A while back I went on a nostalgia spree and ended up buying the old Disney cartoons such as Darkwing Duck and DuckTales on DVD. Or in today's case, Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers, which I'll admit was the first of these I bought. Now there was one episode that stayed with me out of all the Rescue Rangers episode, mostly because of the subject and the title. That being today's episode, The Case of The Cola Cult
Episode Title
The Case of The Cola Cult
Admittedly, the title is what drew me to this episode, due in part because I was surprised that they were able to get away with using cult in the title. Call me crazy but I don't think would fly over today but the title doesn't hide what the episode is about and it's the better for it.
The Plot
The plot of this short is rather simple, the Rescue Rangers while out on a test run of their newest vehicle, they crash into the Cola Cult, a cult that worships the fictional soda Coo-Koo Cola (a parody of coca cola). This is where things get weird, it's not because the cult are represented in a negative light. Not at all, they're shown topeople err mice that seem to have a common interest that'll take anyone in who wishes to feel that they belong and that's where things really pick up because Gadget's inventions start to break on her and she doesn't feel as though she be any help to the Rescue Rangers. She leaves the team and heads out onto the street, she later comes across the Cola Cult and they take her in. There Gadget discovers that one of the mice has been stealing all of the donations from the other mice. I have to say I really like this plot as it feels simple yet complex at same time. It feels very real and the subject is treated with respect.
Characters
I'll be breaking this down into Important, Supporting, and Villain.
Important Character
Gadget voiced by Tress MacNeille
Gadget was the star of this short and she shined through. You could really feel her emotions in this short as a roller coaster. I felt bad for her when she felt down and there were some great humorous moments such as when she joined the cult. Though once she found what was really happening, she stood up and kicked butt. She was the hero of this short and saved the day. By the way that shot of Gadget with her inventions is just awesome.
Supporting Characters
Chip 'n' Dale voiced by Corey Burton & Tress MacNeille
Now I know that Chip 'n' Dale had more personality in this show than in their past shorts and if I were reviewing a different episode, I would've talked about them individually. I'm lumping them together here because in all honesty they're important but they are over shined by both Gadget and the storyline. Both of them along with the rest of Rescue Rangers feel more like background characters. That's one of the biggest problems, the characters and the story feel off kilter.
Monterrey Jack voiced by Peter Cullen
Monty was fun in this episode but again, he was a background character if nothing else as if that was for all intent and purposes, a Gadget centric episode and there's nothing wrong with that. Seeing as I like Gadget but as stated above, it felt of balance and now I'm just repeating myself. So I'll stop here and I won't bring Zipper because I'd being saying the same thing. I do apologize for this.
Pop Top - Voice Unlisted
Pop Top was the leader of The Cola Cult and at one point, he's believed to be the villain of the episode as the clues lead the Rangers to think that he was the one stealing from the other members. Though that wasn't the case. He was an okay character and pretty funny. A little goofy but he worked well enough.
Villain
Bubbles - Voice Unlisted
Now the reveal of who the villain actually was seemed a bit odd because I mean it almost came out of nowhere. Yes, there were clues to show that it was him but they were so minimal and that's another problem with this episode. It feels like three different stories but they do work. The first part of the story is about the cult, the second part is about Gadget quitting the team and then there is Bubbles. Though while the stories work, Bubble isn't much of a threat and I can see why he was a one time villain. Because it doesn't that much else could be done with him. While I couldn't find his voice actor, he certainly sounded like Jim Cummings.
My Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, this was a decent episode even though there three different stories spread over this episode that seem like hey shouldn't blend together but they do and this was a fun episode, even if it felt different from some of the other episodes of Rescue Rangers.
Episode Title
The Case of The Cola Cult
Admittedly, the title is what drew me to this episode, due in part because I was surprised that they were able to get away with using cult in the title. Call me crazy but I don't think would fly over today but the title doesn't hide what the episode is about and it's the better for it.
The Plot
The plot of this short is rather simple, the Rescue Rangers while out on a test run of their newest vehicle, they crash into the Cola Cult, a cult that worships the fictional soda Coo-Koo Cola (a parody of coca cola). This is where things get weird, it's not because the cult are represented in a negative light. Not at all, they're shown to
Characters
I'll be breaking this down into Important, Supporting, and Villain.
Important Character
Gadget voiced by Tress MacNeille
Gadget was the star of this short and she shined through. You could really feel her emotions in this short as a roller coaster. I felt bad for her when she felt down and there were some great humorous moments such as when she joined the cult. Though once she found what was really happening, she stood up and kicked butt. She was the hero of this short and saved the day. By the way that shot of Gadget with her inventions is just awesome.
Supporting Characters
Chip 'n' Dale voiced by Corey Burton & Tress MacNeille
Now I know that Chip 'n' Dale had more personality in this show than in their past shorts and if I were reviewing a different episode, I would've talked about them individually. I'm lumping them together here because in all honesty they're important but they are over shined by both Gadget and the storyline. Both of them along with the rest of Rescue Rangers feel more like background characters. That's one of the biggest problems, the characters and the story feel off kilter.
Monterrey Jack voiced by Peter Cullen
Monty was fun in this episode but again, he was a background character if nothing else as if that was for all intent and purposes, a Gadget centric episode and there's nothing wrong with that. Seeing as I like Gadget but as stated above, it felt of balance and now I'm just repeating myself. So I'll stop here and I won't bring Zipper because I'd being saying the same thing. I do apologize for this.
Pop Top - Voice Unlisted
Pop Top was the leader of The Cola Cult and at one point, he's believed to be the villain of the episode as the clues lead the Rangers to think that he was the one stealing from the other members. Though that wasn't the case. He was an okay character and pretty funny. A little goofy but he worked well enough.
Villain
Bubbles - Voice Unlisted
Now the reveal of who the villain actually was seemed a bit odd because I mean it almost came out of nowhere. Yes, there were clues to show that it was him but they were so minimal and that's another problem with this episode. It feels like three different stories but they do work. The first part of the story is about the cult, the second part is about Gadget quitting the team and then there is Bubbles. Though while the stories work, Bubble isn't much of a threat and I can see why he was a one time villain. Because it doesn't that much else could be done with him. While I couldn't find his voice actor, he certainly sounded like Jim Cummings.
My Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, this was a decent episode even though there three different stories spread over this episode that seem like hey shouldn't blend together but they do and this was a fun episode, even if it felt different from some of the other episodes of Rescue Rangers.
The only Rescue Ranger episode I remember. And one of the few disney tv cartoon episodes in general that I remember. I certainly felt the fizz of that coo-koo cola. :) I think even as a kid, the idea of cults fascinated me. Great post!
ReplyDeleteYou belong, we belong to the fizz of Cuckoo Cola. Yeah, this episode is one of the most memorable episodes of any Disney cartoon.
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