Movie Info:
Writer: Various
Director: Various
Cast: Ross Bagdasarian Jr., Janice Karman, Nancy Cartwright, Tress MacNeille, Frank Welker
Rating: G
Studio: Paramount
Release Info:
DVD Release Date: September 9, 2008
Online Availability: Amazon for $
Part of the beauty of children’s television is capitalizing off current pop culture in hopes of creating something that the whole family can enjoy. Whether or not this is done accurately in Alvin And The Chipmunks Go To The Movies: Daytona Jones And The Pearl Of Wisdom really depends on your interpretation of The Chipmunks and whether or not you find them appealing at all.
The “Go to the Movies” series of Chipmunk shorts was created to parody popular movies at the time. In the past, we have reviewed the Chipmunks At the Movies parodies of Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Big and Back to the Future. This time around Indiana Jones is parodied along with a few other popular movies from the 80s. Some might think that this DVD release is perfect timing with Crystal Skull being released on DVD next month. Whatever you might think, this is a DVD that is probably going to be more suitable to kids and not the adults that grew up watching the Chipmunks.
As an adult I am still a fan of Alvin, Simon, and Theodore. They can be innocent, rambunctious, and certainly made for children but they are funny in all of the right (and nostalgic) ways. However, the one thing I was never fond of was the Go to the Movies parodies. I am not sure if it’s because it always felt like the creators were trying to make a cheap buck or it is something else. Whatever it is, these parodies end up being mildly funny to children and totally useless to adults, as much as it pains me to say such things about my favorite woodland creatures.
The Alvin And The Chipmunks Go To The Movies: Daytona Jones And The Pearl Of Wisdom Plot
Along with the main parody of Indiana Jones, the Chipmunks also parody Batman and Robocop. The Chipmunk parodies are entitled “Daytona Jones and the Pearl of Wisdom,” “Batmunk,” and “Robomunk.” Sadly, none of them stand out in my mind as classic. I got a few laughs and kids will certainly get more, but this is far from family entertainment unless the adults are watching begrudgingly.
Alvin plays Daytona Jones with Simon being his brainy sibling, Saratoga. Meanwhile, Theodore is the miniature, rotund Hong Kong guide. Daytona travels through Hong Kong and the Pacific on a search for the Pearl of Wisdom. If you are a fan of this children’s show, all this parody will do is leave you wishing that this is an actual Chipmunks episode from the television series.
In “Batmunk” Simon assumes the role of Bruce Wayne, aka Batmunk. Alvin is the Jokester, which is a fitting role for him. Theodore takes on the role of Wayne’s assistant, Happy. The Jokester is causing a ruckus by replacing Batmunk toys with Jokester toys all over town. There a few other things that develop here, but I wouldn’t want to give them away.
Things are finished up with “Robomunk.” Like the others, this is pretty disappointing. The short version is that Officer Malone finds himself hurt, which leads Dr. Simonize (guess who?) to turning him into a robotic chipmunk that is able to rid the town of Mr. Pinky’s horrific graffiti. Mr. Pinky doesn’t take this lying down and creates a big robot of his own. The other two might have been mediocre, but this last one is just downright bad.
These episodes all fail for one main reason. Most of the kids that this set would target have no idea about Robocop and little idea of the original 80s movies of Indiana Jones and Batman. So, the parody element will just go over their heads. Meanwhile, parents aren’t going to be interested in these unless they are pretending for the sake of their children. Don’t blame the Chipmunks. Just make sure that you stick to the actual show and not this sad attempt at parody.
Storyline/Plot: 
Replayability:
Acting: 
Directing:
Audio/Visual:
Alvin And The Chipmunks Go To The Movies: Daytona Jones And The Pearl Of Wisdom is an older set of cartoons so the quality here is not going to be as stellar as something that came out last week. The aspect ratio here is a standard 1.33:1. I noticed moments of softness, occasional grain, and some compression issues. None of these things were incredibly distracting, but they were present.
The audio comes in with Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo sound. The sound is limited to say the least. Things are easy to hear and listen to, but it’s not a dynamic sound overall. The audio is more prevalent in the front channels and sounds remain there for the majority of the audio presentation. Volume toggling was not necessary in most cases. It’s not a bad offering here, it’s just rather plain. Subtitles are not available, but Closed Captioning is represented for people with hearing problems.
Visual:
Audio:
Bonus Features:
The only thing available in the special features department is some promos for other kid’s shows. All in all, there isn’t a lot here to chew on. Sure, it’s nice to see your options as far as available family/children DVDs, but I would hardly classify these as special features.
Bonus Features:
Bottom Line:
Alvin And The Chipmunks Go To The Movies: Daytona Jones And The Pearl Of Wisdom might be suitable for some kids, but if you’re feeling nostalgic pick up another Chipmunks set instead. There are many great sets to choose from that are much better than this one. This is likely the weakest (at least so far) of the At the Movies set. If your kids love the chipmunks and you want to get this for them I highly recommend renting it first so you don’t waste your money on something they won’t find interesting.
Overall Rating:
Technorati Tags: DVD Review, Paramount Home Video, Alvin And The Chipmunks Go To The Movies: Daytona Jones And The Pearl Of Wisdom, Alvin, Simon, Theodore, Dave, Batmunk, Robomunk, Batman, Cartoon, Robocop, Indiana Jones
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 Psychology. She plans to get her Ph.D and work as a therapist in the field of human sexuality. 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.
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