At the start of the new year, I took on the task of watching all three, Alvin and the Chipmunk movies for the sake of curbing some Nostalgia that surfaced as a result of their 1980's cartoon show catching my interest once again. In the end I both enjoyed them as well as despised them at the same time, so I decided to reflect on what I've seen; hope you enjoy.
In 2007, Alvin and the Chipmunks was produced by singer, voice artist, record producer, Ross Bagdasarian, Jr. and his spouse; Janice Karman. Much like the 1980's cartoon series, also produced by the duo, the film centered around three singing chipmunk brothers; Alvin, Simon, Theodore.
Highlights:
Some of the best scenes are due in part to effects displayed by having all three brothers in CGI. Because of this incorporation for their live action films, it allowed them a chance to grab a hold of more creative, inventive, forms of comedy as well as pulling off top tier level of acrobatics added to performances. The first film in the trilogy focused heavily on all three brothers singing career as well as their relationship with adoptive human father; David Seville. Though it cannot be considered as an origin story of how they grew prior to meeting Dave, considering much of their past is somewhat of a mystery that for some reason is left unexplored, but it is however an origin story in the sense it shows us how they met Dave and how they became famous. To some degree, the movies manage to satirize the music industry. In their sequel we are introduced to their female counterparts; Brittany, Janette, and Eleanor; the Chipettes.
Fails:
Much of the issues found in this trilogy can also be attributed to the main attraction: the CGI. In their defense, this aspect of the films was doomed before it had even started. When it comes down to it, Bagdasarian and Karman envisioned a live action feature length film, with that in mind; making them look more like actual chipmunks as well as designing them to fit the same height as real chipmunks was in reality the best and quite possibly the only way it could have been done. Sadly even with it's creativity included, at best, none of it can truly be considered innovative or new, I dare say half of it was recycled from other more inventive programs done to a lower degree of success in execution. As with most live action films based on cartoon characters; it suffers from having poor acting when it comes to the human cast.
Final thought
Despite all it's shortcomings the film series isn't all that bad; certainly not spectacular by any means, but it is good in a sense that it reaches it's target audience and in doing so it became a commercial success. Throughout the series, characters received a good amount of growth which in turn helped to shape them as many returning fans of the cartoon series can remember, with the third film in the trilogy cited for having the most shown in character development for both Chipmunks and Chipettes. It may not be the greatest film trilogy in the world, but in a sense it does it's best to re-capture most elements found within the cartoon, because of this the trilogy is something the family can enjoy during holidays.
