I have never known the world without those adorable, energetic and often impish chipmunks Alvin, Simon and Theodore, and their adoptive father Dave Seville, as all were “born” along with me in 1958. In fact, The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late) has been a mainstay of the holiday season for me since my first Christmas. Subsequent Chipmunk songs and albums were always a highlight for me, as were the cartoons when they began appearing on tv in 1961. And after a sad hiatus from the small screen, I rejoiced when Alvin and the Chipmunks returned to television in the 80's and home video in the 90's. But an even greater joy was when the Munks reappeared on the big screen in 2007 with the CGI/live action, Alvin and the Chipmunks. Expanding the chipmunk world thanks to technological advancements and fresh-eyed creativity, the Chipmunks were such a hit with young and old alike that a squeakquel introducing the Chipettes - Brittany, Jeanette and Eleanor - female counterparts to the boys, opened in theatres in 2009. But with the introduction of new characters, came a lag in the storytelling, a lag that has now been cured thanks to director Mike Mitchell and writers Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger with ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: CHIPWRECKED. With seven now well established characters, CHIPWRECKED takes the Chipmunks and the Chipettes out of the house, onto the high seas and into the wild, expanding on originality and creativity for what, I have to say, is one of the best and most entertaining sequels ever!
Now world famous recording stars, Alvin and the gang are off on a Carnival cruise to the International Music Awards where they are set to not only perform but receive an award as Artists of the Year. But, of course, wherever Alvin goes, trouble inevitably follows and how could trouble not happen with the greatest playground in the world under his little chipmunk feet! But, it’s not just run-of-the-mill kid trouble we’re talking about now as the Munks and Chipettes are getting a little older and pushing the envelope of “what can we get away with” just a little bit harder. Wanting to “feel their oats”, extend bedtime, make their own tv choices...and capitalize on their cuteness...the gang gives dad Dave a run for his money while they run amok on the cruise ship.
Moving beyond trouble with toaster waffles at home, Alvin and the gang have a whole new world before them on the ship. Casinos, nightclubs, shipboard games, extreme athletics like hang-gliding, swimming pools and belly flops, dance-offs with Snooki wannabes, and especially joyful to Theodore, a never ending buffet of desserts! Giving the “kids” some room to play and enjoy themselves, Dave sees the cruise as a chance to relax a little, something he never gets to do when wrangling Alvin at home. But how much trouble can Alvin get into on a ship - in the middle of the ocean? The answer? Plenty. And as for Dave’s relaxation? He senses it may be a lost cause when he runs into none other than old “Uncle Ian”, former Jett record producer who used and abused the Munks and Chipettes with overwork and meanness. Seems that Ian has been relegated to running around in a pelican suit as the cruise line mascot since his demise in the music industry. And of course, he blames Dave for his destruction.
So while Dave tries to get some rest and avoid Ian, our instigating daring-do Alvin takes advantage of Dave’s snoozing and along with the gang, embarks on the greatest adventure ever - flying a kite. Um, but Munk kite flying isn’t like people kite flying. No, Munks actually fly on the kite. In the air. At the end of a string. And what happens when no one is anchoring the kite on the ground? It takes off into the wild blue yonder. Or falls into the ocean. With Munks and Chipettes in tow. Uh-oh. Wakening to the Alvin-inspired chaos on the ship, a panicked Dave knows what he must do. He must save his children. And thanks to a comedy of errors, Dave - and Ian - find themselves splashing down in the ocean. Lost and alone. Just like the Munks and Chipettes.
With each group unaware of the fate of the other, they make their separate ways to a remote uninhabited island. Alone with the elements, can the Munks and Chipettes call on natural survival instincts to get them through this ordeal without room service and toasters? Will Dave and Ian find the kids? And what’s this? The island isn’t uninhabited? There’s a treasure hunter named Zoe lurking around? And an active volcano that’s about to explode? Wow!
Jason Lee returns as everyone’s favorite beleaguered dad, Dave Seville. Lee gives Dave a bittersweet poignancy that is at times nostalgic and wistful, and always endearing. Easily assuming the “dad” role, for Lee, “Being a dad, I certainly know what it feels like to give lots of love and understanding but I also know what it feels like to be antagonized or have my buttons pushed.” Always important to Lee is “want[ing] to make it real.”
Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler and Jesse McCartney return to voice Alvin, Simon and Theodore, respectively, while Amy Poehler, Anna Faris and Christina Applegate lend their pipes to Eleanor, Jeanette and Brittany. New to the Chipmunk voicing is Alan Tudyk who steps in as Simon’s alter ego, the suave Frenchman, Simone. (Suffering with brain trauma from a poisonous spider bite, Simon assumes the personality of a brave, exciting ladies man - the exact opposite of bookish Simon!) According to director Mitchell, out of the group, Justin Long “loves to improvise and he goes off as Alvin! A lot of that stuff ends up in the film” bringing a lot of spontaneity to it. (Historical Note: Until the current trilogy, Ross Bagdasarian was the voice of Alvin, Theodore and Simon, and along with his wife Janice Karman, still does the singing for Alvin, Theodore and the Chipettes today.)
David Cross returns as Ian in what turns out to be a much toned down, more sympathetic, albeit whiney, but sage performance. The one weak link comes from Jenny Slate. As treasurer hunter Zoe, she never meshes with the Munks or the humans. Although the character is a pivotal plot device, another actress would have been a better fit with the overall chemistry and not proved to be a complete annoyance every time she appears on screen.
