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Rescue Rangers To The Rescue Part Four
Reviewed: 08/09/2008
Should Monty Ask For a Rain Check on that Apology?!
Well; we wind down the pilot from Gadget's wonderful performance as we get closer to Klordane revealing his real plan to us. Can you smell the suspense? Or is that the cheese that will give Monty another cheese attack?! Let's rant on and find out shall we...?!
Part four of this episode is written by Tad Stones, Kevin Hopps and Julia J. Roberts. The story was edited by Tad Stones, Jymn Magon and Mark Zaslove. The story was made by Tad Stones and Kevin Hopps. Geez; this is getting to be a pain in the neck now. The animation was done by Walt Disney Animation Japan which means that this is a good sign right off the bat and this should be the debut for the new in house studio created from former TMS members.
Interesting Moment #1: And we are back to the first opening sequence for this one. I guess I could chalk it up for a sloppy CONTINUITY ERROR on Disney Home Video's part; but that would be a paranoid view methinks so let's just continue on and forget it ever happened....
We begin this one back on the ice edge as the big snowball (well by Rescue Ranger standards) does a excellent MAN-SIZED bump into the Rescue Rangers and they free fall as Fat Cat makes a bowling metaphor out of it. The snowball somehow crumbles and Dale is holding hands with Chip because he hates high places. Geez guys; Dale has been in high places before, but it never shows up until now. Come up with better dialog like: I hate free falling without a net. Cute spot as Zipper grabs onto Monty's tail to slow down the fall; but there's no dice on that play. However; the chipmunks and mice both eat the plunger and they are saved by Gadget's new Rescue Ranger airship. Funny CONTINUITY ERROR: The Rescue Ranger logo is actually on the back of the airship despite the fact that the Rescue Rangers have not been officially named as a group. On the other paw; who says that it means Rescue Rangers? Could it be possible that Gadget is a secret co-op member of the DUM...DUM...DUM: Red Ribbon Army?! TUNE INTO THE NEXT EPISODE OF DRAGON BALL ZEEE!..Or not...Nice spot as Gadget pulls the lever (WRONG LEVER!) and the Rescue Rangers take bumps off the wings before finally being perfectly seated into the airship. Gadget is so glad that it didn't throw them into the trunk. I am so disappointed in you Gadget; that would actually have been funny. Chip and Dale are glad that she fixed the Screamin Eagle..sort of.
Gadget admits that the Eagle was such a wreck (and who says Launchpad is the only one who can crash a plane at a moment's notice?) that she stole trash from Klordane's camp. The airship flies towards the iceberg as we lead to the mountains AFTER HAPPY HOUR (Read: After dark) and Norton uses the Laser Cannon 13 to park the iceberg like a sandwich in between the mountains. Cute spot there as Norton blows no one in particular about denying him his driving license. Must be a Nintendo gamer. Norton walks through the Laser Cannon 13 down onto the ground and walks towards the train tracks because he is going to greet the Choo-Choo Train. There is a spotlight near the far right side for no reason other than to show that this is animation. The train arrives from the tunnel and it stops with no crash whatsoever. Norton goes through his buttons of doom. 80 million different ways to kill ice and he only chooses the chop option; the lamest in the land. The props slice and dice the ice (now that a violation of rhyming if I ever wrote one) into the box cars. For what reason I don't know; unless Norton has a fetish for snow cones. Fat Cat is so thrilled..NOT! Norton walks the Laser Cannon 13 onto the flat car bed which is so obvious that it is clearly part of the plan. He stops the machine and opens the hatch to let Fat Cat out of it. Norton also remembers to act human in front of the machine like all dorks do and jumps out allowing Fat Cat to blow him off for having a hardware hangup.
