Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007)

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.

Director:

Tim Hill

Writers:

Jon Vitti (screenplay), Will McRobb (screenplay),

Stars:

Jason Lee, David Cross, Cameron Richardson

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

In a tree farm, three musically inclined chipmunks, Alvin, Simon and Theodore, find their tree cut down and sent to Los Angeles. Once there, they meet the frustrated songwriter David Seville, and despite a poor house wrecking first impression, they impress him with their singing talent. Seeing the opportunity for success, both human and chipmunks make a pact for them to sing his songs. While that ambition proves a frustrating struggle with the difficult trio, the dream does come true after all. However, that success presents its own trials as their unscrupulous record executive, Ian Hawke, plans to break up this family to exploit the boys. Can Dave and the Chipmunks discover what they really value amid the superficial glamor around them?

---

Plot Keywords:

chipmunk | songwriter | nickelodeon | triumph tr4 | laptop computer | 

---

Taglines:

the original entourage.

---

Genres:

Animation | Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Music

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some mild rude humor

Details

Official Sites:

20th Century Fox (us) 20th Century Fox [fr]

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Spanish Japanese

Release Date:

14 December 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alvin et les Chipmunks

Filming Locations:

Walt Disney Concert Hall - 111 S. Grand Avenue, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,433,937 (UK) (21 December 2007)

Gross:

$217,326,336 (USA) (30 May 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox 2000 Pictures, Regency Enterprises, Bagdasarian Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

David Seville is a stage name of Ross Bagdasarian, and he was originally supposed to portray the character in the film. He took the name "Seville" from the area in Spain, where he had done military service.

---

Goofs

Ian tells Dave the Alvin doll speaks Spanish, but it is speaking Japanese. The doll says "Konbanwa. Watashi wa Alvin desu." which means "Good evening, I am Alvin".

---

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/...
[...]

---

Crazy Credits

During the ending credits, there are signs for the memory and dedicated that say "This film is dedicated to Ross Bagdasarian Sr., who was crazy enough to invent three singing chipmunks nearly fifty years ago."

---

Connections

Spoofs Hoodwinked! (2005)

---

Soundtracks

"Aloha Oe"
Traditional

User Reviews

Cute, but not cute enough

I certainly was not expecting a masterpiece when I was prepared to view Alvin and the Chipmunks, but I knew I was, at least hopefully, in store for a fun and enjoyable time. Now, having seen the film more than once, sometimes unwillingly I must admit, I would say that it is an okay movie, but that is it, nothing more.

It follows the lovable story of Alvin, Theodore, and Simon, which has been around for quite a while, it is just less lovable as a big screen motion picture. When I started watching this movie, I immediately assumed it was going to be really good, because I do have to admit I kind of loved the old cartoons, what I saw of them at least, and was expecting that love to contribute to my viewing of the movie. I was actually sort of disappointed with what kind of film it turned out to be. Yes, of course kids would love this film and maybe some adults would like it, because it was a cute film, but, I would say it is definitely and never should be called great for the plain and simple fact that they tried way too hard at times with crappy jokes and humorless antics that the chipmunks I knew and loved from the TV series were a bit annoying.

There were a few laughs, well, chuckles really, and I certainly was intrigued by the story plot, but overall I think there were a lot of things that could be changed, like how at the start of the film no one seems to notice the chipmunks running across the building floor and hopping into the muffin basket. I mean, they are small but not that small, and plenty of other things I could tell as well, such as the humorless antics I mentioned earlier, in example, toilet humor, which is sad that that seems to be a big gimmick in children films today, but I would rather not have to make this a spoiler comment by continuing to express my likes and dislikes of the film in full detail to the point where everyone is drooling a little; I'm sure by this point you have either agreed or disagreed with everything I have said.

Well, show this to your kids because they will laugh their butts off, but as for adults and teenagers I would say to expect the unexpected which could be anywhere from you liking this movie as the kiddie film it is, to thinking it was just okay and being mildly entertained, maybe even disappointed if you are a really big fan of the old cartoon series.