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The Movie: Two of the finest examples of Saturday morning cartoons (in my opinion) in the past 25 years, "Ducktales" and "Rescue Rangers" were consistently clever, energetic, and incredibly fun. Seeing both shows again (the second Volume of "Ducktales" episodes on DVD hits store shelves this week, as well) brought a big smile to my face, as I can clearly remember watching both as a kid. I've said it before and I'll say it again: they don't make cartoons like this anymore. A great set of adventures can be found in "Chip N' Dale: Rescue Rangers", which premiered two years after "Ducktales" did. The series stars the classic pair of chipmunks, Chip & Dale, along with friends Monterey Jack, Gadget and Zipper. Despite their small size, the group are always on the lookout for crimes big and small around the city, solving them by using teamwork and a series of imaginative gadgets that they've put together from common items. The series didn't have quite the same magic as "Ducktales" (and it's a little more targeted towards children than the more all-ages "Ducktales"), but the characters were still a lot of fun and the adventures that the group went on were imaginative and enjoyable. Episodes included: 1-28 Does Pavlov Ring a Bell? 1-29 A Creep in the Deep 1-30 Seer No Evil 1-31 Chocolate Chips 1-32 The S.S. Drainpipe 1-33 Chipwrecked Skipmunks 1-34 The Last Leprechaun 1-35 Double 'o' Chipmunks 1-36 Song of the Night 'n' Dale 1-37 Love Is a Many Splintered Thing 1-38 Weather or Not 1-39 Out of Scale 1-40 Gadget Goes HawaIIan 1-41 Rescue Rangers to the Rescue (1) 1-42 Rescue Rangers to the Rescue (2) 1-43 Rescue Rangers to the Rescue (3) 1-44 Rescue Rangers to the Rescue (4) 1-45 Rescue Rangers to the Rescue (5) 1-46 Good Times, Bat Times 1-47 Short Order Crooks 1-48 When Mice Were Men 1-49 It's a Bird, It's Insane, It's Dale! 1-50 They Shoot Dogs, Don't They? 1-51 One-upsman-chip The DVD VIDEO: These episodes of "Rescue Rangers" are presented in their original 1.33:1 full-frame aspect ratio. The picture quality is excellent in some regards, as the animation appears crisp and generally well-defined, while colors look bright and well-saturated. No edge enhancement or pixelation was visible, either. The elements used did show some minor instances of wear (a few slight specks and marks were infrequently seen), but generally appeared clean and clear. Overall, these were very satisfactory presentations of the episodes included. SOUND: The episodes are presented in stereo, and dialogue, music and effects remain clear throughout. EXTRAS: Nothing. Final Thoughts: Although I still consider "Duck Tales" the finest of Disney's animated shows from the '90's, "Rescue Rangers" is still a lot of fun, as seen in this wonderful set of episodes. The set offers pleasing audio/video quality, but sadly, there's no extras. Still, recommended. |