The Chipmunk Adventure 1987 Dvd

[Deanna]

TheChipmunk Adventure is a 1987 American animated musical-adventure comedy film based on the Saturday-morning cartoon series Alvin and the Chipmunks and the Alvin and the Chipmunks virtual brand and media franchise created by Ross Bagdasarian Sr..[2] The film was directed by Janice Karman and written by Karman and Ross Bagdasarian Jr.. The plot follows the Chipmunks and the Chipettes as they go on a hot air balloon race around the world while their guardian David is out on a trip, not knowing that it is a cover for a diamond smuggling ring. The chipmunks travel through a series of adventures in different countries while being hunted down by the diamond smugglers, Claudia and Klaus Furschtein.After the success of the Alvin and the Chipmunks television series on NBC, several companies had been interested in financing an Alvin and the Chipmunks film. Bagdasarian Jr. and Karman decided to finance the movie themselves. Animators from The Black Cauldron (1985) worked on the film after its box-office flop caused many animators to get laid off from Walt Disney Pictures. The animation was provided overseas to several regions such as Utah and Canada. Randy Edelman composed the music after he was visited by Bagdasarian Jr. in London. Production of the film lasted for a year to be completed.[3]

The Chipmunk Adventure was released on May 22, 1987, and grossed $6.8 million at the box office, making it a moderate box-office success. The film initially received mixed reviews from critics. Most critics praised the animation, visuals, and soundtrack, but the plot and voices of the Chipmunks and Chipettes were polarizing. Stereotypes of foreign characters were also criticized. Retrospective reviews of the film became more positive. It was the Chipmunks' first theatrical film; the franchise's second film, Alvin and the Chipmunks, was released on December 14, 2007.

The two teams set off by hot air balloon, each given a different route and twelve dolls made in their likenesses, which they are to exchange at designated locations for dolls in the likenesses of the other team to confirm they visited the locations. Unbeknownst to them, their dolls are filled with diamonds, and those they are receiving contain cash. The Furschteins' butler, Mario, is secretly an informant for Jamal, who dispatches two of his men to acquire the dolls. The Chipmunks' first stop is Mexico City, where they join in a fiesta. In Bermuda, the Chipettes scuba dive to make their first exchange and Brittany is almost eaten by a shark. The teams continue their journeys, exchanging their dolls in various countries along the way. Jamal's men tail them, but fail to get the dolls due to various mishaps. The teams cross paths in Athens, where they try to outperform one another in a musical number at the Acropolis and are almost spotted by Dave.

Frustrated by his men's failures, Jamal enlists the aid of a young sheikh who has his mercenaries capture the Chipettes in Giza. Rather than turn them over to Jamal, the prince desires instead to keep the girls and marry Brittany, and gifts her a baby penguin. The girls perform a song to charm the cobras guarding their dolls, escape in their balloon, and detour to Antarctica to return the baby penguin to its family. Learning that they have deviated from their route, Claudia sends her thugs after them. The girls escape, but discover the diamonds and cash inside the dolls, realize they have been deceived and set out to find the boys.

Meanwhile, the Chipmunks take a shortcut through a jungle, where they are captured by a native tribe who name Theodore their "Prince of Plenty" and force Alvin and Simon to be his slaves. They soon learn that Theodore and soon them are to be sacrificed by being dropped into a pit of crocodiles on a full moon. By performing the song "Wooly Bully" to entertain the natives, they stall their execution and are rescued by the Chipettes.

Claudia discovers Mario passing information to Jamal, who is revealed to be an Interpol Inspector. The children land at Los Angeles International Airport at the same time as Dave's returning flight, and are chased by the Furschteins, who get them to surrender by lying that they have kidnapped Ms. Miller. Dave sees them being taken away in the Furschteins' car, and joins Jamal in pursuit. Ms. Miller is absentmindedly driving the wrong way on a one-way street on her way to pick up Dave, and accidentally runs the Furschteins off the road. They are arrested by Jamal, and the children are reunited with Dave. Alvin and Brittany argue over who won the race, much to the adults' frustration.

After the success of the animated cartoon series on NBC, several studios were interested in financing the movie based on Alvin and the Chipmunks.[4] The idea originated while Ross Bagdasarian, Jr. and Janice Karman built successful doghouses.[4] Although Janice disliked the idea of creating and financing the movie themselves, they shortly found the film's director.[4] The unknown director created story sketches that set the tone of the film.[4] Two months after production started, the unknown director was replaced by Karman, who was pregnant with her first child at the time.[4][5][6] Karman was initially reluctant about being a director of the film.[5]

The box-office failure of Disney's The Black Cauldron in 1985 had led to the layoff of a number of Walt Disney Productions animators (such as Glen Keane, Dan Haskett and Dave Pruiksma), whom Bagdasarian promptly hired to work on the film.[4]

