Alvin e os Esquilos

The Chipmunks are almost unknown here in Sweden, but in the mid-1990s one TV channel showed the 1980-90s series on Sunday mornings. I found it by sheer coincidence while zapping between channels, and it was love at first sight! I was a nearly 30-yrs old cartoon buff with the penchant for classic Looney Tunes and the like, I couldn't dream of falling for a cutesy-pootsy "kiddies" cartoon like that. But I simply HAD TO get up early every Sunday morning to watch it! The plots were usually rather tame (with some brilliant exceptions), but the dialog was fun and witty with lots of jokes a grown-up could appreciate. And these little guys were soooo CUTE and so COOL! The animation was so well done, and then there was the MUSIC!! It was so fun hearing those classic rock-and-roll tunes sung with those silly Chip&Dale-type voices.

But I must admit it took a few episodes to get the grip of things. Like: What are these very peculiar-looking little boys supposed to be? "Chipmunks"???!!!... They doesn't look the slightest like chipmunks to me. Why are they goofing around in those ridiculous nightshirts all the time? Why are they living with that human guy in a realistically drawn human world? All other talking cartoon animals live among other cartoon animals, not among humans. Weird, weird...

For many years I assumed The Chipmunks was something new, that David Seville was just a cartoon character, and Alvin, Simon and Theodore had always looked like their 1980-90s versions. I didn't knew there had been something before! So it was rather confusing to come across songs written by "David Seville", plush animals from 1959 resembling an ugly rat or distorted guinea-pig but supposed to be "Alvin from the Chipmunks", gramophone records from 1960 showing the boys as "real" chipmunks on the cover, and so on! But the Internet soon made all clear to me. Anyway, a great cartoon, so unlike the mass produced cheap crap of today (but the "Chipmunks goes to the Movies" series were rather poor -the movie spoofs were often not even funny).

This was probably the one cartoon made by Ruby-Spears Enterprises that lasted more than two seasons, but this is still a great cartoon. Even today, it looks more meticulously drawn and animated than a lot of other American cartoons now. I am a child of the '80s, and I grew up watching this show. It makes me wonder why we don't draw cartoons to this caliber anymore.

Most of the episodes are about the Seville brothers Alvin, Simon and Theodore, who often get themselves into a jam, and needing to get out of it, without causing too much more trouble (and without getting Dave too angry). The three chipmunks kept their old personalities from "The Alvin Show" (1961), but they now have different voices. Sometimes they also involve the Chipettes, known as Brittany, Jeanette and Eleanor.

They also did some spoofs on TV shows of the '80's era. They included "The A-Team", "Miami Vice", "Charlie's Angels", "Moonlighting", (that episode is a favorite of mine) etc. The Chipmunks also occasionally go into a song number, but it's not stupid Disney-like garbage. They performed "Surfin' USA", "Uptown Girl", "Do you Love me", "Monster Mash", and even classic '80's hits like "Beat It". Makes you feel all nostalgic inside...

"The Chipmunks Go To the Movies" offered parodies of late '80's/early '90s movies, like "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids", "King Kong", "A Christmas Carol", and "Batman".

This cartoon is currently running in syndication on Cartoon Network. If you can, I suggest to try it. You'll love it. And if anyone hates the boys just because they're chipmunks who appear to be living in a human world...well, Bugs Bunny is taller than Elmer Fudd, but no one gripes about it. "Anyting's possible inna cartoon!" -Bugs Bunny

Ross Bagdasarian's son, Ross Bagdasarian, Jr., did this cartoon in 1983, and had a movie, "The Chipmunk Adventure", in 1987. Pick it up today!

The 1980s had some of the coolest cartoons. It's, like, the stuff of legend, dude. Alvin and the Chipmunks forever....

"Alvin and the Chipmunks" was, and is STILL one of my childhood favorites. This show had good story plots, characters, humor, and it was original. The music was great as well. I loved it when Alvin, Simon and Theodore were singing songs from that time, and years earlier. This show is indeed one of the best. P.S. Don't watch the episodes where they lampoon movies. Those ones suck.

This gets a perfect 10!

I just came across the theme song (we're The Chipmunks ooohhhh!). I started crying when I heard it because it reminded me of a happier time. A time when my entire week was built up toward Saturday morning TV. Once Saturday morning TV was over, a cloud of darkness appeared because I knew that I had school on Monday. This cartoon was one of the classic cartoons of all time. I feel sorry for todays generation, they don't get to experience the Saturday morning TV that my generation got to experience.

This cartoon is up there with Captain Planet, Thundercats and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Alvin, Simon, and Theodore were three characters young boys could relate to: one was brainy, one hungry, and the other naughty. They practically represented the personalities of all boys. However, the plots mainly centered around the world of males. Unfortunately, the creators of the show brought in female characters in reaction to this, each the antithesis of their male counterparts. Invariably, they would often compete with the boys, and the boys ALWAYS lost. They never won, and while these scenarios might have given girls inspiration and confidence in the real world; the show's creators completely forgot about the young boys who originally tuned in to watch the chipmunks harmless antics. Ultimately, the message the show gave young boys was that girls are competition. The creators of the show should have emphasized a message of cooperation like they do in many present day cartoons. Instead, by having the girls beat the boys in practically every episode they were in, many young boys grew to resent the idea of female empowerment-- an idea no young boy should learn to resent.