Actually Mr. Fat; he's a whiny dork which is a million times worse than a geek. You shouldn't be so generous. The Ranger Plane flies around as Dale gives possible answer number one to the mystery of the ice chopping: A tall glass of lemonade. I cannot argue with that logic and apparently Chip cannot either. Chip cares more about the ruby than the mystery since he wants to clear Donald Drake. I'm calling the finish to this episode now: They get the ruby back and it only PROVES Donald Drake is the thief. Hey; I haven't watched Rescue Rangers in a long time; so I am writing this a bit blind folded. Monty agrees with Chip's plan and does a tomato reference which is more disturbing than I think even the writers had intended. They flap down to the Laser Cannon 13 and uses the plunger legs to walk on the machine. Monty calls this stopping on a dime and getting nine cents change back. Sadly; nine cents buys nothing these days, so it is a throwaway pun today. Still pretty funny though as Chip and Dale hop out and open the glass hatch where the ruby is stored.
Chip sees the release button somewhere which is a really bad signal that someone is going to screw up here. Zipper pushes the white button (after some effort of course) and the ruby pops the chipmunks right in the kisser. They free fall and take some decent bumps onto the ground. That blows their cover as Norton and Fat Cat turn around in the coal boxcar (Man; Norton has a coal fetish too? No wonder Fat Cat doesn't want any part of him after this pilot) and Fat Cat pounces on them. Chip and Dale run off with the ruby but Norton grabs the ruby and continue to call them rodents. Zipper flies from the laser cannon and bops Norton right on the nose. What is the fetish with bopping villains on the nose? It's funny when Molly stomping on Kit's nose because Kit's a babyface and Kit's reaction to it is priceless. It doesn't work on a heel no matter how over he is. And we start the thrilling ruby taking sequence which always ends with the heel winning and this time the babyfaces win. Okay that was different as it ends with Chip and Dale grabbing onto the ruby attached to the plunger attached to the Rangerplane. Gadget decides to go home; but doesn't know where home is as Monty feels bad because his home got MURDERED. Well; there is always Geegaw's home. Gadget pats Monty on the mitten hand and Monty feels better as they ride into the moonlight. So that logically leads to.....
.....Back to Police Headquarters as we return to the jail cell where Plato is still sleeping with his head stuck in the jail cell bars the whole time. Kit would have been out a long time ago by now and Plato is supposed to be his teacher on that spot? Donald Drake paces around proclaiming that he has been in the department for forty five years which means that he's 63 years old today. He looks closer to 45 years old actually as Klordane's voice beckons and there he is standing next to the jail cell. On second thought; I better stop calling finishes too soon as Donald blows him off. Klordane is giddy and he throws the green sleeping gas test tube right into Donald's cell and it smashes. Klordane covers his mouth and Donald faints from the effects. You know something; Kristof's fanfics (minus the gory violence, complex speaking and foul language) are starting to look more and more like darker versions of DTVA right now. Klordane wants him some fresh air as we cut to the police force (Spinelli, Kirby and company) getting together at the office and they hear a large explosion outside. They head to the jail cell quickly and there's a huge wall in the cell where Donald is. Now that's how you do a Snow Angel spot as the force believes Donald has escaped. Here's the problem with that logic: Donald has no explosives on him and you would think that the force had searched him BEFORE they put him in the jail cell. It's either logic break #1 or the police force is REALLY STUPID. I believe the later since it has happened with Darkwing Duck a lot and even TaleSpin to a certain extent.
