Chip an' Dale (1947)

Chip an' Dale is a 1947 animated short film produced in Technicolor by Walt Disney Productions and released to theaters by RKO Radio Pictures. The film depicts Donald Duck's first encounter with the two chipmunks Chip 'n' Dale when 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 who previously appeared without names in Private Pluto (1943) and Squatter's Rights (1947). The film Chip an' Dale is also the first time that Chip and Dale are distinguishable from each other, both physically and in personality.

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.

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, a film by Warner Bros.

Synopsis

Donald Duck, while staying in a rustic winter cabin, gets out of bed to collect firewood for a fire. He chops down a small topped tree which happens to be the winter home of the chipmunks Chip and Dale who follow him back to the cabin. After Donald places the log in the fireplace, lights it, and is warming himself by the fire, the chipmunks sneak in behind his back, extinguish the fire, and blatantly carry the log out of the cabin in front of Donald. A slightly amused Donald easily takes it from them as they leave the cabin.

Actors