Alvin and the Chipmunks, originally David Seville and the Chipmunks and billed for their first two decades as the Chipmunks, are an American animated virtual band and media franchise first created by Ross Bagdasarian for novelty records in 1958. The group consists of three singing animated anthropomorphic chipmunks named Alvin, Simon, and Theodore.
The song was a hit, holding number one for three weeks in the Billboard Top 100 chart. Nothing makes any reference to chipmunks, but the song is sometimes included on Chipmunk compilations as if the Chipmunks had provided the voice of the Witch Doctor. Bagdasarian did record a Chipmunks version of "Witch Doctor", which appeared on the second Chipmunks album, Sing Again with the Chipmunks, in 1960. Bagdasarian performed the song "live" (with a pre-recorded track of the pitched-up voice) on The Ed Sullivan Show.
Bagdasarian (again as Seville) recorded a follow-up song, "The Bird on My Head", singing a duet with his own sped-up voice as the bird. It also reached the Top 40, peaking at No. 34.[4] While driving in Sequoia National Park, Bagdasarian saw a chipmunk dash in front of him. That moment inspired him to create his chipmunk characters.[5] He again used the same technique to pitch up the voice to create the chipmunks.
After the success of "Witch Doctor", Liberty Records asked Bagdasarian to create another successful novelty record. He then came up with three singing chipmunks who were named, as an inside joke, after executives at Liberty Records. Alvin (named after Al Bennett), Simon (named after Si Waronker), and Theodore (Ted Keep).[6]
While never mentioned, in the CGI movies and 2015 series, the chipmunks are no longer triplets and celebrate different birthdays; but seem to be around the same school age. In the 2007 feature film, the chipmunks lived in a tree, fending for themselves as their parents had taken off to join a hippie commune and had problems gathering nuts for the winter. Their tree is cut down and carted off to grace the entrance lobby of a city office building, with them in it. They eventually wind up in Dave's home, where they wreak havoc. After being thrown out, Dave notices how well they can sing, making them famous. They eventually win his heart.
Bagdasarian and his wife, Janice Karman, had always voiced the chipmunks since they revived the franchise; however, for the film, they were replaced by Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler and Jesse McCartney for marketing reasons,[19] despite the fact that for the first trailer of the film, Bagdasarian and Karman voiced the chipmunks.
Principal photography began on March 28, 2007,[21] making it the first film to be produced under the leadership of Fox Animation president Vanessa Morrison.[22] Seville's house was built on Sunset Gower Studios and contains references to Bagdasarian Sr.'s life. The set pieces included an upright piano he used to write his songs and a flower visual he painted; the house's address number includes 1958, the year he created the chipmunk characters; and the house design is based on a cottage built in 1919, the year Bagdasarian Sr. was born.[17] In shots where Lee interacted with the chipmunks, the actor rehearsed with small stuffed animals indicating where the chipmunks would be; the animals were then removed when it was time to shoot, and he used his memory of where the animals were.[23]
According to Bagdasarian Jr., getting the look of the chipmunks suited for a live-action setting while maintaining the essence of the cartoon designs was challenging, and it took until September 10, 2006, for the artists to get it right.[25] Hill instructed the artists to make the chipmunks look realistic, but not entirely like chipmunks.[23] In addition to observing real chipmunks offered by Universal Studios, Rhythm and Hues studied all versions of the chipmunk characters from past Alvin media for conceiving, fur-texturing, and animating designs for the film.[23] Human dancers were referenced for animating the dance movements of the chipmunks, and YouTube videos of famous guitarists playing the guitar influenced how Alvin's guitar-playing was animated.[23] High-dynamic-range images of sets were also used for lighting the chipmunks to fit the live-action shots.[23] The most difficult part of integrating the CGI critters in the live-action shots was match moving for instances when they climb on Seville's head.[23] For scenes where the chipmunks interacted with props, some of them were live-action props while others, such as a paper airplane, were produced and animated with computers.[23]
Ty Burr of the Boston Globe said, "the script leans heavily on the pranks and big-eyed cuteness of the li'l guys and leaves the live actors with unfunny dialogue and nothing to do."[44] According to The New York Times, "its animated protagonists are egregiously eclipsed by the live-action characters."[43] Chicago Reader criticized the "cardboard" characters of David Seville and Ian Hawke.[45] The most common censure was the film's satire on commercialism, which was hypocritical due to being bombarded with popular brands, including the chipmunks themselves.[45][46][47][48][49][50][51] Explained Burr, the film's message "is torn between the glitz that sells and the homilies that endure."[44]
