DVD Review: Alvin and the Chipmunks

Writer: Jon Vitti, Will McRobb, Chris Viscardi
Director: Tim Hill
Cast: Jason Lee, David Cross, Cameron Richardson, Justin Long, Jane Lynch, Matthew Gray Gubler, Jesse McCartney
Rating: PG
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: April 1, 2008

Growing up in the 80s, I am proud to admit I was a huge fan of the Alvin and the Chipmunks television show. When I heard they were going to make a live action version of the chipmunks I was somewhat worried. My favorite cartoon is Garfield and we all remember what happened when that went live action. Two crappy Garfield flicks later, the thought of the Chipmunks having the same fate didn’t fly well with me. When I saw the trailer, I was amused. I was going to give this movie a shot and keep an open mind.

I’m glad I did. Alvin and the Chipmunks was a funny, entertaining blast back to my childhood, with some modern touches that really helped to keep my son entertained. We watched this one as a family and if you have kids between the ages of 5 and 14 they should really enjoy this. Older teens may scoff at it, but there is still humor to be found for both them and adults. I laughed. I thought it was cute, and I didn’t find anything inappropriate. In fact, I was impressed by the message of the story. Hopefully, you will be impressed by it, as well.

Release Information:
The North American debut of Alvin and the Chipmunks happened on December 14, 2007. There were massive amounts of promotion for the movie by 20th Century Fox, leading up to the film’s release. While critics didn’t seem to like the movie, the box office numbers don’t seem to agree with them. In its first weekend, Alvin and the Chipmunks was in second place and while the film was released in over 3,000 theaters, it grossed over $44 million in this weekend alone, domestically.

Today, the film boasts a profit of well over $355 million worldwide. This value makes Alvin and the Chipmunks the highest rated live action/animated combination film adaptation of all time surpassing, you guessed it, Garfield by over $150 million. Quite pleased with the success of the film, 20th Century Fox has decided to release Alvin and the Chipmunks on DVD on April 1, 2008. The film will be available for purchase at all major retailers. At Amazon, for example, you can purchase Alvin and the Chipmunks through pre-order in both a standard edition and Blu-Ray. The standard DVD costs $15.99 and the Blu-Ray is $27.95.

The Alvin and the Chipmunks Plot
Alvin and the Chipmunks begins with the three chipmunks, Alvin (Justin Long), Simon (Matthew Gray Gubler – Criminal Minds) and Theodore (Jesse McCartney) hard at work in their forest home, collecting nuts for the winter. As they work they are singing a rousing rendition of “Bad Day” by Daniel Powter. After Alvin accidentally empties their supply of nuts he curses the tree and it falls down…or rather is chopped down. Of course, being chipmunks they don’t understand what’s going on. They just think that Alvin made the tree mad.

The chipmunks, while in the tree, arrive in the city unexpectedly. They had no idea that their prior residence would end up becoming a Christmas tree. The Christmas tree just happens to be in the lobby of the building of JETT Records. On the same day as their arrival, Dave Seville (Jason Lee) is in the building, trying to sell his songs to his former college buddy and JETT executive, Ian Hawke (David Cross). Ian hates Dave’s new song so much that he basically kicks him out of the building and recommends a new line of work.

After Dave steals a muffin basket to get back at Ian in the only way that he seems to be able to, the chipmunks hitch a ride in that basket, afraid they are going to get run over in the busy lobby. Dave brings the basket home, unaware of what is inside, and after tossing the basket in the garbage he proceeds to dump his musical equipment out the door, and into his yard before passing out on the couch. With Dave lounging, the chipmunks make their move, wanting to find out how much food Dave has for winter storage. As they rummage through the pantry, Dave becomes suspicious at all of the funky sounds that he is hearing. When he discovers three chipmunks raiding his pantry and making a mess of his kitchen, as a result, he freaks out.

The Chipmunks shoot back by dropping a jar of popcorn onto Dave’s head and knocking him out. Then they get worried when Dave isn’t waking up, but when he finally does they need to go on the defensive again. That is until they finally get kicked out in the rain and are left to their own devices. Doing what they do best, they break out into song and when Dave hears them he is a little more receptive to the idea of having three talking chipmunks for roommates. Of course, they have to earn their keep by singing the songs he writes. Well…that is, after he goes and drags his musical equipment back off the lawn and out of the rain.

The first song Dave writes deals with the love of Christmas that the chipmunks have, despite never having celebrated the festive holiday. He is inspired to write the song as he listens to their harmonizing snores. This turns into the incredibly popular, award winning, “The Chipmunk Song”. He even makes a little backdrop where they can perform the song. The next morning he cannot wait to show off the new song, but the chipmunks are busy doing other things, like watching Spongebob. Dave soon realizes that Simon needs glasses and he finds a small pair that fit his head. After playing the song for the boys he decides to take them back to JETT records.

