''Chip an' Dale'' is a 1947

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

produced in

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films running through a special ...

Walt Disney Productions The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October 1 ...

and released to theaters by

RKO Radio Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orph ...

. The film depicts

Donald Duck Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic American Pekin, white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit, sailor shi ...

's first encounter with the two chipmunks

Chip 'n' Dale Chip and Dale (also spelled Chip 'n' Dale) is a cartoon duo of anthropomorphic chipmunks created in 1943 by The Walt Disney Company. Concept The characters were first drawn by Bill Justice and introduced in the 1943 Pluto short '' Private ...

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 Adverse possession, sometimes colloquially described as "squatter's rights", is a legal principle in the Anglo-American common law under which a person who does not have legal title to a piece of property—usually land (real property)—may ...

'' (1946). 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 John Frederick Hannah (January 5, 1913 – June 11, 1994) was an American animator, writer and director of animated shorts. Biography Hannah was born on January 5, 1913, in Nogales, Arizona. He moved to Los Angeles in 1931 to study at the Art ...

and features original music by

Oliver Wallace Oliver George Wallace (August 6, 1887 – September 15, 1963) was an English composer and conductor.''Home Front Heroes: A Biographical Dictionary of Americans During Wartime'', Volume 3, ed. Benjamin F. Shearer (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 200 ...

. The voice cast includes

Clarence Nash Clarence Charles "Ducky" Nash (December 7, 1904 – February 20, 1985) was an American voice actor. He was best known as the original voice of the Disney cartoon character Donald Duck. He was born in the rural community of Watonga, Oklahoma, and ...

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 The Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film is an award given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as part of the annual Academy Awards, or Oscars, since the 5th Academy Awards (with different names), covering the year ...

in 1948. Both ultimately lost to ''

Tweetie Pie ''Tweetie Pie'' is a 1947 Warner Bros. '' Merrie Melodies'' cartoon directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on May 3, 1947, and stars Tweety with Sylvester the Cat, who is called "Thomas" in this cartoon. ''Tweetie Pie'' marks the fi ...

'', a film by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

Plot

, 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 home of two chipmunks Chip and Dale who follow him back to the cabin. After Donald places the log in the fireplace, while Donald is looking for the

matches A match is a tool for starting a fire. Typically, matches are made of small wooden sticks or stiff paper. One end is coated with a material that can be ignited by friction generated by striking the match against a suitable surface. Wooden matc ...

Chip and Dale get their nuts out of the log but it's too late. Donald lights it, and while he's 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. The chipmunks later climb the roof and throw snowballs down the chimney in order to extinguish Donald's fire. Donald climbs up the chimney, rolls the chipmunks into a snowball and rolls them off the roof. Coming up with a new plan, Chip whispers in Dale's ear. Dale listens intently, and nods, agreeing to the plan. Chip climbs a steep hill directly in front of the front door of Donald's cabin and rolls a snowball down the hill. Dale laughs and 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 retrieve their log, and as they are leaving, Dale takes an opportunity to kick Donald as he is helplessly embedded in the snow having his rear exposed.

Voice cast

* Chip: Jimmy MacDonald * Dale: Dessie Flynn * Donald Duck:

Home media

The short was released on December 11, 2007 on '' Walt Disney Treasures: The Chronological Donald, Volume Three: 1947-1950''. Additional release include: *''Chip 'n' Dale (with Donald Duck)'' (VHS) *''Starring Chip 'n' Dale'' (DVD)

Notes

{{Donald Duck Donald Duck short films 1940s Disney animated short films Films directed by Jack Hannah Films produced by Walt Disney 1947 animated films 1947 films Films scored by Oliver Wallace Chip 'n' Dale films