After returning the first part of the film to the overseas animation productions, Bagdasarian, Jr. and Karman only received six seconds of animation several months later and five minutes of animation a year later.[4] It was due to the animators suffering from "sore hands."[4] As a result, they hired another 150 animators to finish the film.[4] Within nine months before the film's release, they sent animation to Canada, New York, Utah, Spain, and South Korea.[4] Several parts that were difficult to animate or not close enough to be completed were cut from the script.[4] Locations cut in the film include a zoo and Russia.[5]

Before the film's release, Bagdasarian, Jr. visited London to hire composer Randy Edelman and the London Philharmonic Orchestra to score the film.[4] The soundtrack of The Chipmunk Adventure was performed by the Chipmunks and the Chipettes and includes a mix of original tunes and covers. Several songs throughout the film were performed by both the Chipmunks and the Chipettes. The soundtrack was originally done as a promotional tie-in to the film.[3] The soundtrack was originally released by Buena Vista Records.[10] On March 17, 1998, the soundtrack was released on CD by MCA Records.[11][12] The CD was a bonus included on the VHS re-release of the film by Universal Studios Home Video.[12] On April 1, 2008, the soundtrack was re-released on CD as a bonus of the film's special edition DVD re-release.[13]

On February 28, 1986, the film was announced to be scheduled for a 1986 release.[14] The film was shown one year before its release, at the 1986 Cannes Film Festival.[15] The film was originally scheduled to be released in December 1986, but the film was still in-production at the time.[15][16] The Chipmunk Adventure opened on May 22, 1987, through The Samuel Goldwyn Company and Bagdasarian Productions.[10][17]

According to Anne Thompson of Special to the Register, it was initially predicted to outperform The Care Bears Movie, which was the most successful release distributed by The Samuel Goldwyn Company at the time.[3] However, The Samuel Goldwyn Company spent $15 million to promote and market the film,[3] compared to $24 million for The Care Bears Movie.[18][a] Promotional tie-ins include Burger King, French's, and the film's soundtrack.[3] The Goldwyn staff decided that it would appeal to both younger and older audiences, including the audience for The Care Bears Movie.[3] The Chipmunk Adventure opened at No. 6 at the North American box office on its first weekend, grossing at $2,584,720 from 916 venues.[1][19] The film grossed $6,804,312 in North America alone.[1]

The film was first officially released on VHS on November 18, 1987, by Lorimar Home Video, pricing at $79.95.[8][20][21] It first appeared on Billboard's Top Kid Video Sales chart on the week of December 19, 1998, although it debuted at No. 25 a week earlier.[22] As of February 9, 1991, the film's original home video release was already re-released by Warner Home Video, reducing to the price of $19.98.[23] The film got a new re-release on March 17, 1998, by Universal Studios Home Video for the 40th anniversary of Alvin and the Chipmunks, pricing at $19.98.[11][24][25] It included a free coloring book activity, CD-ROM, and the CD of the soundtrack by MCA Records.[11][12] It debuted at No. 30 on Billboard's Top Video Sales chart on the week of April 11, 1998.[26] A week later, the re-release debuted at No. 14 on Billboard's Top Kid Video chart.[27] The re-release entered the top 10 on Billboard's Top Kid Video chart on the week of May 2, 1998.[28]

On May 23, 2006, the film was released on DVD by Paramount Home Entertainment, pricing at $14.99.[29][30] Bonus features include original artwork and story panels.[30] A special edition DVD re-release of the film with a bonus CD (which is the same soundtrack disc) was released on April 1, 2008, which matches that of the live-action/animated Alvin and the Chipmunks and another DVD volume of Alvin and the Chipmunks Go to the Movies.[13] On March 25, 2014, the film was released on Blu-ray for the first time.[31]

Upon the film's initial theatrical and home video releases, it received mixed reviews. Rick Bentley of The Town Talk was enthused about the film, praising the animation as "first-rate", the story as "interesting", and soundtrack as "near-perfect". He concluded that the film is "entertaining for [the] young and old" and an "early [summer] treat [for this year]."[32] Janet Maslin of The New York Times commentated that the film is enjoyable for both parents and children.[33] In his Family Guide to Movies on Video, Henry Herx deemed the film a "charming, lighthearted diversion for the younger set", and remarked that it resembled "a musical revue of pop tunes".[7] Hal Hinson of The Washington Post called the film "a must-see, a romp, a delight and oh so chock-full-o'-fun."[34] Johanna Steinmetz of Chicago Tribune gave the film three stars out of four, stating that the inclusion of the minor characters (especially the villains) would "[keep] an adult viewer from insulin crisis."[35] Jack Garner of Gannett News Service also gave the film three stars out of four, describing the film as "colorful, tuneful, and features inventive gags and robust villains."[36] In the Fort Worth Star-Telegram issue from November 13, 1987, a review on Major Releases rated the film a scale of 6 out of 10, commenting that the film blends "humor, adventure, and pop-oriented music to solid effect" and "benefits immeasurably from the vocal talents of Susan Tyrrell as [Claudia]."[8]

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