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The Chipmunk Adventure (1987) DVD Review
The Chipmunk Adventure (1987) DVD Credits:
The Chipmunk Adventure (1987) Directed by:
Janice Karman
The Chipmunk Adventure (1987) Written by:
Ross Bagdasarian Jr., Janice Karman
The Chipmunk Adventure (1987) Cast:
Ross Bagdasarian Jr., Janice Karman, Dody Goodman, Anthony De Longis
The Chipmunk Adventure (1987) Released by:
Not available at this time
Region:
1
The Chipmunk Adventure (1987) DVD Release Date:
31st March 2008
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The Chipmunk Adventure (1987) Synopsis:

When Dave Seville embarks on a solo business trip to Europe, a disappointed Simon, Theodore, and Alvin are left at home in the care of the accident-prone Miss Miller. But soon Alvin has agreed to an offer that will allow the boys to become jet-setters of their own--by participating in an around-the-world hot-air balloon race! Their main competitors in the airborne adventure are the Chipettes--Brittany, Jeannette, and Eleanor--but their real opponents turn out to be Klaus and Claudia, two conniving international crooks who have cooked up the "race" as a front for their worldwide diamond smuggling operation.

The Chipmunk Adventure (1987) DVD Review:

Alvin and the Chipmunks is a notable entry in animated popular culture because it has successfully crossed over into multiple generations of viewers. It all started in 1958 when Ross Bagdasarian Sr. wrote The Chipmunk Song. Although Bagdasarian recorded himself singing in the song, he used a voice enhancer to make his voice sound high and squeaky. Rather than crediting himself with the performance on the album, he credited The Chipmunks. What could have seemed like a one-time gimmick actually became a musical phenomenon, as The Chipmunk Song reached #1 on the Billboards. Soon enough people wanted to see what these Chipmunk characters actually looked like, and so The Alvin Show was created. It may have only lasted for a season, but it was still quite popular during the 1960s.

Two decades after The Alvin Show came and went, Alvin and the Chipmunks, another animated show starring the musical trio was released. It had a much longer lifespan than The Alvin Show, airing new episodes from 1983 to 1991. In 1987, The Chipmunks even starred in their own feature length film, The Chipmunk Adventure, which is being re-released on DVD this week. Strangely, this DVD is hardly any different from the previous release of the film, so one can only guess that it is being re-released to time out with the release of the most recent generational incarnation of Alvin and the Chipmunks that came out in 2007. If nothing else, their side-by-side comparison illustrates how much better the 1980s incarnation is than the modern CGI version.

The Chipmunk Adventure follows the Chipmunks and their female counterparts, The Chipettes, as they traverse the world on a mission to collect dolls filled with money. They don’t realize it, but they’re actually involved in a complicated worldwide diamond heist during their adventure. The plot isn’t much more complicated than that, and it’s really just an excuse for the Chipmunks to visit exotic locations and bounce jovially from music number to music number.

In watching the film I was struck by how much cartoons have changed in the last twenty years. After all, The Chipmunk Adventure is a film aimed primarily at younger children and yet you find characters smoking, drinking, and even getting drunk on multiple occasions. It’s not a complaint by any means, as I think children these days are a little too sheltered, but it illustrated how much more conservative children’s films have gotten in the last two decades.

The film features a variety of song performed by either the Chipmunks or the Chipettes. I don’t know if it’s because I grew up listening to The Chipmunks CD every day or if I just have a thing for squeaky voiced harmonizing, but I find all the songs in the film to be consummately performed. One would think that hearing the chipmunks sing for more than an hour would grow tiresome and the vocal gimmick would start to reveal itself, but I was consistently impressed by the realism of the songs. Each of the Chipmunks has a unique voice and a distinctive singing style that makes them seem like realistic characters, not to mention the fact that their musicianship is far beyond what an eight-year-old’s musical talent should be. Couple that with the fact that the on-screen choreography is always fun to look at, and you’ve got some incredibly catchy pop jingles performed by singers that don’t even exist. Who would’ve thought?

Everything about the film is pretty simplistic. The story, as previously mentioned, is about as skeletal as they come. The animation is typical of 1980s children’s television in that its colorful, but relatively mundane when compared to Disney films of the same era. Some of the writing is a bit questionable when viewed critically, the most glaring flaw being the blatant air-headedness of the Chipmunk’s dad, Dave, who has to be one of the most blissfully ignorant fathers ever. Yet despite its obvious drawbacks, The Chipmunk Adventure is an undeniably entertaining movie. There’s some unexpected humor, some great songs, and a whole lot of charm from the lead characters. You may not remember it in a month, but you’ll still have a great time watching it.

Unfortunately, this new DVD release adds very little in the way of special features. In fact, the actual DVD is exactly the same as the one that was released last year. The only thing new to this release is that it comes with the soundtrack for the film as a second disc. As previously mentioned, the songs are actually very fun to listen to, so the soundtrack is a good inclusion for those who don’t own the DVD already. However, if you already have the old DVD, it’s hard to recommend buying the same exact DVD again when you can just get the soundtrack by itself.

The Chipmunk Adventure is a breezy good time while it lasts. It’s full of fun music, likable characters, and a whimsical spirit. Furthermore, it’s a much better film than the recent Chipmunk debacle that came out last year, so if you’re in the mood to hang out with Alvin, Simon, and Theodore, then make sure you give The Chipmunk Adventure a spin.

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The Chipmunk Adventure (1987) DVD review written by: Anthony Berk

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