The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote, "the values and the CGI are good."[63] Some critics praised the chipmunk protagonists;[45][46] with Vice writing they were "integrated pretty well into the live-action elements."[54] The A.V. Club wrote, "the manic Chipmunks wear out their welcome pretty quickly."[53] The Globe and Mail also commented on the shot composition: "you've got regulation-height dancers and musicians backing a singing group the size of kids' mittens."[64] "As rendered here by the average-looking CGI effects, the characters are underwhelming in their appeal, lacking the charm of their previous animated incarnations," summarized The Hollywood Reporter.[59] Some reviewers, including Ebert, also panned the lack of distinction between the chipmunks.[62][63] However, Variety thought there was a "persuasive interaction of human and digital co-stars."[52]
Alvin and the Chipmunks was released in DVD in North America, Greece, and Mexico on April 1, 2008; Hong Kong on April 10, 2008; the United Kingdom on April 14, 2008; and Taiwan on November 24, 2008. On Blu-ray, the film was issued in the United States on April 1, 2008; Portugal, South Africa, and the United Kingdom on April 14, 2008, Germany on April 25, 2008; Australia on June 18, 2008; Norway and Sweden on July 2, 2008; South Korea on July 7, 2008; Brazil on July 10, 2008; Finland on July 11, 2008; Hong Kong on July 18, 2008; Taiwan on August 8, 2008; France on November 19, 2008; Denmark on December 19, 2009; Canada on March 29, 2011; Mexico on October 16, 2011; and Spain on November 16, 2011. Also on April 1, 2008, a Blu-ray "gift set" that included dolls of all the three chipmunks alongside the movie was released. On Amazon Prime, the film was originally released in standard definition on March 30, 2010, before being issued in HD on September 18, 2012; and it was made available on Movies Anywhere on October 12, 2017.
Dave angrily throws his music equipment out his door. A security guard tries to push Dave out of a concert. Cartoonish, slapsticky scenes involving the chipmunks and Dave (like when a jar falls on Dave's head and he passes out).
Chipmunks make slightly inappropriate remarks, especially Alvin: "You're hot," "You're such a buzz kill," "She wanted you," etc. Ian calls the chipmunks "rats" and tells them to "make love to the camera" during a photo shoot. They also tell Dave his music "sucks."
Several scenes involve the chipmunks watching SpongeBob SquarePants or eating/heating Van's waffles. Also: Hummer, Porsche, Entertainment Weekly, Spin, Billboard, Apple laptop, Bose speakers, Tobasco sauce, Bob Dylan poster, and various recognizable toys and games.
Three chipmunks -- voiced by Justin Long (Alvin), Matthew Gray Gubler (Simon), and Jesse McCartney (Theodore) -- are kicked out of their pine tree home when it's chopped down and shipped to a record label's headquarters as a Christmas tree. They end up sneaking a ride with Dave (Jason Lee), a down-and-out song composer who's none too happy to discover he has new rodent pals. Eventually, of course, the trio starts singing and inspires Dave to write a Christmas song that wows an oily label exec (David Cross). The rest is chipmunk history.
The best part of the story is that kids will see the danger of living like a "rock star" all the time. Too many toys and not enough discipline -- not to mention way too much caffeine and too many late-night concert gigs -- make Alvin, Simon, and Theodore crave Dave's loving discipline. If only real children were as reasonable as fictional chipmunks...
As we learned in our first cinematic interaction with Alvin and his brothers, chipmunks like to rock. In fact, being international pop stars is cooler than a bagful of roasted cashews for these furry fellows. But, as usual, Alvin takes the fun a little too far. And his stage-hogging triggers an accident that lands manager/guardian Dave in the hospital.
In the meantime, former manager and all-around scoundrel, Ian Hawke, happens upon a new set of harmonizing rodents. A trio of pretty girl chipmunks called the Chipettes seek out Ian and give him hopes of not only making it back to the big-time, but smashing the hated Chipmunks along the way. Ian leaps into action to stage a head-to-head sing-off with the boys.
Alvin and the Chipmunks is a long-running musical franchise starring three Funny Animal chipmunk brothers Alvin, Simon, and Theodore Seville. Amongst the extended cast is the chipmunks' adopted human father Dave Seville and the chipmunk's Distaff Counterparts the Chipettes Brittany, Jeanette, and Eleanor Miller.Entries in the franchise:
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