Director: Tim Hill (Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties)
Writer: Jon Vitti and Will McRobb
Producers: Ross Bagdasarian Jr., Janice Karman and Steve Waterman
Starring: Jason Lee, David Cross, Cameron Richardson, Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler and Jesse McCartney
MPAA Rating: G
Running time: 90 min.
So here is the review that no one ever expected to see on Row Three. I was actually tempted to come in and give a glowing review of Alvin and the Chipmunks just as a joke but decided against it once I realized that this is not the terrible movie that everyone is making it out to be.
While watching this movie I started to compare it first to other kids movies and I can say without a doubt that sure the story is pretty standard fair but it actually kept my interest and unlike Shrek the Third I was not bored nor annoyed. Last year I took my son to Open Season and I came out if it pretty ticked off at the amount of violence in the movie. I’ve read a few reviews and they seemed to focus on the toilet/bodily function humour and I kept track there were two jokes. The first was seen in the commercial and the other was a very quick fart joke. Ebert talks about how he felt all three of the chipmunks were exactly the same and its only the Alvin’s shirt that allowed him to differentiate them. He also goes on to say that his is the wrong audience for this movie and I would say that he really wasn’t watching the same movie I was. Each of the chipmunks had their own personality and I had no trouble differentiating each of them from the other.
The story is pretty simple for Alvin and the Chipmunks. David Seville is a struggling musician who happens to find three singing chipmunks. The chipmunks and him form a band and they make it big. David has family issues and the chipmunks believe that he doesn’t want them anymore so they end up with the evil music producer who runs them ragged. David eventually realizes he cares about them as a family and comes to their rescue. Its not heady stuff but it was enough to keep my interest and I am going to have to say I did laugh a couple of times. The audience which was a mix of families and couples laughed a fair amount more than I did.
There is no where I am going to place Alvin and the Chipmunks up with any of the Pixar movies. The story is really simple and the actors, Jason Lee, David Cross and Cameron Richardson are serviceable enough to be believable. The movie is a bit forgettable but it was still enjoyable enough for grown ups and I can tell you my son loved the music and laughed more than a few times. If you have a kid and they want to see it I say take them out to it. They will enjoy it and you’ll get to enjoy their fun. If you don’t have kids Alvin and the Chipmunks really is worth a pass.
Oh Lord John. That plot was written using a computer program right?
Now Alvin may have been and the chipmunks may have been more interesting if Simon was played by Mariah Carey or something, but otherwise.
And I always postulate this: Why can’t parents take their kids to a movie that everyone can enjoy (Pixar, Miyazaki) instead of settling for stuff like Garfield, Alvin and Scooby-Doo which are more or less soulless pieces of flotsam.
Isn’t stuff like this the reason why THE SIMPSONS had that episode with POOCHY, that smug little cartoon turd-burger?
I will never see this, but I’m sue if I had kids it would be a decent movie. Especially with good, kids’ music and jokes. I ripped another bloggie for wasting their time with this, but since you have a kid, you get a pass.
I still cant get over the fact that in the trailer, Alvin literally eats a piece of Theodore’s crap
I agree that parents should take their kids to the really good ones (Pixar and Miyazaki) but I’m also not going to slam a movie completely because it doesn’t match up to those. Was this movie terrific nope. Was it mildly enjoyable yup.
I’ve watched a lot of straight to DVD movies and this is 100 times better than any of those. And yes I know the argument of comparing a gold piece of turd to other pieces of turd still means it is a piece of turd but I didn’t feel this one was a piece of turd.
I was thinking of a comparison between it and American Gangster really. Both movies do everything by the book and neither really delves into anything. I’m not going to give American Gangster a 1 out of 5 so I can’t give Alvin and the Chipmunks a 1 out of 5 either. (okay I’ll admit that the acting was better in American Gangster)
I will also argue though that pretty much every Pixar movie has as simple of plot as this one also though. They are definitely done a lot better, hence the reason I’d rate them with between a 4-5 out of 5 for each of them. This movie ranks up there higher than my enjoyment level from several of the summer blockbusters. Sure I’m getting half the enjoyment via my kid but truthfully I’d rather sit down with my son and watch this again than I would watch Pirates 3, Transformers or even the newest Die Hard movie. If I look back at my ratings for those movies I believe I gave them all right around a 2 or 2.5 out of 5. So this movie ranks higher.
Fair Enough. But this is precisely why I don’t like the use of “Star Ratings” or some such.
@Andrew, yup I totally agree with that. There is no way in hell I’d watch this without my kid.
@Goon: one my problems with all the reviews that I’m reading is that most reviews are focusing on that one scene and the fart scene by saying its full of that type of humour.
