What “Chip ‘n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers” has in spades is a heaping dose of industry-focused humor that may or may not be a huge selling point to kids who recognize Chip and Dale from various and sundry Disney projects. But sometimes you have to admit that you laugh at visual gags referencing comic actors’ propensity to appear in tons of animated films, or jabs at motion-capture animation and the uncanny valley, or posters for fake movies like “Batman vs. E.T.” This is the benefit of Samberg being joined by his Lonely Island cohort Akiva Schaffer as director of the film; it’s Schaffer’s first feature directing credit since the cult favorite “Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping,” and though “Chip ‘n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers” isn’t quite as good, it’s surprisingly close.

Of course, it helps to have Samberg and Mulaney voicing the title characters. The movie has fun with Dale’s desperation, as we see that he (unlike his cohort) went to the trouble of having “CG surgery” to make himself fresher for the 21st century. And Samberg’s general exuberance fits well with a dopey actor who just wants his best bud back. Mulaney, working in a more family-friendly vein than his standup, acquits himself just as well, as a solid, straight-man-like counterpart. (Granted, some bits, like Chip saying to himself, “Oh, I have a message on my landline … I don’t like that,” feel very much in Mulaney’s stand-up vernacular.)

It is, of course, entirely possible that some Disney Afternoon stalwarts may be disappointed at how this movie is very much not just an expansion of the “Chip ‘n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers” TV show. (The other regulars on that series do appear here, but they’re supporting characters at best.) Being up on your broader animation history may be useful, even beyond recognizing the poor titles of B-movie retreads, in that some of these jokes are more than just easy laughs. (That said, “Spaghetti Dogs” as a renaming of “Lady and the Tramp” is a solid visual gag.)

“Chip ‘n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers” is a proudly very daffy and strange movie. The human side of things, mostly represented by a superfan cop played by KiKi Layne, is less fleshed out than was the case in “Who Framed Roger Rabbit.” (Layne does as well as possible, but her character is arguably meant to be outshined by characters who are animated by hand, by computer, by clay, etc.) But by leaning more into the manic side of the story with the animated characters, “Rescue Rangers” is able to toe a very careful line between being family-friendly and representing the Lonely Island ethos. The pleasant surprise of the film is how much it leans towards the latter side of that line. That may not appeal quite so much to kids, but for this animation buff and Lonely Island fan, it hit the sweet spot.

/Film Rating: 8 out of 10