When the boys see Ian they freeze up and cannot sing. Dave gets kicked out of JETT again, but this time he has to head to his day job. He arrives late and when he’s offering his presentation to a new client he discovers the chipmunks have colored all over his presentation boards. Realizing that the client probably has little interest in the size of Theodore’s butt (which is one of the lovely drawings – aptly labeled no less) he offers his resignation with as much dignity as he can. Out of work and stuck with three chipmunks with stage fright, Dave is pretty annoyed when he gets home. Of course, today had to be the day that Dave has a dinner date planned with his ex-girlfriend, Claire (Cameron Richardson). It’s obvious that he still holds a torch for her, though she just wants to be friends, so she says.

Needless to say, the chipmunks manage to make the date go poorly and feeling bad at how dejected Dave seems to be, they make things right with Ian. Ian is so thrilled to hear the remarkable chipmunks he decides to sign them on the spot. It isn’t long before Dave is hearing his song in the supermarket. However, Ian has other motives for signing the chipmunks. He wants to make money, money, and more money. He deviously plots to get the chipmunks away from Dave by being their cool, Uncle Ian, and to change their image to the more hip hop friendly, caffeined up chipmunks that can make him millions.

This is a family movie so there is not going to be much, if anything, in the way of suggestive material. The story goes where it needs to go and is entertaining in the process. There is plenty of humor that the kids will laugh at and the adults should manage to have a good time, as well. As a fan of Criminal Minds, I really got a kick of the slightly nerdy, Dr. Reid playing the equally nerdy, Simon. All of the voice-over work here was incredibly entertaining. As for Jason Lee, he has received a lot of slack from critics, claiming that he was wooden in his performance. However, when you consider Dave Seville he might have been right on the money. As I recall, Dave wasn’t exactly a hip cat.

I found Alvin and the Chipmunks to be cuter than I thought it would be. I wasn’t sure where they would take the story, but I liked the hidden moral lesson in it all. I don’t think kids will pick up on it right away, but the parents will. In the end, this is a film that offers a little something for everyone. As a child, I loved Alvin and the other chipmunks. Today, I still have a fondness for them and am glad I had a chance to add this to my collection.

Storyline/Plot:
Replayability:
Acting:
Directing:

Audio/Visual:
While my edition of Alvin and the Chipmunks was a screener copy, I wouldn’t be surprised if the quality visually is the same as the final quality for the DVD version. It looked great. Everything was clear. Colors were vibrant. I didn’t see any visual flaws. The animation fit in well with the live action and everything seemed to flow together smoothly. There is the option for either widescreen or full frames when you watch the movie. I chose the widescreen. The anamorphic quality is transferred at an aspect ratio of 2.85:1 while the standard full frames are in 1.33:1 format. You switch formats by flipping the disc over.

From the music to the dialogue, both of which are important to Alvin and the Chipmunks, the sound came through loud and clear. The performances by the Chipmunks are all robust sounding and make good use of the speakers. Alvin and the Chipmunks offers three tracks. The first is English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround. This is the one I used. There are also Dolby Surround Stereo tracks in both Spanish and French. All three tracks offer Closed Captioning for the hearing impaired. Subtitles are available in English and Spanish.

Visual:
Audio:

Bonus Features:
Both sides of the Alvin and the Chipmunks DVD offer bonuses. There aren’t a lot, but I enjoyed what was there. On the widescreen side, I really enjoyed the featurette, “Hitting the Harmony”. This came in at close to ten minutes. This looks at the music department that worked on Alvin and the Chipmunks and how they updated and modernized the chipmunks sound without having them lose their appeal. It’s fun, informative, and cool to watch.

On the standard side, there is a really cool featurette. An impressive, informative, twelve minute look at the origins of the chipmunks is available in “Chip-Chip-Hooray!” Not only does this show how the chipmunks came to be, it also includes interviews with important people from chipmunks’ history including the son of the creator Ross Bagdasarian Jr. Bagdasarian Jr. has been a major part of the chipmunks enterprise lending his voice and creative talent to creating chipmunk adventures since his father’s death in 1972.

Alvin and the Chipmunks also features promos and trailers for the Alvin and the Chipmunks soundtrack, The Seeker and Garfield’s FunFest. The only other feature is an inside look at the newly released 20th Century Fox movie, Horton Hears a Who!. While this may not be enough for some fans, I found everything available to be worth watching. Ultimately, you will have to decide if there are enough bonuses for you.

Bonus Features:

Bottom Line:
Alvin and the Chipmunks is better than your average family film. If you have children, you may want to rent it first. Some parents don’t like any reference to the hip hop lifestyle, despite how it is portrayed (as having a negative impact on those involved in it). I didn’t find it offensive. I would let my three year old nephew watch this without a second thought. Still, as parents, it will be up to you whether you let your kids watch Alvin and the Chipmunks. While I highly recommend it and found it hilarious, it might not be right for you or your family. Make sure to check it out before you purchase it.

Overall Rating:

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Written by Ashtyn Evans - Visit Website
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Ashtyn is in her early 30s. She is a mother, writer, college student, and music lover. Ashtyn has had a successful career as a writer since 2003. She turned to blogging in 2005. Ashtyn attends Wright State where she is getting a degree in Psychology. She has extensive knowledge in SEO and Social Media Development.