Alvin y las ardillas

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.

When the box office figures for the US came in this weekend I was absolutely horrified! Sure I expected I Am Legend to do well, but the amount that Alvin and the Chipmunks got ($40+ million!) seemed absurd. Added to that the fact that it had earned more than Golden Compass did in its opening weekend just seemed ludicrous. The trailers I had seen seemed very mediocre and I wasn't looking forward to seeing it that much. So what a surprise, and a delightful one, to say how much I really enjoyed the movie. Sure its a kids movie through and through, and if you're not into talking animals then you will come out of this movie and criticise its plot, script and usual more adult things that critics criticise about. But if you go in willing to sit back and enjoy the movie you will realise there is a lot to enjoy. The three leads themselves, Alvin, Simon and Theodore if you've never seen the Chipmunks before, are all very likable and have some hilarious moments. The movie features consistent humour that ranges from fart jokes for kids, to some really subtle references, most notably one to Die Hard where for one moment I thought Alvin was going to complete his Yipee Kiyay moment and make the parents gasp in horror, he doesn't so don't get too excited. The script itself is pretty decent, there are the obligatory clunky sentimental bits, but generally the movie is consistent and full of laughs. It does outstay its welcome admittedly and feels that little bit too long, but these are mere quibbles as this is a movie that is bound to entertain many kids and adults alike, and the fact this did better than Golden Compass no longer frustrates me, as this is admittedly a much better movie than Golden Compass.

The three leads of the movies are CGI creations, they are also surprisingly voice by Justin Long (Alvin), Matthew Gray Gubler (Simon) and Jesse McCartney (Theodore), though you'd never know as obviously their voices have been morphed so they sound much more like the Chimpunks. Anyway their voices sound perfect, Theodore's being the most distinct and will make many audiences world wide sit their and go awww. Alvin is a great lead and has some brilliant moments. Simon is the most dull of the three but has some pretty funny moments as well. But its when the three start singing the movie just comes to life, the Chimpunks Christmas song definitely gave the older members of the audience to relish in, and their rendition of Funky Town is by far the highlight of the movie. The actual adult cast themselves are pretty decent. Jason Lee, from My Name is Earl, is a decent enough lead and at least does better than the adult actors in Garfield who seem almost asleep. When the sentimental stuff kicks in admittedly he does stumble a little bit, but generally Lee is on top form and definitely isn't always overshadowed by the chipmunks. David Cross does the traditional villain role pretty well, although he does start to irritate after a while and when he goes into pure evil mode later on in the film he just seems a bit silly. But by far the worst character in the movie has to be Claire, played by Cameron Richardson, she is out of place in this movie and the romance thing never plays off at all.

Where Alvin and the Chimpmunks succeeds where movies such as Garfield and Scooby Doo have failed is the fact it succeeds in the comedy department. Sure the movie has its nostalgia factor, but if it wasn't funny then the movie would be a disaster. Thankfully this is a very funny movie. The fart jokes are obviously aimed at kids, but thankfully there aren't that many of them, in fact when you compare this to something like Garfield you realise how well the scriptwriters have done keeping this to a minimum. Slapstick is obviously a big part but done very well and there are many set pieces that will please audiences. The songs as I have said are definitely the highlights and as I've said before the Funky Town rendition is just pitch perfect. There are many one liners to be found as well amongst amongst some of the clunkers that appear later on. The sentimental scenes also are not as horrific as some more recent family movies have been. In fact some of the scenes generally do warm your heart.

Overall Alvin and the Chimpunks is a surprisingly good movie that is definitely something parents should take their kids to see this Christmas. While maybe not as good as Enchanted this is definitely better than Golden Compass, and kids will lap this up. So the obligatory sequel that will arrive seems perhaps a more joyful event then it seemed before I saw this movie. In fact a sequel now seems quite a decent idea.

A CGI+ live action movie from the director of Garfield 2.? Also, once again a movie with a loser "dad" character and some very bad children (okay, they are chipmunks but behave just as children as they are kids) like Daddy Day Camp and others? Actually, the chipmunks make all the difference and save the movie. What does not work with Garfield (warm Hollywood-emotions and the animal as a fast rock star-type) works perfectly with the chipmunks. Also their animation is never off-setting as it quite often was with Garfield. And even after almost 50 years, it still makes you smile to hear them singing. When you watch the trailer you can see that poo-eating part which I see is in the movie just to bring in that type of audience - I think it is a bad idea as it makes others think twice before buying ticket for this movie which has only one fart joke and this poo joke of this type of "humour". Otherwise it is watchable and the animated characters are even lovable (Jason Lee is not so great in this). It was a fun travel back in the time when I watched them as a child. Not a big movie, also there are problems with the pacing but it's much better than expected.

Gotta kid? Then you know all about this movie cause that is all you hear about. It is all I heard about for the last week and so I finally saw it with my cousin who is a mother to a 7 year old- she really wanted to see it first. So, let me say this: There will be no problem letting her 7 year old watch it.

I kinda enjoyed it too seeing how I had to be dragged to it. But once there I was not bored and there seemed to be a crowd that apparently was expecting a treat of some kind as several appeared to be veterans of earlier showings who had then gone out and grabbed their posse to watch it again (only with them this time).

Nice way to spend a Saturday with the kids and grab a laugh or three. Anyway, I'll give it a thumbs up!

I'm surprised at the disappointing reviews of this film. I can agree that Jason Lee wasn't the perfect person to play Dave but he still did a pretty good job. I mean, let's be honest here and admit that none of the acting is great in this movie. It isn't horrible but it isn't great either. The thing is that the acting is on par for 90% of kids films. Also, how much can we really expect when it is a story about 3 singing chipmunks? The delight of the film and what people (my family anyway) want to see is the chipmunks get down and boogie. This movie in my mind accomplished everything and more that it might have set out to accomplish. It is extremely funny at times and also has a few heart felt moments. The overall story was very good. There are some morals taught here and you don't always see that with these types of movies. If you are in for some slapstick chipmunk boogie and rock and roll then check this out. I can almost guarantee you that any kid under 12 will love it and it is still enjoyable for adults.