Writer: Ross Bagdasarian, Ross Bagdasarian Jr.
Director: Janice Karman
Cast: Ross Bagdasarian Jr., Janice Karman, Dody Goodman, Anthony De Longis, Susan Tyrrell, Frank Welker, Nancy Cartwright
Rating: G
Studio: Paramount
Release Date: April 1, 2008
Growing up, I never missed my Saturday morning cartoons. One of those cartoons just happened to be Alvin and the Chipmunks. What kid in the 80s didn’t like the chipmunks? I know I loved them. I know all my friends loved them. Dominick says he loved him and so did everyone he knew. Since Dominick grew up in another state than I did, I’ve pretty much discovered the Chipmunks were universal favorites of kids from all over the U.S. I watched the cartoons, the movies, had the action figures and the plush chipmunk dolls. I was very happy to hear that Paramount would be releasing two movies from the 1980s/1990s about the Chipmunks on the same day the Alvin and the Chipmunks movie would be released by 20th Century Fox. I was ready for Chipmunks overload.
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Chipmunk Adventure was a film I saw when I was little. Now I have the DVD, which I have used to help introduce my child and nephew to the retro chipmunks and show them what the cartoons were like ‘back in the day’. Fans of the chipmunks from the 1980s will love this DVD as much as I do. A nice, wholesome family cartoon, parents shouldn’t have a problem letting their children watch Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Chipmunk Adventure, even in this day and age where so many things are (or should be) censored and anything fun seems to be off limits.
Release Information:
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Chipmunk Adventure was the very first feature film the Chipmunks ever made. The Chipmunks made their original debut back in 1958 as a recording artist group of chipmunks. The group was created by Ross Bagdasarian (whose stage name was David Seville) and the chipmunks were aptly named after Liberty Records music executives Alvin Bennett, Simon Waronker and Theodore Keep. The trio soared to popularity with the television show in the 80s. They seem to be making somewhat of a comeback today.
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Chipmunk Adventure debuted in theaters on May 22, 1987. I remember seeing it the theaters and though I’m not sure of how much money this made at the box office, I remember out theater was packed full of kids, parents, grandparents and other adults. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was sold out at the time. The first DVD version of Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Chipmunk Adventure was released in 2006. However, Paramount decided to re-release a special edition on April 1, 2008. This DVD is available at Amazon for $14.99 and for similar prices at other major retailers.
The The Chipmunk Adventure Plot
The Chipmunk Adventure gets started with Dave going on an extended business trip to Europe. Miss Miller is set to babysit, even though all three chipmunks would probably be better off on their own. As usual, Alvin is taking things the hardest. Despite begging and pleading to be able to go to Europe with Dave, he doesn’t get to go and when Dave leaves him with Miss Miller he feels abandoned, as any melodramatic little chipmunk might. Once Dave is gone, the boys settle into their regular routine when Miss Miller is in charge. This means they end up taking over the house.
The next day, the chipmunks and their little girlfriends, the chipettes go out and end up getting involved in a competitive arcade game of Around the World in Thirty Days. A discussion is had about who would win a real race and of course, both Alvin and Brittany swear they would win, if given the chance. Of course, the conversation just happens to be overheard by a couple of diamond smugglers. The smugglers, Klaus and Claudia Vorstein are in an awful bind, unable to find any couriers that will go undetected when carrying their jewels. This is when Claudia devises a plan to allow the kids to play their game for real and to get her diamonds where they need to be in 30 days or less.
The chipmunks are somewhat apprehensive about accepting the challenge, but when Brittany and Alvin hear that the winner of the race will walk away with $100,000 they are more than willing to hop in that balloon immediately. Going off to prepare, Alvin creates a tape for Miss Miller of Dave’s voice, saying that the boys should join him in Europe. Of course, Miss Miller is dopey enough to fall for this and soon enough the boys are hopping in a hot air balloon, set to travel the world. As you might have guessed, Simon protests this the loudest, but Alvin wins this argument, as always.
The trip of both the boys and girls is somewhat hampered by thugs that are out to steal the diamonds, environmental factors, and the spying eyes of Dave, who they just happen to run into in Athens, though Dave thinks he’s just seeing things. Of course, this leads Dave to call Miss Miller to check up on the boys. Miss Miller has absolutely no idea what is going on, so she ends up confusing Dave in the process and he ends the call none the wiser. It does not take long for things to go from a race to win to a race for survival.
I remember watching this as a child and coming back to it years later it was quite enjoyable. I don’t know what it is about the chipmunks, but they were always one of my favorite cartoons growing up. This film just personifies everything that I love about the chipmunks. It’s fun, sassy, and has plenty of great chipmunk-style music. What more could you want from a chipmunks DVD?
Storyline/Plot: 
Replayability:
Acting:
Directing:
Audio/Visual:
If you already own the 2006 release of Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Chipmunk Adventure, you’ll know that this is the exact same movie quality. Sure, it’s excellent, but there is no point in double dipping since nothing has changed. Honestly, I feel like Paramount designed a new cover and put the old DVD into the new cases in order to profit off the 20th Century Fox Alvin and the Chipmunks live action movie release. That being said, the quality for Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Chipmunk Adventure is quite good. It offers a clear picture. The animation is beautiful, bright, enhanced since the original release and I don’t think there were very many if any visual flaws. Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Chipmunk Adventure is presented in full frames at a 1.33:1 aspect ratio.
The audio is a Dolby Digital 5.1 English Surround mix. This soundtrack is pretty nice. It is also from the original DVD release. The sound is available in closed captioning though there are no subtitles. For when Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Chipmunk Adventure was made, it sounds and looks great. I don’t really have much to complain about other than the fact that this did not change at all from the original DVD release.
Visual: 
Audio:
Bonus Features:
While this is supposed to be a special edition re-release DVD it really doesn’t feature anything different than the original DVD release. The only bonus seems to be original chipmunk artwork, which was available in the first DVD release and a bonus CD, which wasn’t released with the last release. This bonus CD is the soundtrack for the movie. If you already own the DVD, you might just want to save your money by purchasing the soundtrack, if you really want it, because Paramount offers nothing special in the way of bonuses, otherwise.
Bonus Features:
Bottom Line:
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Chipmunk Adventure is no different in this release than in the previous DVD release. While I didn’t have the original release, and I’m glad I have this now, you will be disappointed with this if you purchase it since you’ll be buying the same DVD all over again. Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Chipmunk Adventure is highly recommended for those who do not have this release already. Otherwise, avoid this release. Perhaps the next version of Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Chipmunk Adventure will be an improvement.
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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.