We cut to the train tracks somewhere inside the city as Donald regains his senses and he's handled by Klordane's thugs. Donald demands answers and Klordane gives them slowly. For one; Donald is going to take the rap for his brilliant scheme and two they are inside a subway entrance way as the train arrives with the Laser Cannon 13. Norton and Fat Cat open up the coal box car slot as Klordane wants a demonstration of the Laser Cannon 13 for Donald's own eyes. Did I mention that Klordane wants to go underground and Donald is subdued? Okay; I have so let's say that Norton fumbles with the proper words using science speak and then Klordane grabs him when he tries to run and admits that it is missing. Norton defends himself by claiming that small Rodentia (oh come on guys; you're just asking for parent groups to write in on THAT one because there's no such word as Rodentia even in the science speaking context.) stole it. Donald blows him off as well as Klordane as he mocks him into filling a missing ruby report. Klordane blows that suggestion off and basically tells Norton to get the ruby back; or else it's MURDER WITH THE ELEPHANT GUN OF DOOM~! I think we know what that implies so let's cut head to Police Headquarters which seems to be changing styles with every passing scene in this pilot. We cut into Donald's office as we see Plato chained to the desk. Well; that sort of makes sense in that Plato wasn't taken; but it still doesn't explain why we didn't see Plato in the jail cell during the explosion. Must be a time cut.
Anyhow; the Rescue Rangers are on top of the desk and they don't buy the suggestion that Donald run away. Plato doesn't somehow buy the suggestion either but still doesn't like the fact that Donald went after Klordane without him. The Rescue Rangers decide that once they see the ruby in the evidence room; Donald will go free along with Plato and they will go after Klordane together. Even Gadget agrees with this because she's awesome and it's fun according to her. I cannot argue with that overwhelming logic as we cut back to the front desk of headquarters as Spinelli is exchanging notes with the woman who owns the ruby and she's pissed that the ruby robber was allowed to escape. She's Mrs. Clutchcoin which completes the obvious joke on the necklace at the beginning of the pilot. I believe she's voiced by Tress; but I'm not sure since I don't have my internet notes with me at this time due to it being down for good knows what reason. Spinelli finally declares that Donald isn't a suspect anymore; but Clutchcoin declares him a fugitive. She demands that she get her ruby back and the female officer bails like a rich snob along with Mr. Clutchcoin; the greasy snob. The feeling is mutual my dear officer as we cut outside to see Kirby going out on duty and up onto the steps comes Norton dressed up as a bum old lady carrying a paper bag filled with purple books. Don't ask me why as Norton uses his remote control to declare that the ruby is in there and then takes the paper bag and throws out Fat Cat as he will play the role of distraction and take care of the rodent problem for good.
Fat Cat acts like a snob on that spot because he doesn't like whiny dorks I guess. But before it can get any good; we head inside Donald's office as Gadget uses the lighter (I smell Disney Channel cut here) on the chains to free Plato; but the chains are too strong. She has never heard of the fire/ice routine from Pokemon in order to break steel. Plato thanks her for trying though as her over meter went down a notch right there. Plato is sure Donald will solve this case as Dale notices Fat Cat walking around as he swears in DUBBED ANIME STYLE (oh my gosh) and Plato is PISSED off to see him. Chip and Dale try to restraint him because that is how the mess got started in the first place. Nice to see Chip hasn't forgotten that little detail as he and Dale want to deal with him because he's a pushover. Oh great; it's bad enough that Drake Mallard has to bury over villains now Dale OF ALL CHARACTERS is doing it?! For shame Dale! Fat Cat hides behind the desk and wonders about his diversion and then notices the hyper-sensitivity (even Kit isn't this bad when he's being tickled) dog looking herself in the MIRROR OF VAINITY. When you're this vain; nothing else matters except playing for Fat Cat's diversion. Chip and the gang notice him and they are going to tie Fat Cat up and knock him out. Dale proclaims that it is Clobbering Time. Well; not exactly, but the implication is there as Chip and Dale hop onto the chair and I smell screw up a mile away.
