The Actors Akiva Schaffer Was Most Excited To Work With In Chip 'N Dale: Rescue Rangers - Exclusive
As one-third of the comedy trio The Lonely Island, Akiva Schaffer is no stranger to working with Hollywood's elite. Along with Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone, Schaffer wrote for "Saturday Night Live" for six years, helping pen the pop-culture classic "Dick in a Box."
Schaffer has also directed several films, including "Hot Rod," "The Watch," and "Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping." His latest directorial project happens to be his first children's film, "Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers," which is available exclusively on Disney+. In it, the beloved chipmunks return after a 30-year hiatus, reuniting to solve the disappearance of a mutual friend while rekindling their broken relationship.
"Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers" boasts a huge cast of illustrious actors and comedians, including Samberg, John Mulaney, Will Arnett, Eric Bana, Seth Rogen, J.K. Simmons ... the list goes on. But for Schaffer, the most exciting part of working on "Rescue Rangers" wasn't necessarily rubbing elbows with all the A-listers — it was working with an entirely different group of people. Here's what he had to say during an exclusive interview with Looper.
Schaffer was thrilled to bring Roger Rabbit back to life
In "Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers," a whole slew of iconic characters pop up — from Peter Pan to Ugly Sonic — and for Akiva Schaffer, this is where he got most excited about directing the combination of live-action and animated action-adventure comedy.
"I'll be honest, the most exciting people to me were the legacy animation voice actors who we were able to be in it," says Schaffer. "For instance, when Dale is using his high-pitched voice or when Zipper is doing his weird little fly sounds, it's Corey Burton. It's Tress MacNeille whenever it's Gadget, or whenever Chip has a high-pitched voice."
But the one performance that Schaffer found most exhilarating? "Charles Fleischer, who's the voice of Roger Rabbit, and he's the real voice of Roger Rabbit," he says. "For people like us, who grew up watching Roger Rabbit and loved it, it's pretty exciting to be in a virtual room with the voice of Roger Rabbit and have him start doing Roger Rabbit."
"Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers" is now streaming exclusively on Disney+.