"A Chip 'n' Dale Christmas"

 And now, we come to...Chip 'n' Dale?  What the HECK?!?

Hey, great things come in humble, unassuming packages.  Yes, that is some sort of Christmas metaphor.  We can't all be wise men from the East come with rich gifts.  Also, "great" might be an exaggeration in the current case.  But...what the hey.  I'm afraid this'll be a light entry, but what can I say?  I'm MAKING MERRY, dammit!

I dunno; I feel like I should like Chip 'n' Dale more than I have (also, I always feel weird writing that "'n'" every time).  They're all right, and it's interesting to see sentient creatures in the Disneyverse on this much smaller scale.  The only real problem, I'd say, is that pidgin they speak in.  Admittedly, it IS a pretty big problem.

Somehow this feels more seasonal than a lot of Christmas stories--certainly all the others I've written about this year.  I'm happy to just look at it and chill.I think I like Jack Bradbury's art, too.  That sketchy style is appealing.  Dig that tree there.  It is POPPING.

Why not?  What else...I didn't have a television when I was a child, as I've probably noted, so Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers was a mystery to me.  Obviously it has little to do with these versions of the characters.  I did play the NES game a bunch, at a friend's house.  I have hella solid memories of that.  It's easy enough that it's one of the few NES games I can beat without save states or any kind of cheats, which is satisfying!  It's fun!

Never got into the sequel, though.  Don't know why.  It was probably good too; just not quite the right time and place for me, I guess.

Noel to you, Noel to me...Noel to even your Christmas tree.  That timeless song.  I'm a big fan of Donald's forbearing attitude here.  Donald not complaining seems unusual.  In a good way.

Do they sound like Alvin and the Chipmunks?  Is there some cartoon where we hear them sing?  Maybe I'll check.  If so, check this space later.  By which I mean, now.  Good lord.

UPDATE!  There is!  They're sung by women; I don't love it, but it's much less annoying than Alvin & co.

I feel like maybe staying inside the car would've been a better move than staggering out into the untracked wilderness?  That's my feeling.  Still, it's pretty dramatic!  She could be in mortal danger here!  Even if that IS more down to her dubious survival skills than anything else.  I dunno; it just feels like, small as they are, there are more stakes here than in the average one of its like.

See?  A moral dilemma.  Sort of.  Not really.  But in its small way, I think this does remain fairly heartwarming.  You do have to wonder, though: if Daisy could help she knows such an awful character, would it be acceptable to just leave her to her doom?  

So I praised Bradbury's art, but one has to admit, it's sort of limited.  That picture of Donald expressing his remorse while looking sort of depressed strikes me as incongruous.  Ah well.  

Is it just me or does...Dale, the one with the pink nose, look perpetually stoned with his eyes always half-lidded like that?  Regardless: how generous!  How just what you want to see for Christmas!  Huzzah!

Aw.  Not that I object over-much to Donald having to endure their singing, but this seems like it's making Chip 'n' Dale more dumb that they ought to be, just for the ending.  They know how much they ignore him!  Probably.  Do they?  I'm not actually that down with the ins and outs of Chip 'n' Dale.

Oh well!  Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!