Alvin and the Chipmunks Movie Review: The Cute Singing Munks

If you are in for a light, nostalgic, and escapist fun time, Alvin and the Chipmunks provides a lively and charming family comedy courtesy of its spritely mischievous and cuddly endearing little creatures Alvin, Simon, and Theodore.

Other Movie Reviews from 2010 Archive: Animation, Children, Family, and Teen Films

Based on the cartoon series about a music group of chipmunks comprised of the cool and rascal leader Alvin, the tall and quiet Simon, and the chubby and impressionable Theodore, the CGI versions of these three famous and furry nut-gathering mammals cheering people up through their charismatic singing and antics turn out to be really merry and cutesy even after 50 years of existence. Indeed, they are rendered very well and gracefully upgraded into their 3D film incarnations. From the fun musical numbers to the cartoonish humor, Alvin and the Chipmunks manages to entertain both the children and the adults (and the children inside the adults). In this movie, these three squeaky-voiced squirrels are convincingly turned into pop superstars.

With its thin plot and trite story about the animated singing rodents and how fame and fortune get the better of them, this family comedy is still a good provider of light-hearted fun. Don't expect an artsy film, just a light pop sensation story with the fulfillment of having a loving family: both for kids and for their parents who may most likely get hooked by the nostalgia brought by these classic characters.

The film is filled with slapstick and bathroom humor. It has the one solid idea of the chipmunks talking and singing; the same concept that fueled novelty recordings and two cartoon series for Alvin and the Chipmunks decades ago. The bright and energetic fun really makes these chipmunks way so cute and charming that the movie makes the audience smile.

Director Tim Hill is able to bring back good memories that veer into the formulaic Disney territory. The nostalgia really counts. And the musical numbers are generally appealing with the close harmonies and smart foot stepping to the likes of Funkytown. Truly, Alvin and the Chipmunks becomes successful in maximizing the old television properties of the franchise with a slick updating for such a musical-cartoon movie offer.

Targeting the family audience with some satiric flavor, the script leans heavily on the pranks and big-eyed cuteness of the li'l guys. Alvin and the Chipmunks provides family values and a shallow anti-exploitation message about the two sides of the music industry and showbiz as a whole. You see Alvin and the 'Munks singing novelties, recurrent hits, and boy band stuff in their chipmunk signature voicing.

There are some fumbling parts that are just too obvious. You may get to see Alvin, Simon, and Theodore lovingly rendered as huggable CG stars, apparently sapping much of the movie's budget to the point that such things as continuity and art direction have gone out the window. You see wretched actors clearly pretending to know what's going on as the CG effects take place beside and around them. One example is at the after-performance party scene where Uncle Ian directly talks to Alvin... Uncle Ian's line of sight clearly doesn't match what he is supposed to look at. The discontinuity on Simon's glasses is also quite obvious. Right after Uncle Ian replaces his old glasses with a new one that doesn't really help Simon see better, you see him wearing his old glasses on the next scenes without any problem with his sense of sight at all. And then, a few more sequences after, there goes Simon's scene with him searching for his old glasses and happily finding it - and he finally gets back his clearer eyesight with it.

Jason Lee as Dave Seville and David Cross as Uncle Ian contribute to the building up of the chipmunks' characters, although they don't get to flesh out more with the treatment for their considerably cardboard roles. Alvin, voiced by Justin Long, Simon, voiced by Matthew Gray Gubler, and Theodore, voiced by Jesse McCartney, are given life with such CGI inherent cuteness that make them look like living plush toys.

Alvin and the Chipmunks is an endearing effort appealing to its viewers with its animated characters of Alvin, Simon, and Theodore: all still very much lovable until now as they've been decades ago.