Alvin and the Chipmunks

Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007)

Runtime: 92 minutes

Directed by: Tim Hill

Starring: Jason Lee, David Cross, Cameron Richardson, Jane Lynch, and various voices

From: Fox 2000

This was the one movie I saw while on vacation; I returned yesterday afternoon back home and it's nice to be back. This movie... not so nice. I give some short thoughts about it below:

I did not see this by choice. It was put on TV for the sake of my twin 4 year old nephews. As a little kid I watched the 80's cartoon version of the Chipmunks. Last December while on vacation w/ the family, I saw the new CGI show on Nickelodeon; it was pretty bad. It tried to be “hip” and “cool” and it was not the old cartoon I remembered. I won't complain too loudly as it's always nice to see family; I just know that I am not the type to have kids of my own. Raising one (or more) would be quite stressful in general and in particular, I wouldn't want to see such programming on a frequent basis.

After having to see this movie, it's just as bad when it comes to the “hip” and “cool” aspect. This is an origin story where Alvin, Simon and Theodore first meet Dave Seville, and how they become singing stars. Sad to say, there are some problems... it is married to what is now 10 year old pop culture so at times it seems incredibly dated. Then there's the little thing of the Chipmunks being real terrors. For the first half of the movie, I felt really bad for Dave Seville... they got him fired from his job and screwed things up with a woman he was interested in.

David Cross (he literally took this role for a paycheck) as the evil record company executive villain was a saving grace. I mean, Jason Lee was He was such an A-hole that you did feel bad for the protagonists. But there's references to The Pussycat Dolls and toilet humor, so I sighed at that as while I doubt I have seen any episodes of the 80's cartoon since it went off the air in 1990, I know they didn't reference crass 80's songs or have such things as burping & farting. The wisecracks about marketing and product tie-ins seem rather disingenuous here. I do know that all four movies in the franchise made a boatload of cash no matter what me and actual critics think. What do we know? Them becoming a big deal again was a surprise to me and I do have fond memories of the cartoon. I just wish it'd be more timeless and not so unrefined. I could really carp and nitpick about particular scenes & moments, but I'll let the rating say a lot here.

Still, my now annual Christmas trips are nice and I hope everyone has a Happy Holidays this year.