Chip gives the signal and Gadget adjusts her PENCIL CROSSBOW HARPOON OF DOOM as she tells Monty to get in position. Sadly; the CHEESE SMELL OF DOOM gets to Monty's nose right on cue. Damn; I knew that would happen at some point and it's the CHEESE ATTACK~! Who needs real drugs when cheese will do the trick?! Sometimes; BS&P is a good thing. The target of desire: A mousetrap with cheese on it. Geez; what a shock that was?! Monty runs complete with HB looping and running sound effect which would be a classic if Sun Woo was animating; but it is lame here as that nails Gadget as she fires her gun by accident as Dale gets ready to bring down the hammer on Fat Cat. Oh man; that stuff just writes itself. Both get nailed with the plunger from the harpoon gun. How does that do actual damage when it did none in the previous pilot. I guess the power of suggestion didn't show up here. Fat Cat still gets nailed good though and sees stars so it wasn't a total write off. It's only for a moment as Chip and Dale are tied up by the harpoon rope and Fat Cat reels in Gadget for fun as we cut over to Monty destroying the mouse trap. That's what you get for crappy Chinese marksmanship.
Zipper blows him off for the cheese attacks and Monty realizes that the rangers are in trouble and runs stage left as Fat Cat has a little fun with them before putting them into the filing cabinet. We cut back to Spinelli as the female officer returns with the ruby in tow as Mr. Clutchcoin is happy about it being returned and Miss Clutchcoin acts like a snob as per in her contract. We pan over to see Norton hiding behind a plant wondering where the diversion is as Fat Cat sneaks in from behind and grabs Clutchcoin Vain Puppy by the neck. I think we know where this is going as Monty grabs a ruler (it better not be metric lest parent groups argue that metric is Satan see) and tries to pop them out of the filing cabinet as Plato struggle to get free; but Fat Cat invokes the foam shaving cream right in Plato's mouth (Ooooo) and then puts Clutchcoin's pooch into his mouth. Now that is just plain EVIL man. Mrs. Clutchcoin looks for Poopise and shrieks as she sees the horror, THE HORROR man. Disney Caption apparently sees Mr. Clutchcoin as the mayor of the city apparently as Plato is declared mad and rabid. Plato is screwed despite spitting out Poopise as the Rescue Rangers gets out from the filing cabinet and Mrs. Clutchcoin faints right on cue since I missed it earlier. The mayor wants Plato in the pound as the officers subdue him gently despite Plato showing ZERO OBVIOUS SIGNS OF RABIDNESS...yet; and Norton steals the ruby from the necklace from the distraction and bails off. The mayor wants Plato destroyed as the Rangers are SHOCKED which ends the segment almost 12 minutes in. Umm; putting him to sleep would be the same thing without using the word kill and it sounds less obvious; so why say destroyed here? That's weird BS&P here.
After the commercial break; we head around the city near the large mayor tower (which looks like something out of Darkwing Duck) as the Rangerplane flies around. The Rescue Rangers are inside as Gadget wonders where the pound is and misses it; so she has to fly around like a sadist just to screw the Rangers good. I always love that spot. Monty doesn't like that spot because he almost threw up and Chip blows him off for his cheese addiction. Monty causally defends his action paying Chip and Dale back for being so heartless from part two. Dale takes Chip's side and gets off death reference #2 making the mayor sound funnier in hindsight as Monty blows him off for ganging up. I'm on Chip's side of this one so the Aussie Stereotype should just apologize and LIKE DOING IT! Monty doesn't back down though acting like a jerk rather than a tough guy. Chip tries to explain; but Monty refuses because he's a free spirits. Sorry Monty; I don't buy this one. You screwed up and you should simply apologize and move on. And what the hell is wrong with you Zipper?! You actually blew him off for his cheese attacks and now you're taking MONTY'S side of things. Logic break #1 for the episode right there. Monty and Zipper blow off Chip's suggestion of a home and family while stammering and then Monty jumps off and parachutes down to the ground with the spotted underwear. Well; could be worse I guess. It could have been a thong. Gadget seems to like the plane being lighter and Chip yells at her because Monty jumped off. Gadget innocently accounts for that and Chip is so screwed. Hey; the two worse babyfaces are gone; so I can live with that. And Chip should see Rebecca on how to convince someone who needs a home and family. I call Kit Cloudkicker as her first witness. Of course in Disney's mind; Home Is Where The Heart Is doesn't exist.
