blue Note, Chip an' Dale was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1948. Both ultimately lost to Tweetie Pie
, another eponymous film by Warner Bros.
.
Chip an' Dale was directed by Jack Hannah
and features original music by Oliver Wallace
. The voice cast includes Clarence Nash
as Donald and Jimmy MacDonald
and Dessie Flynn as Chip and Dale respectively.
is having trouble staying warm while sleeping in a remote log cabin in the winter time. He gets out of bed to start a fire but finds he's out of firewood. So he takes his axe and goes outside to chop some more.
He chops down the small remains of an already topped
tree which happens to be the winter home of the chipmunks Chip and Dale. When Donald takes the log inside the cabin to burn it, the chipmunks follow him. They are first interested in only removing their storage of nuts from the hollow tree, but later decide to take back the tree entirely. They extinguish Donald's fire and blatantly carry the log out of the cabin in front of Donald. But Donald easily takes it from them as they are leaving and locks them out.
The chipmunks later extinguish the fire by climbing the roof and throwing snow down the chimney. But soon Donald himself emerges from the chimney, rolls the chipmunks into a snowball and rolls them off the room.
At last the chipmunks plan their final revenge. Chip climbs the steep hill just outside Donald's cabin and rolls a snowball down the hill towards the front door. Dale meanwhile knocks on the door to get Donald to answer. As the snowball rolls down the hill, it gets bigger and gains momentum
. Finally Donald answers the door just as the massive snowball hits.
Chip and Dale then retrieve their log, and as they are leaving, Dale takes a last opportunity to kick Donald as he is helplessly embedded in the snowball having his rear end exposed.
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
short film produced in Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
by Walt Disney Productions
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
and released to theaters on November 28, 1947 by RKO Radio Pictures. The film depicts Donald Duck's
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created in 1934 at Walt Disney Productions and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit with a cap and a black or red bow tie. Donald is most...
first showdown with the two chipmunks Chip and Dale as he unknowingly chops down their tree for firewood. The title of the film is the first appearance of the names of the two chipmunk characters. They had only twice appeared previously in Private Pluto
Private Pluto
Private Pluto is a cartoon made by The Walt Disney Company in 1943. In this cartoon Pluto is in the army and he gets antagonized by two chipmunks. This is the cartoon that introduced Chip 'n' Dale, although their names were not mentioned in this cartoon....
and Squatter's Rights
Squatter's Rights (film)
Squatter's Rights is an animated short film produced in Technicolor by Walt Disney Productions and released to theaters on June 7, 1946 by RKO Radio Pictures. The cartoon is about a confrontation between Pluto and Chip and Dale who have taken up residence in Mickey Mouse's hunting shack...
in which they were unnamed. Chip an' Dale is also the first time that Chip and Dale are distinguishable from each other, both physically and in personality.
Along with another Disney film, Pluto's Blue Note, Chip an' Dale was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1948. Both ultimately lost to Tweetie Pie
Tweetie Pie
Tweetie Pie is a 1947 Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Friz Freleng and produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons, depicting the first pairing of Tweety and Sylvester.When Tweety's creator, director Bob Clampett, left the Warner Bros...
, another eponymous film by Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
.
Chip an' Dale was directed by Jack Hannah
Jack Hannah
Jack Hannah was an animator, writer and director of animated shorts.Hannah was born January 15, 1913, in Nogales, Arizona. He moved to Los Angeles in 1931 to study at the Art Guild Academy. One of his first jobs was designing movie posters for Hollywood theaters...
and features original music by Oliver Wallace
Oliver Wallace
Oliver George Wallace was a British composer and conductor. He was especially known for his film music compositions, which were written for many animation, documentary, and feature films from Walt Disney Studios....
. The voice cast includes Clarence Nash
Clarence Nash
Clarence Charles "Ducky" Nash was an American voice actor, best known for providing the voice of Donald Duck for the Walt Disney Studios...
as Donald and Jimmy MacDonald
Jimmy MacDonald (sound effects artist)
John James "Jimmy" MacDonald was a Scottish voice actor and the original head of the Disney sound effects department, and the voice of Mickey Mouse from 1946 to 1977.-Career and sound effects:...
and Dessie Flynn as Chip and Dale respectively.
Synopsis
Donald DuckDonald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created in 1934 at Walt Disney Productions and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit with a cap and a black or red bow tie. Donald is most...
is having trouble staying warm while sleeping in a remote log cabin in the winter time. He gets out of bed to start a fire but finds he's out of firewood. So he takes his axe and goes outside to chop some more.
He chops down the small remains of an already topped
Tree topping
Tree topping is the practice of removing whole tops of trees or large branches and/or trunks from the tops of trees, leaving stubs or lateral branches that are too small to assume the role of a terminal leader. Other common names for the practice include hat-racking, heading, rounding over, and...
tree which happens to be the winter home of the chipmunks Chip and Dale. When Donald takes the log inside the cabin to burn it, the chipmunks follow him. They are first interested in only removing their storage of nuts from the hollow tree, but later decide to take back the tree entirely. They extinguish Donald's fire and blatantly carry the log out of the cabin in front of Donald. But Donald easily takes it from them as they are leaving and locks them out.
The chipmunks later extinguish the fire by climbing the roof and throwing snow down the chimney. But soon Donald himself emerges from the chimney, rolls the chipmunks into a snowball and rolls them off the room.
At last the chipmunks plan their final revenge. Chip climbs the steep hill just outside Donald's cabin and rolls a snowball down the hill towards the front door. Dale meanwhile knocks on the door to get Donald to answer. As the snowball rolls down the hill, it gets bigger and gains momentum
Snowball effect
Snowball effect is a figurative term for a process that starts from an initial state of small significance and builds upon itself, becoming larger , and perhaps potentially dangerous or disastrous , though it might be beneficial instead...
. Finally Donald answers the door just as the massive snowball hits.
Chip and Dale then retrieve their log, and as they are leaving, Dale takes a last opportunity to kick Donald as he is helplessly embedded in the snowball having his rear end exposed.
Releases
- "Chip 'n' Dale (with Donald Duck)" (VHS)
- "Starring Chip and Dale" (DVD)
- "The Chronological Donald, Volume Three" (DVD)