Written by Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, CHIPWRECKED expands the horizons for the franchise by moving the setting out of the containment of civilization onto a cruise ship and then onto a deserted island, giving the story and animators an untapped canvas on which to create. Utilizing simple things like flowers, stones, dirt, twigs, trees and juxtapositioning that against manners, comfy bedding, napkins, clean clothes, make-up, soap and night lights, the production team transports the audience into their own childhood fantasies and imaginations making the film, fun, childlike, nostalgic and exuberant with emotion and creativity while maintaining a childlike sense of adventure.
A permeating theme in the CHIPWRECKED storyline is the concept of “rules”. (I think “the rules” is specifically directed at my nephew Tommy!) Building on the necessity for “rules”, a key aspect of the story is the growth of the characters; the film doesn’t stagnate but grows as the Munks and Chipettes, and their audience, grow up. Dave now accepts himself as a family man, and is in every sense of the word, their “dad.” And the Munks and Chipettes are finally going beyond the “baby” stage of supervision, wanting more responsibility and trust just like every kid in the world while dad finds it hard to let them grow up. This is something to which every kid and parent can relate. According to Lee, “I think kids like chaos in an interesting way and I think the Chipmunks certainly create a lot of chaos. I think kids like to push buttons in adults; they like to antagonize and cause trouble and certainly Alvin does a great job at that...seeing Dave being driven crazy.” Most notable are great character arcs of Alvin and Brittany, both of which will not be lost on kids in the audience. And for the adults, be on the lookout for some well timed homages to films like Castaway and South Pacific.
Integral to the story is music and dance - after all, that’s what the Chipmunks are known for! Never just “plugged in” for the sake of having a song or dance, each is woven into the plot points of the story with the care of an MGM musical, propelling the story forward. With original music by Mark Mothersbaugh and music supervision by Julia Michels, the list of superstars lending their songs to the Chipmunks and Chipettes is mind boggling. We’ve got hits from Willow Smith, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, The Go-Gos and Beyonce, just to name a few!
Helmed by Mike Mitchell, the franchise could be in no safer hands than with this family film oriented guy. With a strong background in storyboard and animation, Mitchell has the perfect skill set to meld CGI and live action, rooting it in reality while celebrating imagination and entertainment. Interestingly, while advancements in technology have allowed Mitchell to bring us an even greater sense of entertaining realism, in order to achieve Chipmunk vocal perfection, he had to go back in time to using mag tapes to record the dialogue. “It’s the exact way they did it back in the day when [Ross Bagdasarian, Sr.] invented the Chipmunks. What’s interesting is that you can’t do [voicing] with computer or digital because it sounds computery, it sounds too high, weird and tinny. So we go back to the way it was done years ago. It’s like a history lesson. With all these advances, we still have to go back to tape-to-tape. And then the actor, when they’re performing the character, which is really difficult for the actors, they have to act-a- lit-tle-slow-er, as if they just woke up out of bed. Then it’s sped up and you can understand what’s being said.”
Kudos to the VFX and animation teams as at no time do the Munks feels “transplanted” or “inserted” into a scene. Their presence is real, natural as is the activity around them. Aiding the animators is the use of a “lipstick cam” which picks up facial features of the voice actors which is particularly helpful when animating a chipmunk feature to correspond to “a really crazy sound.” For Lee, “They feel more like kids which says a lot about the performances of the Chipmunks, the animation.” Also a standout are the Chipette costumes, particularly those the girls make on the island. Bearing in mind the materials at their disposal, Costume Designer Alexandra Welker brings us inspired, colorful and adorable designs that I foresee little girls everywhere wanting to wear! Not to be overlooked is a tuxedoed Alvin who looks even handsomer than Pierce Brosnan or Sean Connery as James Bond!
And before you think that shooting on a cruise ship or running around an island on Hawaii is easy, think again. While Lee admits that running around Hawaii was “fun”, there were physical shooting challenges. “Running, action, where are the Chipmunks, grabbing them. That kind of stuff. It’s the eye line thing. Volcanoes [are] erupting and you have to yell really loud and stuff is falling down and you’re trying to remember which [chipmunk] is Jeanette... that stuff gets a little tricky at times.” What could have been a real headache was shooting on the cruise ship but according to Mitchell, it was anything but. “All the people on the cruise ship wanted to be part of the film and they wanted to help us. The big dance number that the girls [Chipettes] are singing at the end; those are all the people on the ship dancing. They made it look like we had more extras than we really had.”
As box office numbers have long reflected, there is an undying love for Alvin and the Chipmunks and with CHIPWRECKED, I foresee the trend to continue. Reflecting on the success of and love for Alvin over the years, Mitchell opines that “[Alvin and the Chipmunks] is something a lot of parents grew up with and now it’s modernized for their kids...You feel like it’s something parents enjoyed and now ‘my kids’ can enjoy it. It provides a connection between parents and kids.” As for Jason Lee, “ I think it’s the heart of it. These guys are likeable kids. It’s very heartfelt and heartwarming...They each represent something that we all have. We get the chaos from Alvin, the smarts from Simon and the innocence from Theodore. Together they make a nice combination of what I think we all have so we can identify with each one of them.”
ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: CHIPWRECKED. This is one munkventure you don’t want to miss!
Dave - Jason Lee
Ian - David Cross
Voice of Alvin - Justin Long
Voice of Simon - Matthew Gray Gubler
Voice of Theodore - Jesse McCartney
Voice of Eleanor - Amy Poehler
Voice of Jeanette - Anna Faris
Voice of Brittany - Christina Applegate
Directed by Mike Mitchell. Written by Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger based on characters created by Ross Bagdasarian (Chipmunks) and Janice Karman (Chipettes).
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