We logically lead to the dog pound AFTER HAPPY HOUR and the dog barking is so quiet that no one in Disney Captions notices it. Oh well; it could be worse. They could misspell Dogs Barking. We cut to the top of the roof as Chip and Dale cannot get the roof window open DUH! So Gadget taps on glass to find the harmonic weakness and finds it. So she bails and returns with Dale's hammer to bring it down on the glass. How Dale kept that thing in the Rangerplane I don't know, otherwise that's logic break #2. It's still funny though; so I'll let it slide as the over Rangers free fall and the damn dog (who was later seen hounding on Darkwing Duck in a couple of episodes) who was seen sleeping inside the pound earlier wakes up and then gets knocked out with said hammer as the rangers land onto the floor with the dog breaking their fall. Really cute spot there as dog gets the PHALLIC SYMBOL OF DOOM and sees lots of stars both present and future. Gadget calls it something so complex that I can hear Eisner bringing down the hammer on this cartoon's future as we speak. Kit Cloudkicker would be proud of her. Sadly; that damn dog manages to recover (Man; that head is tough to take THAT MAN-SIZED BUMP.) and the Rangers are forced to scatter. We get the Scooby Doo Chase Sequence which is apporos since chaser is a dog and the chases run into someone's dogf ood inside the cage to hide. The dog cannot get into the cage and decides to give up and walk away. The Rangers pop up from the bowl of dog treats and Dale blows off the vicious dog and sezs that he belongs in the pound.
Then a French poodle wearing clothing oddly similar to the one worn by Fievel from An American Tail (or Tale depending on what mood I was in when writing this) defends the damn dog's honor (yeah sure) and calls himself Frenchy from France. I betcha he surrendered when he was caught. HA! I KILL ME! No matter how heartless and vile that stereotype mannerism is; it's still never goes out of style. He introduces K. Sera which sounds oddly like they were using Ken Tsumura's name in a funny matter and that dog is a sheep dog with no face and a lot of hair who does nothing but hops and says Sera over and over again. I guess Sera means Surrender in French. Or is that Japanese? I don't know; and quite frankly I personally do not want to know for the sake of my sanity. Frenchy turns him around and he still looks the same and acts the same. Frenchy proclaims the K stands for Killer. I find that hard to believe and now Frenchy has the hots for Gadget which I don't blame him because she is HOT AND AWESOME BABEE! Gadget looks to play game; but the jealous chipmunks push Gadget aside because they are here to rescue Plato. Fair enough; but that reaction to Frenchy clearly shows that they are lying. They're pushing her around because one of them at least wants to marry her. As I said before; If Kit was seven years older, it would be no contest on who should gain Gadget's hand in marriage.
Frenchy realizes this and is happy for them because they are captains of the Pound Underground or PU. That officially makes Disney change with Gusto look and sound even more gutless in hind sight. Frenchy is dedicated to liberating canines throughout the world. Well; if he stops being French, maybe he'll have more creditability, otherwise I don't buy his act. K. Sera is more over than he is just by hoping and saying Sera. Gadget gets off Golly #1 for the episode (#3 for the pilot) and asks for the number of members and of course after some suspense there is only the two of them and Chip is SHOCKED AND APPALLED (in that order). Thankfully; that is all Frenchy needs as he pulls the rug from the dog bowl and it reveals a tunnel. It is the Pound Underground after all as K. Sera (SERA!) hops in and digs some more as Frenchy does some French speaking in order to convince the French speaking fans to watch it in English. It fails because the French version is available of course; called Tic & Tac: Le Rangers De Risque. Only the French could make it sound sexy as we cut to inside the pound as we see Plato locked up in a cage sulking about how criminal it is to being used by Mr. Fat. Then a rumble happens inside his dog food and out pops Frenchy and K. Sera who is being used as Frenchy's new hat. I knew they do that spot at some point. Plato says Hello to them as Frenchy does his over-dramatic pose and then the Rescue Rangers Minus The Bad Ones pop up and Plato is happy to see them and then upset because that damn dog could have finished them off.
