Chip and Dale (also rendered as Chip 'n' Dale or Chip an' Dale) are two chipmunk cartoon characters created in 1943 at Walt Disney Productions. According to Disney, Chip is the logical schemer, and Dale is the goofy, dim-witted one. In most cartoons they are either antagonists against Pluto or more frequently against Donald Duck. In the '50s, they were finally given their own series. Chip has a small black nose (it looks a bit like a chocolate "Chip" as a way to help people remember who is who) and two centered protruding teeth, whereas Dale has a big red nose and his two prominent buck teeth exposed.

Alvin and the Chipmunks is an American animated music group created by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. for a novelty record in 1958. The group consists of three singing animated anthropomorphic chipmunks: Alvin, the mischievous troublemaker, who quickly became the star of the group; Simon, the tall, bespectacled intellectual; and Theodore, the chubby, impressionable one. The trio is managed by their human adoptive father, David (Dave) Seville. In reality, "David Seville" was Bagdasarian's stage name, and the Chipmunks themselves are named after the executives of their original record label. The characters became a success, and the singing Chipmunks and their manager were given life in several animated cartoon productions.