Chip 'n' Dale

Chip 'n' Dale
Chip (left) and Dale (right)
First appearance	Prototype: Private Pluto (1943) Official: Chip an' Dale (1947)
Created by	Bill Justice
Voiced by	Chip: Jimmy MacDonald (1947–1960) Helen Silbert (1956) Tress MacNeille (1988–present) Dale: Dessie Flynn (1947–1960) Dessie Miller (1952) Corey Burton (1988–present) Tress MacNeille (1999–2006)
Developed by	Jack Hannah
Information
Aliases	The Lone Chipmunks The Rescue Rangers
Species	chipmunks
Gender	Male
Significant other(s)	Clarice Gadget Hackwrench (Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers)
Nemeses	Donald Duck, Pete, Pluto, Fat Cat

Chip and Dale (also rendered as Chip 'n' Dale or Chip an' Dale) are two chipmunk cartoon characters created in 1943, at Walt Disney Productions. Their names are a pun based on the name of the famous 18th-century cabinet maker Thomas Chippendale. This was suggested by Bill "Tex" Henson, a story artist at the studio.

Chip is the logical schemer while Dale is the goofy, dim-witted one. Originally the two had a very similar appearance but, as a way to tell them apart, some differences were introduced: Chip has a small black nose (somewhat resembling a chocolate "chip", as befitting his name) and two centered protruding teeth. Dale has a larger, dark red nose and it is his canine teeth that are exposed. Dale has a very strong sense of humor while Chip is more of the safe, focused one. Chip is also depicted as having smooth, short hair atop his head while Dale's is ruffled.

In most cartoons they are either antagonists against Pluto or, more frequently, against Donald Duck. In the 1950s, they were finally given their own series, but only three cartoons were made: Chicken in the Rough (1951), Two Chips and a Miss (1952) and The Lone Chipmunks (1954).

Chip and Dale appear in the following 23 animated short films. (Complete list)

In 1989, Chip and Dale became the title characters in a new animated series, Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, in which they formed a detective agency with new characters created for the show: female mouse inventor Gadget Hackwrench, muscular adventuring Australian mouse Monterey Jack, and Zipper the fly. While in the original shorts the duo are frequent troublemakers who are concerned only with themselves, in Rescue Rangers they are crime fighters who help the less fortunate.

In this series the personality differences between the two are more pronounced, with Chip as the responsible, no-nonsense leader and Dale as the goofy, laid back free spirit. Additionally, they wear clothes in this series which reflect their personalities; Chip wears a leather jacket and fedora (much like Indiana Jones), while Dale wears a Hawaiian shirt (much like Magnum, P.I.). Also, Corey Burton gave Dale a slightly raspier voice not heard in any incarnations before.