@Kurt: I’ll definitely agree with you on the ratings thing.
Without giving a rating my review would have come down to:
Very Simple Story
My son and the majority of audience enjoyed it
Serviceable acting
A few lame jokes that only kids (and childish) people will find funny
Somewhat enjoyable music and cute chipmunks
So in effect it comes down to being an average movie that is okay for families but there really is better stuff out there. See the other stuff first.
Well, my question is whether the Chipmunks in the film are the cutesy, politically correct versions of the Eighties cartoon or the somewhat less tamed, originals. That is what would make the difference between me actually watching this film and avoiding it like the plague.
“one my problems with all the reviews that I’m reading is that most reviews are focusing on that one scene and the fart scene by saying its full of that type of humour”
Since I have no interest in it, I have only been able to judge based on what the moviemakers decided to present to me. Fair? Probably not, but when the trailer I saw (this one in front of the Simpsons movie DVD) ONLY shows the shit eating scene, well…
Did I mention that in this scene, Alvin eats Theodore’s shit?
ALVIN
ATE
THEODORE’S
SHIT.
I mean seriously, why am I on the defensive about that?
I’d say they are way closer to the 80s cutesy ones than the ones from the 50s and 60s.
“I mean seriously, why am I on the defensive about that?”
lol…
Whats funny about that scene is that in the movie its actually Simon eating. Alvin is nowhere to be seen. So they “shot” it twice with two different characters.
Simon is supposed to be a man of science. Surely he would properly weigh letting Theodore hang versus injesting someone else’s feces.
I mean seriously… am I crazy for focusing on this? It’s 2 Chipmunks 1 Cup, and its rated G!
Are you critisizing a movie you haven’t seen? Your points are worthless if you have not seen the movie! You just love to argue…
ha ha, I get it. But I pointed out I wasnt being fair
I’m not reviewing it based on the fact that the main character eats his brothers shit in a childrens film, but… wait…
I forgot again. Alvin ate Theodore’s shit. Is there any other context I’m supposed to keep?
– If theres some thematic basis to the consumption of ones brothers feces that I’m missing, I apologize to the writers of this surely palatable slice of cinema.
Having two sons, aged 11 and 8, I’ve been subjected to my fair share of ‘family’ films that only the youngest members of the family could possibly enjoy. SCOOBY DOO, GARFIELD, Yu-GI-OH!, The POKEMON series, etc., etc. My sons loved these movies. As I mentioned in another post here, my youngest really wants to see ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS, and why not? From the trailer posted here, and the commercials we see on television, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that the film is geared towards his level, which I suppose is fine. Yet, every time I see another one of these films being released, I can’t help but think back to a few years ago, when my kids actually gave me a moment to smile.
It was 2002, when my sons were 6 and 3. In November of that year, I took them to see two movies. First, we saw Miyazaki’s SPIRITED AWAY. I had my concerns about taking them to this one (first off, it was PG for ‘scary images’. Next, it was nearly two hours long. Would it hold their interest?), but seeing as it was only out for one week in my area, and I really wanted to see it myself, I decided to risk it. Both of my sons were absolutely in awe watching this film. They didn’t so much as fidgit once throughout the entire two hours, and talked about the movie afterwards the whole way home. The film really captured their imagination in a big way, and as a result it turned into one of the best experiences I’ve ever had in a movie theater.
About two weeks after that, we went to see TREASURE PLANET, which at the time was the newest Disney film. The trailer looked good, and my kids were itching to see it. This one was about an hour and 20 minutes long, and had adventure, pirates, spaceships, and a talking robot used for comedy releif. In short, everything kids should love, right? Not only did my sons have a hard time sitting still once the movie began, but my youngest fell asleep about 40 minutes into it, and my oldest asked me around that same time how much longer it would be.
For me, these two experiences were proof positive that not all family films need be the cookie-cutter pablum Hollywood assumes all kids will fall in love with. If you challenge the kids, show them something that will stir their mind in the same way it stirs the senses, they will react accordingly.
So, while I’ve not seen ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS, I’ve seen enough movies like it to know what would be store for me if I were to do so. And yet, despite the fact that my sons have dragged me to some of the most painful ‘family’ films I’ve ever had to endure, I at least take heart in the fact that, when presented with quality, they were able to recognize it.
By the way, even though my youngest wants to see ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS, the turd-eating scene in the trailer didn’t make him laugh at all. In fact, he was disgusted at the thought that any creature, even a chipmunk, would do something like that. The filmmakers were aiming for laughs with that gag (no pun intended), but from my kid, all they got was revulsion.
Yes folks, Alvin and the Chipmunks is a $200M domestic grossing film. oi.
this site is really stupid alvin and the chipmunks are awsome though
ur stoopid