A cartoon-like pop-culture spectacle Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers is a quick and fun rollercoaster into an enigma of cartoon characters. It is filled with clever gags, creative action with enough emotion and depth that a narrative can be told.

Directed by the Lonely Island’s Akiva Schaffer Thisparticular Rescue Rangers production is a meta-movie that portrays the iconic Chipmunk BFFs in the role of actors who appeared in The Rescue Rangers TV series decades ago. Then, appropriately washed in the typical E! True Hollywood Story fashion (thanks to Dale’s solo endeavor), Chip and Dale must put aside the past to reconnect with their friends and make sure that the day is the real world.

This hybrid slice of live-action/animation silliness is perhaps the closest thing we’ll ever get to a follow up for 1988’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, and not just because Roger Rabbit himself pops up briefly. This is a place -which is a Los Angeles to be more specific — where people as well as cartoons are a part of the same and every cartoon that makes waves in show business produces their shows just like any other performer, albeit on an animated stage. It’s not an unreasonable idea by any means to envision this as the The world of Roger Rabbit’s L.A. would be like 70 years after.

Let’s not forget about this La La Land’s shady underbelly that is another noir-ish aspect that is present which is a great addition to that Roger Rabbit vibes. It’s not all of animation is drawn by hand sun and computer-generated pups. There are criminal activities in play in the world of cartoons. And when Chip and Dale’s former Rescue Rangers co-star Monterey Jack (Eric Bana) disappears The estranged friends are reunited to locate him in the midst of cheese-lovers pushing stinky cheese and organizers of Muppet fights and a gangland ruled by bootleggers. There is no prohibition on alcohol bootleg animated films with kidnapped actors transformed into knockoffs designed for foreign markets.

Chip Dale Rescue Rangers isn’t the first film to try the same thing — featuring live-action and animated characters sharing the screen, fostering an adventure that is meta-comedy It’s entertaining and is among the most inventive uses of older pop culture characters every once in some time. It pokes fun at the industry, but in a playful waythat’s not a gruelling one. Andy Samberg and John Mulaney are fun and lively and have the perfect pair to bring these chipmunks to the world of. The story of love isn’t as strong however the overall sanity of the rest is fantastic.