Characters
Chip Chilla is a children's cartoon created by Eric Branscum and Ethan Nicolle of The Daily Wire fame, first released in 2023. It centers around the lives of a family of five anthropomorphic chinchillas, the clumsy father Chum Chum (Rob Schneider, later James Arnold Taylor), his responsible wife Chinny (Laura Osnes), and their three children, Chip (Josiah Hidalgo), Charla (Lucy Capri) and Chubbly (Deacon Branscum). The show teaches children morals through the perspective of young Chip and his siblings, often with zany schemes or the kids needing a lesson.
It ran for 12 episodes on the streaming service
Bentkey. Season 2 will come out on April 6th
The supporting cast also includes Matt Walsh as Tyrant Rex, Jeremy Boering as Captain Brontor, Travis Ariza as Arnie Dillo, John Bentley as Buck Rabbit, Rockne Moenkhoff as Gary Guinea Pig, Rich Little as Chupie Chilla and Chonda Pierce as Yaya Chilla.
Chip Chilla has examples of:
- A Dog Named "Dog":
- The main characters are a family of chinchillas with the surname "Chilla".
- Take a wild guess what species "Arnie Dillo", "Buck Rabbit" and "Gary Guinea Pig" are.
- The Chilla family's pet, Bug, is a part-insect creature.
- Adorable Fluffy Tail: Almost all animals, regardless of species, have cute, poofy tails. For whatever reason, the chilla families' tails look like foxes.
- Alliterative Family: The Chilla Family's names all start with "Ch".
- Amazing Technicolor Wildlife: Chinchillas come in a wide variety of colours, but blue and purple aren't one of them.
- Ancient Grome: One depicts Chip as a Greco-Roman citizen. His family (who are dressed similarly) wreak havoc on his empire (his collection of toys) by breaking them.
- Animals Not to Scale: Every animal is roughly around the same size in spite of their species.
- Artistic License: Sort of. Chinchillas as a species originate from South America, but the Chilla family lives in the US. This would possibly mean they're immigrants, but chinchillas as a breed typically do not migrate since their thick fur coats withstand the winter cold.
- Book Ends: The The Prince and the Pauper Whole-Plot Reference episode opens with the children reading the book to their parents, and ends with them explaining the moral to them.
- Butt-Monkey: It varies, but it's often Chip (due to his brattiness) or Chum Chum (due to his lack of intelligence).
- Children Are Innocent: While the main Chilla kids (and those around them) can be arrogant and selfish at times, they're good at heart. Meanwhile the adults around them are often idiotic.
- Coming of Age Story: At least for the pre-teen demographic - it's about a group of wildly misbehaved (but well meaning kids) learning how to figure their own identities and staying within their morals.
- Creator's Culture Carryover: The Chilla family celebrate American holidays and follow American traditions like Thanksgiving, since the Daily Wire is an American company. This also explains some other aspects like the Chillas encouraging homeschooling (a position supported by many Daily Wire staff).
- Depending on the Writer: Chum Chum is either a complete dumbass on par with Peter Griffin and Homer Simpson, or intelligent and empathetic enough to give a thorough and meaningful aesop to his kids.
- Eagleland: The first episode confirms the Chillas are American based on the flag the kids draw on the spaceship.
- Edutainment Show: Of the moral kind, though it features many Whole Plot References to classical literature.
- Expy:
- The main family are very obviously based off the dogs from Bluey. Chum Chum◊ even havily resembles Bandit, Bluey's father.
- The show itself is one of "PragerU Kids", another children's show that was also funded by a prominent American right leaning media company, although not as overtly political as that company's output.
- The main family are very obviously based off the dogs from Bluey. Chum Chum
- Flowers of Nature: The Chillas are Nature Lovers and oftentimes when they're outside, flowers are seen to denote proximity to nature.
- Four-Fingered Hands: Every character has this. Though with the main family it can be justified since chinchillas have 4 fingers in real life.
- Funny Animals: The main family are prone to wacky hijinks, especially the main three kids.
- Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: Chip Only Wears A Shirt But He Does Not Wear Pants
- Home Schooled Kids: The Chilla family homeschool their kids.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: The second episode, Extra! Extra! is about the children working as journalists for a news company, which is a nod to Chip Chilla being produced by The Daily Wire.
- The Moral Substitute: The show is essentially Bluey with more conservative / right-leaning values.
- Shown Their Work: Chinchillas in real life are actually very hyperactive and make terrible pets for inattentive owners and children. This is reflected with Chip, Charla and Chubbly, who spend half their time bouncing off the walls.
- Terrifying Tyrannosaur: Chip owns a toy T-Rex and when he plays with it, it has a menacing voice.
- Whole-Plot Reference:
- In "Chilla Swap", Chip, Charla and Chubbly insist they could be better parents than Chum Chum and Chinny, which results in the children and the adults swapping roles for the day. By the end of the episode, Charla compares their situation to that of The Prince and the Pauper, the book they were reading at the beginning of the episode.
- The episode "The Three Chillateers" (which has Chip, Charla and Chubbly team up with a bug to find their mother Chinny's missing earring) is one to Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers.
- The episode "Ahab Goes Bananas" has the Chilla family recreate the events of Moby-Dick.
- "Chip's Odyssey" is one to The Odyssey, with the lesson being about the importance of overcoming your fears and being brave.