Frenchy is loving this reunion. K. Sera hops back into the hole and they start digging because it's time to throw away the chains of oppression. Good luck; Doctor Axolotte has been trying that for years with no luck in sight. The Rangers are here to rescue Plato; but Plato doesn't want to be rescued because it's hopeless in his own words. Chip doesn't believe that because Plato said to never give up and then they think Plato made up all those things about justice and helping others. Plato stammers on that one; but it doesn't matter because the Rescue Rangers aren't giving up. Well; Chip and Dale are not at least as Plato realizes that he was wrong about giving up and decides to help. Sadly; Frenchy is gone so that means it is the old Gold Key grabbing spot from a steep wall with the damn dog stalking like a hawk even when sleeping. This makes zero sense whatsoever. I mean just go underground and find where Frenchy is going since they are free. It doesn't matter where he goes as long as you are free from the chains of oppression. Logic break #2 for the episode and the first one I don't accept. There is wasting time and then there is real stupidity. Chip, Gadget and Dale carry the water bowl as Plato warns them about the dog's bite and it's bark since it will freeze their fur. If Drake Mallard wasn't REALLY STUPID and so full of himself then he would take notes on this dog and know how to subdue it.
The Rescue Rangers practice the fine art of not being seen by the guard dog and it doesn't work as they drop the bowl down in front of the dog's sight. Lucky, that damn dog doesn't see them and growls before going back to sleep. The Rangers think it's safe; but the dog fakes his sleeping and notices the bowl walking away. That is one smart guard dog. No wonder Drake and Oscar Proud were so screwed. Yeah; this damn guard dog seems to get cameos like nothing else on more DTVA shows then Launchpad ever did. No wonder Gadget, Kit, Gosalyn and even Launchpad are so jealous. The dog grabs the water bowl away from the Rangers and it's rodent screwing time! The dog drops the bowl and the Rangers realizes that they are screwed as their backs are against the wall and the guard dog talks tough and growls as the segment ends here 17 and a half minutes in. Well the music ends and then resets instantly; so I'm calling the commercial break here. I never got this scene at all because it seems to only be made in order to make the Rescue Rangers look foolish and give that guard dog an excuse to get over and get on other DTVA shows. Maybe Eisner just likes that guard dog so much and uses it to keep the TaleSpin characters from pulling a coup on him; but that is just speculation on my part.
After the commercial break; we see the guard dog hissing and growling at the helpless Rangers as there appears to be their last stand. Plato blows him off for bullying them and the guard dog responds in kind because he's a guard dog who likes eating rodents. It's part of the executive perks see. Which pretty much confirms my theory on Eisner liking this guard dog. The rumble of doom commences and the hole opens swallowing up the guard dog as out pops Frenchy and K. Sera. So that why they did the stupid sequence?! It all makes sense now. Logic break #2 is popped out of the episode! Frenchy does his terrible acting and then realizes that he screwed up badly and then sobs...badly. Okay; I now officially like Frenchy, you happy now?! K. Sera does nothing but Sera as the chipmunks go for the key and Gadget consoles him because he saved them from the big bad guard dog. And of course Frenchy recoils and states that it was all part of the plan and he salutes himself. Frenchy and Drake sitting in a tree; finding ways to screw poor widdle old me.
