Chip ‘n’ Dale Rescue Rangers Debuts in Syndication (1989)

September 18, 1989

It was on this day that the nutty duo, Chip and Dale, made their syndication debut in their own TV series, Chip ‘n’ Dale Rescue Rangers. To learn more about the origins of this series, we turned to one of the show’s original creators, Tad Stones, who told us how the little chipmunks became big stars on the small screen.

“Jymn Magon and I presented an idea of a mixed group of animals that would solve ‘crimes’ that had big repercussions in the larger world. There was a near-sighted bald eagle, an Asian grasshopper martial artist, a chameleon secretary who could ‘do plaid but it hurts,’ a wild kangaroo rat from Australia, a somewhat oblivious mouse inventor and their leader, Kit Colby, a mouse who wore an aviator jacket.

Put those guys in that show.

“Both Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg liked the concept, but felt poor Kit was lacking in the leading man department. The show just wasn’t there yet. DuckTales was a huge hit, of course, and the discussion turned to possible Disney characters who could headline their own series. As soon as we mentioned Chip ‘n’ Dale, Michael said, ‘Put those guys in that show.’ Jeffrey pronounced it a homerun and we were off to the races.

Chip got Colby’s jacket and Indiana’s hat and Dale got Tom Selleck’s Hawaiian shirt . . .

“But dividing the lead meant some rethinking of characters. The kangaroo rat got a new costume as Monterey Jack. Gadget made the transition unchanged, Zipper was inspired by a sketch I saw years before by Bruce Morris for Rescuers 2, Chip got Colby’s jacket and Indiana’s hat and Dale got Tom Selleck’s Hawaiian shirt from Magnum PI.”