"Catteries Not Included" is the first episode of Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers in airing and production orders (though it is not the first episode in chronological order). It was originally aired as a preview episode on August 27, 1988. With the series' official premiere on Disney Channel on March 4, 1989, the episode was re-aired on March 5, making it the second episode.
Synopsis[]
A little girl is looking for her beloved cat Spunky, and the Rescue Rangers are on the case. It seems that Spunky and all of the cats have been kidnapped by mechanical dogs under the power of Professor Norton Nimnul. The Professor is using the cats to generate static electricity in order to power his device to take over the city.
Plot[]
The Rescue Rangers are lounging atop the ceiling fan at the police station. While Chip is eagerly looking for a case to solve, Monterey Jack is educating Dale about static electricity and how to generate it by rubbing something furry. Dale then uses his newfound knowledge to give Chip a little static jolt.
At that moment, a little girl enters the police station to report her missing kitten, Spunky. Sergeant Spinelli wants to help but isn't too hopeful about the prospect of being able to locate one little kitten in the big city. He nevertheless assures the little girl that he will instruct his officers to keep an eye out for Spunky and takes the photo of the kitten that the girl brought with her.
The rangers quietly grab Spunky's photo and catapult themselves to their headquarters to rendezvous with Gadget who is prepping the Ranger Plane. Chip suggests that Monterey Jack and Dale go to cat alley and ask about Spunky while he and Gadget visit the little girl's home to look for clues. At the house, Chip and Gadget notice huge animal claw marks on the windowsill and paw prints in the garden.
Meanwhile in cat alley, Monterey Jack and Dale are surprised to see the alley teeming with mice instead of cats. One of the partying mice informs the duo that the cats inexplicably vanished two days ago. Feeling that the best way to find out the whereabouts of the missing cats is to become a cat, Monterey and Dale build and pilot a cat suit. Immediately a huge robotic bulldog appears on the scene and swallows the dummy cat with Dale still inside it. Monterey Jack electrocutes the bulldog, knocking it out cold. Chip, Dale, and Zipper arrive shortly and after freeing Dale, repair the bulldog so that they can ride inside it.
The rickety mechanical mutt makes its way to Professor Nimnul's laboratory where other similar robotic bulldogs have also arrived. Inside the lab, the rangers are shocked to see all the cats in the city trapped in cages. Nimnul then reveals that he plans to use the cats to generate a massive amount of static electricity to power his generator which would then fire a huge lightning bolt onto the city if his demands were not met.
With their wits, courage and a little bit of luck, the rangers manage to stop Nimnul and free all the cats, including Spunky, whom they return to his rightful owner.
Cast[]
- Corey Burton as Dale, Zipper, Partying Mouse
- Peter Cullen as Monterey Jack, Officer Muldoon
- Jim Cummings as Professor Norton Nimnul, Sergeant Spinelli
- Tress MacNeille as Chip, Gadget Hackwrench, Spunky
- Laura Mooney as Mandy
Uncredited[]
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The title of this episode is a play on the common marketing disclaimer: "Batteries Not Included."
- Laura Mooney, who provided the voice of the little girl, Mandy, also provided the voice of the popular 80's talking doll, "Cricket." Before the doll's name was finalized, it was originally going to be called "Spunky," the name of Mandy's cat in this episode.
- Chip kicks Dale after being electrocuted with electricity by Dale as a joke. This is a reference to the 1949 cartoon short Winter Storage, where the same gag occurs.
- Since this episode aired before the pilot, this is Professor Nimnul's first onscreen appearance; therefore he is referred to as "The professor". He does refer to himself in the third person possibly to remind us who he is.
- A little girl crying over her lost pet, the policeman telling her missing pets isn't in their jurisdiction and Chip deciding they should go look for it also happens in the ending of the TV Movie "To the Rescue", except there, her pet is a puppy.
- The girl is from this episode, but she's referencing events from "The Carpetsnaggers".
- The first level in the first Rescue Rangers NES game is heavily based on this episode. The game opens with the Rangers looking to find Spunky like in this episode (though in the game, it's revealed that it was just a ploy by Fat Cat to distract the Rangers) Nimnul's robot dogs appear in the first half of the level, and the second half is set in Nimnul's lab, with his electricity generator appearing as the level's boss (though Nimnul himself does not appear in the game).
- In the HD print of the episode (as seen on Disney+ and the Digital release), to avoid the risk of harm to viewers vulnerable to PSE (photosensitive epilepsy) from the flashing lights, the screen was darkened when Monterey Jack accidentally electrocuted himself when trying to save Dale who was trapped inside one of the robotic bulldogs.
Home video releases[]
VHS
DVD
