Watching Alvin and the Chipmunks is a goofy, guilty pleasure, something that transports you back to the silliness of your childhood. The movie is better than expected and even - I hate to admit this - charming.
The movie opens with the mischievous Alvin, the brainy Simon, and the sweet Theodore hanging out in a tree in a forest, singing Daniel Powter's "Had a Bad Day." Suddenly, their home crashes to the ground as a work crew chops it down.
Clinging to the branches, the chipmunks find themselves transplanted to the lobby of Jett Records, where their erstwhile home becomes a Christmas tree for the firm headed by the conniving Ian Hawk. Ian gets a visit from his former college roommate, Dave Seville, who wants to play Ian his new song.
Ian abruptly tells the innocent Dave that his music stinks and to find a new career.
On his way out, a dejected Dave swipes a basket of muffins from the Jett offices - and the three hungry chipmunks hop onto the basket and move in with Dave.
The chipmunks wreak havoc on his bachelor pad, storing syrup-soaked toaster waffles under the rug, doing cannonballs into a bowl of cheese balls, and committing other rodent pranks.
Dave kicks them out until he hears them sing, motivating him to write "The Chipmunk Song."
"Want a plane that loops the loop,
"Me, I want a hula hoop,
"We can hardly stand the wait,
"Please Christmas, don't be late"
Longtime Chipmunk fans will recognize this as the ditty that Ross Bagdasarian, Sr., the late Chipmunks founder, penned almost 50 years ago. His son, Ross Bagdasarian, Jr., was the producer of this movie, which morphed the chipmunks from 2-D cuddly cartoons to 3-D rock stars who sing more than just sweet Christmas tunes.
Purists might not like the fact that the modern-day chipmunks perform hip-hop numbers at sold-out concerts and are mobbed by fans and cameras, but it is a nice device for updating the chipmunk movie and parodying celebrity culture.
As Ian, David Cross of Arrested Development makes a good villain. He is a dork masquerading as a slick music exec. With expensive toys, Ian lures the chipmunks into leaving Dave and moving in with him, then he exploits them by making them tour relentlessly and lip-sync a performance.
Jason Lee of My Name Is Earl does a nice job of shedding his redneck persona and impersonating the sweetly hapless Dave. His "Alviiiiiin" cry is impressive, especially when you consider he often had to act opposite nothing.
The chipmunks were busy doing their antics in the computer lab, and the voices of Alvin, Simon and Theodore come to life courtesy of actors Justin Long (Dodgeball), Matthew Gray Gubler (Criminal Minds), and Jesse McCartney.
The movie is directed by Tim Hill, who did Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties, another story about a clueless guy and his mischievous animal(s). Alvin and the Chipmunks is a much funnier movie than Garfield.
This is not an inspired children's movie such as Ratatouille or Beauty and the Beast, but Alvin is still frothy fun for both kids and childish adults.
The Block News Alliance consists of The Blade and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Cristina Rouvalis is a staff writer for the Post-Gazette.
Contact her at:
crouvalis@post-gazette.com
First Published December 14, 2007, 10:40 a.m.
