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Alvin And The Chipmunks (2007) DVD Review
Alvin And The Chipmunks (2007) DVD Credits:
Alvin And The Chipmunks (2007) Directed by:
Tim Hill
Alvin And The Chipmunks (2007) Written by:
Jon Vitti
Alvin And The Chipmunks (2007) Cast:
Jason Lee, Cameron Richardson
Alvin And The Chipmunks (2007) Released by:
Bagdasarian Productions
Region:
1
Alvin And The Chipmunks (2007) DVD Release Date:
31st March 2008
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Alvin And The Chipmunks (2007) Synopsis:

A combination live action/CGI animation movie based on the lovable singing chimpunks who sang many catchy tunes dating back to their creation in 1958.

Alvin And The Chipmunks (2007) DVD Review:

You know those TV ads, where upon viewing the film, you find they contained all the best jokes. That’s Alvin and the Chipmunks.

The furry little critters (Justin Long, Jesse McCartney, and Matthew Gray Gubler) arrive in LA after their tree is cut down and placed in the lobby of Jett records as a Christmas decoration. Meanwhile, Dave Seville (Jason Lee) is being berated by music executive, Ian Hawke (David Cross), for his new acoustic mopey song. As Dave Seville leaves, downtrodden, the chipmunks escape in Seville’s stolen bread basket. After trashing his kitchen, the chipmunks woo Dave Seville’s goodwill with their musical talent. That night, Dave writes the classic Chipmunk song. After the trio puts the video up on the internet, they become a smash hit. But Ian Hawke is able to woo the musical rodents away from Dave with dreams of rock star grandeur. Can Dave Seville save his animal sons before they fall victim to the dark side of rock and roll?

The voice work for the chipmunks sounds fine, as long as you aren’t subconsciously thinking that Jesse McCartney is voicing the chubby Theodore or that Justin Long is the voice of Alvin who could probably beat up any of Justin Long’s previous characters. As for the two main human actors, their CGI costars constantly over shadow them. Jason Lee brings nothing new to the neurotic Dave Seville, while David Cross overplays the music executive. I know you’re supposed to hate the guy, but not within the first five seconds you meet him.

As for their CGI counterparts, the interaction between the real world and animated world is seamless. However, the chipmunks’ life-like appearance takes something away from their cuteness. The chipmunks aren’t adorned in their traditional clothing well into half way through the film, causing much confusion between Alvin and Simon. Also, though the tradition color scheme is used, Alvin only wears his iconic baseball hat twice in the film.

As for the music, a crucial element for any Alvin and the Chipmunks production, two traditional songs (Witch Doctor and The Chipmunks song) are remixed and updated for today’s generation. The Witch Doctor is massacred to a hip-hop beat, a misguided trend the rest of the film’s song follow. The squeaky voices of the chipmunks aren’t cute when put to hip-hop music, but the harmonies are at least in pitch. The original film songs don’t ring true to the bubbly nature of the furry trio, either in their lyrics or genre.

The special feature contains a history of the rodent trio titled: Chip-chip-hurray! A Chipmunk History. This featurette does two things. 1) Anyone who grew up on the TV series (whether it be the original 1960s or the more recent 1980s television shows) will become reminiscent and incensed that this movie was unable to carry over the charm of the TV shows. 2) If you don’t like hearing Christmas music in November, you have now have found the reason why. The Chipmunk Song set the precedent for Christmas music being played early. Apparently it was a bad form to play Christmas music in as early as November, and it should have stayed that way.

With numerous product placements and music choices aimed at placating the I-Pod generation, the core of the Alvin and Chipmunk’s franchise has been lost. The relationship between Alvin and Dave is absent because the characters spend half the movie apart. The advantage of this, if you call this an advantage, is more screen time for Theodore and Simon. But the seamlessly integrated animation can’t make up for the loss of heart in this film.

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Alvin And The Chipmunks (2007) DVD review written by: Lyz Reblin

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