The male adult entertainment brand Chippendales and the 1990s cartoon series Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers have very similar names for a good reason: they have the same origin for their names.
Both the male revue dance troupe and the animation series about chipmunks are named after Chippendale furniture. This style of furniture was created in the U.S. by Thomas Chippendale and is characterized by intricate carvings in a dark wood, usually mahogony. While it originated in the 16th century, it became very popular in the 18th century.
The cartoon is about “chip”munks, so it makes sense that the creators would take that association to come up with the second name of the adventure duo: Dale. As far as style and personality, Chip is modeled after Indiana Jones and Dale is inspired by Magnum P.I.
The Chippendales name for the male dancers was chosen because the first club had Chippendales furniture inside.
Did Chippendales or Chip ‘n Dale come first?
The Chippendales male stripper brand was founded in 1979 by Somen “Steve” Banerjee and Bruce Nahin. The club was established in a West L.A. bar called Destiny II.
A & E’s Secrets Of The Chippendales Murders and Discovery +’s Curse of the Chippendales are two series deep dives into the conflicts plaguing the brand that led to multiple murders.
The animated children’s series Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers first made an appearance a decade later, in 1988 with a preview episode. The full series started airing in 1989.
However, the characters Chip N’Dale first made an appearance in the Disney universe in 1943 in the cartoon short Private Pluto. They didn’t have names at the time, though.
The pair were named in 1947 later when they got their own short called Chip N’Dale.
So, the animated series came before the Chippendales adult entertainment brand.
In May 2022 Disney released a new Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers feature film on Disney+.
