Chip an' Dale

Chip an' Dale
Donald Duck series
Theatrical release poster depicting an apocryphal third chipmunk
Directed by	Jack Hannah
Produced by	Walt Disney
Story by	Dick Kinney Bob North
Voices by	Clarence Nash Jimmy MacDonald Dessie Flynn
Music by	Oliver Wallace
Animation by	Jack Boyd Volus Jones Bill Justice Murray McClellan
Layouts by	Yale Gracey
Backgrounds by	Ralph Hulett
Studio	Walt Disney Productions
Distributed by	RKO Radio Pictures
Release date(s)	November 28, 1947 (1947-11-28) (USA)
Color process	Technicolor
Running time	6:37 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Preceded by	Wide Open Spaces
Followed by	Drip Dippy Donald (1948)

This article is about the film. For the characters, see Chip 'n' Dale.

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.^[1]

Synopsis

Donald Duck 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.

Releases

• "Chip 'n' Dale (with Donald Duck)" (VHS)
• "Starring Chip and Dale" (DVD)
• "The Chronological Donald, Volume Three" (DVD)

Notes

1. ^ Chip an' Dale at the Internet Movie Database