Probably the wildest Disney movie you’ll see this year hit streaming today in the form of Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers. Though the Mouse House could’ve made a cutesy Alvin and the Chimpunks-like reboot of the classic ’80s cartoon, what they’ve instead served up is a demented counterpart to Warner Bros.’ Space Jam: A New Legacy. But it’s inarguably better than that 2021 flop as it crosses over with not just Disney characters but IPs from other studios.
The internet’s already blown up over the movie surprisingly bringing back Ugly Sonic โ as in the hideous first Sonic design from the Paramount movie โ but it also drops a cameo from one of the most iconic superheroes in existence. And they’re not from Marvel. Yes, Batman himself turns up in Chip ‘n Dale, marking the Disney/DC crossover that we’ve all been asking for, just not in the context we expected.
Batman doesn’t actually appear in the flesh but instead features when John Mulaney’s Chip is shown watching an unlikely mash-up movie โ Batman vs. E.T., in which Steven Spielberg’s adorable alien battles Zack Snyder’s version of the Dark Knight, complete with his BvS-appropriate Superman-busting armor. “E.T. forgive Bat,” says the Extraterrestrial, causing Chip to scoff, “That would never happen.” Which has to be a dig at BvS‘ infamous “Save Martha” scene.
The Caped Crusader even returns elsewhere in the movie, when Chip spots a billboard advertising the movie and admits “Okay, that one looks pretty good.”
As you would expect, superhero lovers who tuned into Chip ‘n Dale expecting a fun Disney-fest are losing it over the one and only Batman randomly turning up.
Why isn’t this front-page news?
Now people actually want to watch Batman vs. E.T. Disney, what have you done?
The weirdest thing is that this Batman cameo is practically Snyderverse canon as the Watchmen director’s frequent collaborator Larry Fong also worked on Chip ‘n Dale.
With WB seeming uninterested in reviving the Snyderverse in the DCEU, maybe fans need to start campaigning Disney to bring it back instead? Until then, check out this unexpected morsel of Batman content in Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers, available on Disney Plus now.