Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Tim Hill

Writers (WGA):

Jon Vitti (screenplay) and
Will McRobb (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

14 December 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Family | Fantasy | Music

Tagline:

Here comes trouble.

Plot:

A struggling songwriter named Dave Seville finds success when he comes across a trio of singing chipmunks: mischievous leader Alvin, brainy Simon, and chubby, impressionable Theodore.

Plot Keywords:

Chipmunk | Songwriter | Lip Synching | Security Guard | Electric Guitar

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

US Showtimes:

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Cast

Jason Lee	...	Dave
David Cross	...	Ian
Cameron Richardson	...	Claire
Jane Lynch	...	Gail
Justin Long	...	Alvin (voice)
Matthew Gray Gubler	...	Simon (voice)
Jesse McCartney	...	Theodore (voice)
Allison Karman	...	Female Intern #1
Tiara Parker	...	Female Intern #2
Kira Verrastro	...	Female Intern #3
Veronica Alicino	...	Amy
Beth Riesgraf	...	Mother in Store
Adriane Lenox	...	Vet
Don Tiffany	...	Engineer
Lorne Green	...	Director

MPAA:

Rated PG for some mild rude humor.

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

USA:PG (certificate #43659) | Ireland:G | Singapore:PG | South Korea:All | Malaysia:U | UK:U | Switzerland:0 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:0 (canton of Geneva) | Germany:o.Al. | Portugal:M/4 | Argentina:Atp | Philippines:G (MTRCB) | Sweden:Btl | New Zealand:G | Australia:G | Brazil:Livre | Finland:K-3 | Norway:A | Denmark:A | Canada:G (all jurisdictions) | Hong Kong:I | France:U | Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

Canoga Park, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Fox 2000 Pictures

Trivia:

The car Dave drives throughout the movie is a mid 1960's Triumph TR4, British sports car.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Ian takes Simon's glasses away and gives him new ones, Simon has the old glasses in the following montage.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Alvin (singing voice), Simon (singing voice), Theodore (singing voice): [a capella] Where is the moment we needed the most/You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost/They tell me your blue skies fade to gray/They tell me your passion's gone away/And I don't need no carryin' on/Cause you had a bad day/You're taking one down/You sing a sad song just to turn it around/You say you don't know/You tell me don't lie/You work at a smile and you go for a ride/You had a bad day/You've seen what you like/And how does it feel for one more time/You had a bad day/You had a bad day/
Alvin: [pushing the last of the acorns into the tree] It's going, It's going.
[gets sucked in and falls out with all of the acorns]
Simon: And it's gone.
Alvin: [from inside the tree] Whatever!
Theodore: Maybe we should take a break.
[an acorn hits him on the head]
Theodore: Ouch!
Alvin: That's it! I can't take this anymore! I can't! I give up! I'm sick of struggling for survival! Competing with gophers and earthworms, and that loser sparrow who always takes my nuts! And I'm especially sick of this stupid, stupid...*tree!*
[...]

Movie Connections:

Features Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004) (VG)

Soundtrack:

Deck the Halls

Alvin and the Chipmunks was an okay live-action update on '50s cartoon characters

After a month of purposely deciding NOT to watch this movie, I finally decided to humor my friend and see this update on Ross Bagdasarian, Snr.'s, creations from fifty years ago. There were pretty funny scenes when they surprised Dave in the beginning and a hilarious one when their manager, Ian (David Cross), gave each of them a caffeinated iced drink to give them energy. Other than that, this was a mostly by-the-numbers story of the pressures of success and the toll it takes on your health. In fact, the climatic scene when the rodent music group is revealed to be lip-syncing to their own vocals (because of their now-hoarse voices) seems aimed at those who go for such acts like Britney Spears and Ashlee Simpson instead of real musicians who play genuine music (though I don't consider what David Seville-Jason Lee-had auditioned initially for Ian authentic either). It's obvious that Lee ("My Name Is Earl") and Cross ("Arrested Development") took these roles for a large paycheck though Lee, at least, grows on you after a while. The music performances of the Chipmunks themselves are variable depending on whether you like any of the songs they sing here or the way their voices completely dominate though I admit liking their performance of "Only You", "Funkytown", and, of course, "The Chipmunk Song", and even the updated version of "Witch Doctor" (though I prefer the original recordings). Not bad for a reboot though for my money, I think I'd love to see the original version for television from the '50s, "The Alvin Show". P.S. What a treat to see the original album covers of The Chipmunks over the years during the end credits.