Chip and Dale push the mop bucket complete with SHANE DOUGLAS MOP OF DOOM. If it was the RIC FLAIR BROOMSTICK then they will succeed. Otherwise; it's a crap shoot for them. Dale climbs up the mop and grabs onto the key; but somehow cannot get it off the nail hook. Chip blows him off for goofing off because the guard dog might come back at anytime. Memo to Chip: Use a freaking broomstick next time because broomstick trumps mop stick any day of the week. Dale does manage to get the key off the nail and Chip pushes the bucket towards the cage. Dale does the key steady spot as Chip pushes towards the door. 3:1 odds they miss completely; 5:1 odds that it hits and 2:1 odds that they miss because WD-Japan blows the spot. Chip trips and the bucket goes faster as Dale panics and manages to hit the keyhole perfectly and does a whirlwind spot before falling down taking a spill in the dirty mop bucket. Well; rodents are filthy so it's actually apporos. The cage is unlocked and apparently; Gadget burns her nose somewhere because it's completely black now. Bad coloring error WD-Japan; BAD BAD BAD!! Plato grabs Dale's hair (OUCH!) from the bucket and that hair is tough because Dale no sells it. Dale is more interested in blowing bubbles apparently.
And of course Frenchy and K. Sera bail because he comes the most overexposed guard dog in DTVA history running in and from the grave to maul those rodents hairy flesh colored butts. Plato jumps up with the greatest of ease and threw the window which somehow was open the whole time thus rendering Gadget's cool spot pointless. Go figure. Sadly; Plato is out of breath about 20 feet away from the pound (See what 100 pounds of junk dog treats can do to a mutt?) and the Rangers try to get him to move; but no dice. The guard dog jumps and is ready to MURDER those rodents; but the trashcan is conveniently placed right where the dog can get nailed easily tips over and the guard dog is MURDERED good. Nice to see the contrived animators were on the ball there eh? The Rangers are happy for some reason and we get the answer as Monty appears OUT OF NOWHERE and crushes the dog's head with the steel lids as the guard dog is knocked silly. Chip is surprised as I am because there's no buildup as to why Monty would want to come back in the first place. I suppose this is where a babyface turns on his friends to look slightly heelish and then comes back to the rescue; but it doesn't work nearly as well because Kit completely shattered the mold for perfecting that character design so well. I mean we know that he was a heel at one time; that he turned heel again to save his friends and not out of some jerk act (although ironically Kit did the Monty version of it in Plunder and Lightning Part One) and then Mark Zaslove actually gave Kit more than enough buildup to show the reason he turned on Don Karnage and came back to save his friends and the city (although not alone since he had no chance in hell of doing it himself with fifty pirates cornering him).
The Rangers get on Plato's back and they bail for a while until there is no sign of pursuit. Then we get to Monty's explanation as to why he came back and 2/3 of his reasons were pretty selfish and the other one is pretty pointless. I don't get Zipper; you know after saying that I was worried about them would have been enough for the fly but it wasn't and we end up with a selfish reason to end it. So he has no where else to go; that's no big deal since there was no evidence that Monty was suffering WITHOUT them. To me; Monty is being seen as a throwaway character who acts like a jerk. Thankfully for him; the Rangers accept him (with Gadget hugging him of course because she can never truly be mad. Just nasty at times.) because they need a fatso to deal with Mr. Fat. AHHAHAHAHAHAHA! POW! POW! OUCH! OUCH! Ummm...Ummmm... Anyway; Chip and Dale get raised to the occasion because the manhole cover opens and it's Frenchy making an ass out of himself again. Frenchy's act may have no creditability; but it's damn funny anyway as K. Sera bumps into the manhole cover with a good bump and then falls into the sewer again. Chip thanks them for their support and Frenchy declares that he must leave to free the other dogs. Oh; I get it...the Pound Underground; I finally get the reference to the Underground Railroad which is a good angle because the UR is completely babyface.
