Filed under: — Cartoon, Classic Cartoons, DVD, Television
Written by: Ashtyn at 12:40 AM
Writers: Ross Bagdasarian, Cynthia Friedlob, John Semper
Directors: John Kimball, Rudy Larriva, Charles A. Nichols
Cast: Ross Bagdasarian Jr., Nancy Cartwright, Janice Karman, Tress MacNeille, Frank Welker
Rating: G
Studio: Paramount
Release Date: April 1, 2008
I don’t recall watching the 1990 television series Alvin & The Chipmunks Go to the Movies. The premise of the show was to have the Chipmunks and Chipettes spoof various movies. Many of these movies were big during the time the show was released. Alvin & The Chipmunks Go to the Movies was released on DVD in 2007. A second edition DVD is being released as Alvin & The Chipmunks Go to the Movies – Funny We Shrunk the Adults. This DVD contains three new stories, so it’s different than the original.
While I don’t own the original DVD for Alvin & The Chipmunks Go to the Movies I can’t comment on if the stories (all of which are spoofs of Hollywood Blockbusters) are better in the Alvin & The Chipmunks Go to the Movies – Funny We Shrunk the Adults set or its predecessor. I can’t imagine the previous release is not enjoyable though because it is, after all, a cartoon feature about the Chipmunks.
Release Information:
Alvin & The Chipmunks Go to the Movies was a spinoff of the original Alvin and the Chipmunks television series. The original show ran throughout the early 1980s and included both the Chipmunks and the Chipettes. The show was on in 1990 and featured spoofs of popular movies at the time. This DVD features the title spoof “Funny We Shrunk the Adults”, “Back to Our Future” and “Bigger”.
Paramount has decided to release Alvin & The Chipmunks Go to the Movies – Funny We Shrunk the Adults and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Chipmunk Adventure on the same day 20th Century Fox releases the live action movie, Alvin and the Chipmunks. I know this looks kind of suspicious, as to what the motives are by Paramount, but it’s pretty clear why these two Chipmunk sets were released. Both Alvin & The Chipmunks Go to the Movies – Funny We Shrunk the Adults and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Chipmunk Adventure will be released on April 1, 2008. You can pre-order your copy of Alvin & The Chipmunks Go to the Movies – Funny We Shrunk the Adults at Amazon for $14.99.
The Alvin & The Chipmunks Go to the Movies – Funny We Shrunk The Adults Plot
Alvin & The Chipmunks Go to the Movies – Funny We Shrunk The Adults is part of a television series that focused on Alvin, Simon, and Theodore acting out popular movies in their own chipmunk way. This particular DVD welcomes us to chipmunk interpretations of Big (“Bigger”, in this case), Honey, I shrunk the Kids (“Funny, We Shrunk the Adults”), and Back to the Future (“Back to Our Future”).
The DVD starts off with “Funny, We Shrunk the Adults”. Simon is creating the ultimate shrinking machine. However, it seems to have a few kinks that need to be worked out. Alvin doesn’t have the least interest in Simon’s contraption. Instead, he is interested in the pretty girl who just moved in next door. Wanting to impress her, he embellishes all kinds of stories about all of the cool things that they are able to do at his house.
In the meantime, Dave is currently out picking up Miss Miller, and while he expects Alvin and the other chipmunks to be cleaning the house while he is gone, Alvin obviously has more important plans. Needless to say, Dave and Miss Miller end up getting shrunk by Simon’s machine. Not only do the chipmunks have to find out they’ve been shrunk. They also need to find a way to protect them until they can be made their normal size again. They also decide to clean the house in the process, which creates a load of problems for the miniature people in the house.
In “Bigger”, Alvin becomes frustrated because no one will take his rock band seriously. When he makes wish to become bigger he has no idea how it will change his life. This was my least favorite of the three. I understand that they had to make accommodations to spoof the movie, but the chipmunks weren’t brothers in this and I just didn’t like the idea too much. Alvin lived with Dave and the other boys probably had their own parents, though you never see them. The story, otherwise, was pretty close to the movie with Alvin becoming a toy executive and eventually learning that being big isn’t what its cracked up to be.
Finally, “Back to Our Future” closes things out. When A`lvin and the Chipmunks realize their bodies are fading in a picture, they are shocked to learn that it is because Alvin (in the past) has decided to give up singing to become a dry cleaner. Alvin, Simon, and Theodore in the present, need to go to the past and convince the chipmunks in the past to continue with their music so that they can go back home and get back to their normal lives.
Of the three episodes, I would have to say that “Back to Our Future” was my favorite. One of the reasons that I liked this episode was because it was enjoyable to see the chipmunks in present and past form. When in the past, the original drawings of the chipmunks (from the 1950s) appear to have been used and that made things even more interesting. This was not my favorite DVD of the chipmunks, but it will please kids if you are looking for a non-offensive cartoon for children of nearly any age.
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Audio/Visual:
Alvin & The Chipmunks Go to the Movies – Funny We Shrunk the Adults is presented in a standard, 1.33:1, full frame format. While this looked good, especially for its age, it wasn’t the best quality I’ve seen for a cartoon, especially one that was made in recent years. While there seems to be some updating, there are some visual flaws that are present in most, older cartoons and this one isn’t any different. Still, the quality was watchable. The flaws that were there didn’t affect my viewing pleasure in the least.
The English Dolby Digital Stereo soundtrack with Closed Captioning available for the hearing impaired is better than the visual quality. While it isn’t quite as robust as a 5.1 track would be, it gets the job done. I didn’t have to volume toggle and everything sounded clear, including the music. Overall, the soundtrack is a decent mix.
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Bonus Features:
There are no bonuses included on the Alvin & The Chipmunks Go to the Movies – Funny We Shrunk the Adults DVD. This is what we like to call a barebone release.
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Bottom Line:
Alvin & The Chipmunks Go to the Movies – Funny We Shrunk the Adults features episodes that haven’t been released before on DVD. If you’re a fan of the Chipmunks, purchasing this is a no brainer. Parents with children will want to check this DVD out because this would be a great way to introduce a new generation of kids to the Chipmunks. I loved all of the episodes on the Alvin & The Chipmunks Go to the Movies – Funny We Shrunk the Adults DVD. This one comes highly recommended for both kids and adults no matter their age. Nearly anyone will find something to enjoy in this set of episodes.
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Technorati Tags: Alvin & The Chipmunks, Go to the Movies, Funny We Shrunk the Adults, Bigger, Cartoon, Kids DVD, Review, Family
Written by Ashtyn Evans - Visit Website
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Ashtyn lives in her home state of Michigan with her life partner, Dominick, her 14 year old son, and her baby, the Shih-Tzu, Oliver Twist. Ashtyn is in college, going for a degree in Criminal Justice. She eventually plans to intern with the FBI, if she can. Ashtyn is an experienced and talented chef. She also excels at writing and has worked as a professional writer for the past five years. Ashtyn enjoys spending time with her son and four year old nephew, watching movies, listening to music, and writing works of fiction.
