"Kiwi's Big Adventure" is the sixth episode of Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, originally aired on the Disney Channel on April 2, 1989.
Plot[]
The episode begins with the Rescue Rangers in a jungle chasing after a band of primitive kiwi birds. The kiwis stole the Ranger Plane and brought it to their village by a ruined airplane. The Rangers arrive at the kiwis' camp in time to discover that the birds worship the Ranger Plane as a god in hopes of unlocking the secret of flight. The Rangers attempt to infiltrate the ceremony, but are uncovered; they claim the Ranger Plane and attempt to fly away. Before takeoff, Dale kicks at the landing gear to loosen it and injures his foot. The kiwis manage to pierce the Ranger Plane's balloon by throwing spears; the punctured balloon launches the Rangers across the jungle.
The Rangers crash land. When Dale jumps out of the Ranger Plane, he painfully realizes that his foot is injured. Gadget becomes very sympathetic and attentive, and says that Dale's toe might be broken. Dale begins to protest, but changes his mind in favor of Gadget's ministrations. From here, Dale continues to exaggerate his injuries, Gadget fusses over him, and Chip repeatedly nearly tricks Dale into blowing his act. As the Ranger Plane cannot fly with its balloon gone, Gadget converts the Ranger Plane into a boat and the Rangers (minus Dale) drag it to a river, where the Rangers (minus Dale) paddle.
While on the river, Chip becomes fed up with Dale's act and tries exposing him by dropping him in the river after confirming with Gadget that Dale can't swim if injured. Unfortunately, there is a crocodile in the water, and Chip jumps in to fix his mistake. They both evade the crocodile; Monty distracts the crocodile (and is nearly eaten). Gadget rigs a sail for the Ranger Plane from its destroyed balloon, and the Rangers escape. After the chase, they are at a river shore by a waterfall.
The Rangers attempt to lower the Ranger Plane plus Dale over the waterfall cliff by vine; the vines snap and both plummet to the ground. When the Rangers reach the bottom, they find Dale standing after the crash. He insists he's feeling better, but Gadget is worried that he's overdoing it and adds some extra splints to keep Dale from moving too much. Dale is apparently reunited with the idea of faking injury, however, when Gadget feeds him dinner at the night's camp.
Chip decides to spy on Dale while Dale is alone; he brings Monty along. Gadget happens upon the two in time to see Dale walking despite his bandages and injuries. Dale is spared Gadget's imminent wrath when Chip, Gadget, Monty, and Zipper are captured by the kiwis and strapped to the propellers of the ruined aircraft at the kiwi's village. The kiwis plan to make Zipper (who clearly possesses the secret of flight) fix the Rangerplane for them.
Dale, the only Ranger still free, spies on the kiwis' village. He tries to remove his awkward bandages so he can move more freely, but he becomes tangled in the bandages and ends up swinging upside-down over the camp from a nearby tree. Two leaves get stuck on his arms and act as a kite, holding Dale aloft. The kiwis decide that Dale is the flying god and set the rest of the Rangers free. The crocodile from the river arrives, presumably having tracked the Ranger Plane. The crocodile attempts to eat Dale, but he kicks it in the snout, injuring his foot in the process. Chip and Gadget attach a parachute from the ruined plane to the crocodile's tail and let the wind carry it away.
Using the parachute material, Gadget builds kites with baskets so the kiwis can fly and rigs a temporary hot air balloon for the Ranger Plane. The kiwis throw a party, which Dale has to miss due to his injury received while fighting the crocodile. The medicine man, Pepto Gizmo, treats Dale's busted toe.
Trivia[]
- Kiwis are found only in New Zealand; New Zealand has subtropical climates, but no tropical jungles like the one in this episode.
- In this episode, Gadget modifies the Ranger Plane to serve as a Ranger-propelled sled, a rowboat, a sailboat, and a hot air balloon/airplane hybrid, in addition to its normal operation; this is an excellent example of Gadget's versatility even without proper tools.
- This was the first episode to be dubbed in German, and Gadget had a voice actor different to the one in all the other episodes. It is for this reason that many German fans consider it to Kiwi's Big Adventure their least favorite episode.
- The crocodile in the river is said to be modeled after the one from Peter Pan. It appears again as one of the animals at the zoo in "An Elephant Never Suspects" and "A Wolf in Cheap Clothing".
- The episode's title is a play on the Tim Burton film Pee-Wee's Big Adventure.
- The Kiwi Chief is a parody of Ed Sullivan.
- The Kiwis bear a resemblance to the Aracuan Bird from The Three Caballeros.
Goofs[]
- When Chip and Dale dive in, it is shown that Dale doesn’t have any of his bandages on his feet.
Cast[]
- Corey Burton as Dale, Zipper, Kiwi Chief
- Peter Cullen as Monterey Jack
- Jim Cummings as Pepto Gizmo
- Tress MacNeille as Chip, Gadget Hackwrench
Uncredited[]
Gallery[]
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.png "Kiwi's Big Adventure (2).png (1.67 MB)")
.png "Kiwi's Big Adventure (3).png (1.82 MB)")
.png "Kiwi's Big Adventure (4).png (1.48 MB)")
.png "Kiwi's Big Adventure (5).png (2.13 MB)")
.png "Kiwi's Big Adventure (6).png (1.61 MB)")
.png "Kiwi's Big Adventure (7).png (2.01 MB)")
.png "Kiwi's Big Adventure (8).png (2.11 MB)")
.png "Kiwi's Big Adventure (9).png (1.46 MB)")
.png "Kiwi's Big Adventure (10).png (1.32 MB)")
Video releases[]
VHS
DVD
