Alvin & The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (2009)

Seriously. Yes, I watched it, and if I am to remain honest in the purpose of this blog which is to review every movie I see then I must review this one! Possibly the biggest surprise of all is that I liked it. Rest assured I will explain why.

I saw the first movie back when it first came out on DVD because I was looking for something, anything new to watch and The Chipmunks was all I could find. I was surprised at how faithful it was to the original cartoon and music material, how much the characters felt like the ones I knew. Dave was Dave, Alvin was Alvin, etc. Basically if you didnt like the chipmunks then you werent going to have great love for the movie. But then isnt that the point? Why would you see it if you hated the original material?

The Squeakquel introduces Alvin, Simon, and Theodore to the world of public school where they face bullies and other such cliche school situations. They also get to meet the Chipettes, the girl versions of themselves who are destined to one day get married to them and have many many broods of talking wiseacre rodents (I sense a partridge family-esque sequel on the way). Just as in the cartoon the 'Munks and the Chipettes are put into competition against each other in a singing competition that will win their school 25,000 bucks for the music program.

This movie will not reveal profound truths to you. It will never win an Oscar or any other award. What it does is give you exactly what it says it is... a movie about the Chipmunks. If you loved them as a kid, you will love them now. If you hated it as a kid, you will hate them now. I loved their show in the 80's, it was fun and had good music.

I do have one question though. As the credits rolled I was amazed to see the Chipmunks and the Chipettes were voiced by the likes of Justin Long and Jesse McCartney, Amy Poehler and Christina Appelgate but for the life of me I cant figure out why! The voices are so high pitched and the vocal patterns so specific to the characters that it renders celebrity voices moot. It doesnt make the movie better or worse, it just means they spent money for something unnecessary (In Hollywood!?!?! surely not ;) )

As fluff movies go, there are worse ways to spend 1 hour 28 minutes.