Frenchy declares that he would be happy to work with the team again and Chip is confused of this because they aren't a team yet. Then explain the Rangerplane having the RR logo on the back?. Frenchy doesn't care anyway because they are all good and he and K. Sera have one more salute and then pop back into the sewers. Chip sezs there is a case to solve and that logically leads to Plato on roller skates being driven with a fan which the Rescue Rangers ride on. Too funny as Plato wants to go back to the pound. Gadget is looking at the thermometer as she's getting colder and colder because the trail is leading them straight towards an ice cream bicycle. Oh man; I knew we would see one of those soon enough. They collide into it with Plato taking a really sick bump while the rest take a wussy bump into the ice cream freezer. The Rangers pop out and Monty blows off Gadget's driving again. And then we cut to a subway entrance as there is a freezing wind blowing by. Oh; that isn't contrived in the very least no siree! Plato then gets the old trap them like the rats they are and Monty does the Gruffi pose. Oh for crying out loud Monty; you're a MOUSE, not a rat! I knew this fatso wasn't over character material. Plato still stammers and apologizes anyway.
We then cut to the Ranger slowly going down the steps and of course since Plato is still on skates he quickly goes down and takes an off-screen MAN-SIZED bump onto the ground which Monty praises him for because he gets into the fray. Sadly; he's knocked out and apparently; his skates are gone too. Logic break #2 for the episode for real. We cut to the Rangers looking at the icy wooden door and wonder why Klordane is keeping said ice. Monty finds the trusty plank and wants to whack the door; but Plato wants to do the honors because his dad was a ruby mascot at Oxford. Now there's an image I do not need to see and thankfully the writers don't go there. Plato smashes through the door without any problems and the Rangers go inside. Sadly; the door completely collapses along with some of the ceiling and Plato speaks before being out cold; but the Rangers are not apparently. Percy's voice beckons and here comes Klordane with Percy as he is not about to be stopped by anyone even the writers. Percy notices Plato with the flashlight and Klordane loves this and calls this the icing to the cake and then laughs badly to end the fourth part at 21:15. Not as bad as I thought it would be; but Monty's act was still pretty unconvincing and a few logic breaks marred the performance. This is not going to be as good as Plunder and Lightning was; but then again, almost every DTVA show was climbing a steep mountain when it comes to that pilot. **** (80%).
THE REVIEW LINE
Well; the writers had peaked with Gadget's appearance in part three so it was going to be downhill from there; but the episode as a whole still was pretty good in spite of it. I'm beginning to dislike Monteray Jack now because he's went from tough guy to free spirit jerk and he had no justification for his actions to leave the Rescue Rangers since he was the one who screwed up everything. Chip had every right to tell him off and Monty acted like a smoker. The fact that Zipper took Monty's side after blowing him off for his action earlier made the scene look worse and pretty contrived. It looked like Kit Cloudkicker from Plunder and Lightning Part One; but Monty is an adult and Kit was a kid who simply is too headstrong for his own good and therefore Kit got more sympathy from me. Plus; Baloo acting like a irresponsible slob helped me like Kit which wasn't present here. And of course he comes back with the most selfish of reasons. Monty could have helped himself if he switched the last two reasons around and not make Zipper look like a fool in the process.
I thought the episode was going to free fall once the dog pound scene went into effect because they wasted so much time giving a guard dog (who was pretty cool I admit; but why do it in a throwaway scene) a sequence that was stupid because why not join Frenchy and the gang to freedom until Frenchy screws up and makes the scene actually mean something. Then of course there's Gadget's burned nose which is codeword for coloring mistake from WD-Japan. On the upside; Gadget is still awesome and I gained a lot of respect for Chip and to certain extent Dale for standing up to Plato's teaching even when Plato was questioning them. And other than the animation mistake; WD-Japan did their usual bang up job here. So; the conclusion to the pilot is next and it needs a perfect rating if it wants to get near Golden Suns; but Plunder and Lightning is now unreachable. Not that I'm surprised of it; but I give kudos to the writers and animators for trying. At least this show can say that the animation was spot on. TaleSpin cannot say that since they used about four animation studios for their pilot and it looked really weird art wise despite having nearly every spot dead on as well. And of course; Gadget is better than Rebecca. So....
Thumbs up for this episode and I'll see you next time.