Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #390 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-04-14
• Rating: Universal, suitable for all
• Format: PAL
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 87 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
A staggering surprise success at the box office just before Christmas 2007, the reason for the popularity of Alvin and the Chipmunks soon becomes clear. Not only is it a new adventure for a popular set of characters of old, it’s also a fun, breezy family movie, that the kids in particular will enjoy.

Starring Jason Lee (of My Name Is Earl fame), Alvin and the Chipmunks mixes in live action and CGI chipmunks (Alvin, Simon and Theodore) in a story that sees that moved from their natural habitat into the midst of the big city. The plot then becomes as predictable as you’d expect, but there’s still plenty of fun to be had anyway.

For Alvin and the Chipmunks has plenty in its corner. It’s funny, first and foremost, and moves along at a good pace, never forgetting that its prime job is to entertain its audience. And that’s something it easily manages to do, wrapping everything up by remembering not to outstay its welcome, either.

Considering that Alvin and the Chipmunks enjoy a legion of fans that stretch back decades, it’s perhaps not a surprise after all that the film enjoyed the success it did. But what’s pleasing is that the spirit of the source material, in spite of its contemporary setting, is adhered to, and there’s fun for all in the end product. --Jon Foster

Amazon.com

Meet the Chipmunks

Justin Long as Alvin

Matthew Gray Gubler as Simon

Jesse McCartney as Theodore

Beyond Alvin and the Chipmunks

More from Jason Lee

Alvin and the Chipmunks Music

More Kids & Family titles

Stills from Alvin and the Chipmunks

Synopsis
This live-action/computer-animated update of Ross Bagdasarian's squeaky-voiced cartoon characters finds the chipmunks (in CGI form) transported from their woodland habitat to the city, where they wind up in the home of Dave Seville (Jason Lee). Dave, a down-on-his-luck songwriter, realises the potential of a singing chipmunk pop act, and becomes an unlikely mentor/father figure to feisty Alvin, brainy Simon, and dopey Theodore. Meanwhile, the threesome causes chaos in his life, leading to plenty of fun, frenetic scenarios. When a devious record executive (David Cross) enters the picture, however, Alvin and the Chipmunks must deal with both the trappings of fame and their loyalty to the amiable, hapless Dave.
Directed by Tim Hill (GARFIELD - A TALE OF TWO KITTIES), ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS simultaneously modernises and pays tribute to the classic title characters, who first appeared in the late 1950s and became wildly popular in the '60s. While Lee (MY NAME IS EARL) is well cast as the perpetually exasperated Dave, Long (DIE HARD 4.0) steals the show as the voice of Alvin, who provides the group's lively spirit.

Customer Reviews

Great fun and guaranteed a laugh
Hilarious real-life CGI induced comedy! The opening scene had me in fits of laughter with chipmunk rendition of Daniel Powter's "Bad Day".

This comedy family film sees Alvin, Simon and Theodore get unexpectedly relocated from their forest home to the big city. They're taken in by Dave (Jason Lee) - a struggling advertiser with an ambition to write music. His encouter with the cute, mischievous squirrel like creatures leads Dave to find out their musical abilities and promotes their music career which explodes into a world wide phenomena.

The SFX scenes are clever - similar to the real-life Garfield movies, with some really good rib tickler jokes. The music is top rate especially with the chipmunk voices singing and dancing - and like Toy Story, there's some adult related jokes hidden in there that children would miss.

Great fun and guaranteed a laugh - just don't take it seriously....as if you would with singing and talking chipmunks.

Entertaining and Lightweight Comedy
Let's make no bones about it, the Chipmunks - created by Ross Bagdasarian in 1958 - have been around for a while. What with a lucrative music career, various forms of merchandise, a comic strip and a couple of animated television series as well as four animated films, it'd be fair to say that they have been successful.

However, do they still appeal to today's audience? Well that seems to be the question posed by this tale - set in the modern day - of the chipmunks being discovered by Dave Seville (My Name is Earl's Jason Lee) and eventually becoming rock stars.

The film begins with the chipmunks - Alvin, Simon and Theodore, of course - gathering nuts for the winter while singing Daniel Powter's "Bad Day". The three are cute enough, but even the most tolerant viewer will begin to find the voices grating on them eventually. The chipmunks bliss is soon destroyed however, when their tree is chopped down and sent to the lobby of a huge building, with them still attached.

The film then cuts to Dave, an aspiring songwriter with a friend, Ian, who is in charge of a record studio, Jett Records. Ian wants to help Dave, but he cannot seem to write a hit to save his life, so Ian tells him to leave. As he leaves, it becomes clear that - wouldn't you believe it? - it is the Jett Records lobby where the chipmunks' tree has been delivered. The rodents flee the place and hitch a ride on the parcels Dave is carrying.

What follows is a very predictable story where the chipmunks meet Dave, consequently wreck his house but ultimately prove their worth when he hears them singing. The group agree on a bargain: If they sing the songs that Dave writes for them, he'll let them stay in his house. Yet it seems that things will not run as smoothly as you would think when Dave loses his job as an advertiser because of his furry little friends who then also ruin the make up dinner he has with his ex-girlfriend, Claire.

As for the rest of the plot, it is not difficult to see where it will go. The chipmunks eventually pluck up the courage to visit Ian and the story writes itself from there, as they find themselves rich and famous and unsure of whether they should stay with Dave or live with Ian instead.

The film is entertaining enough - with a refreshing lack of fart and poo jokes, with the odd exception - and is mercifully short, which will satisfy any parent desperate for the squeaky voices to stop. It has a good heart, however, and the chipmunks are cute - Theodore steals the show as usual as the sweetest and most lovable one - and Jason Lee supplies some much needed humour as Dave.

Ultimately, this is a film aimed at kids which some adults - and maybe even a few teenager who remember the animated series from the eighties - may also enjoy. Although this is nothing remarkable, it is fun and light and does not take itself too seriously at all. A perfect example of this is where Alvin sucks in helium and his voice turns baritone. What else is a chipmunk going to sound like when it already has that terrible squeak? Simple, silly and fun, Alvin and the Chipmunks is worth a look.

PRESS PLAY THE KIDS ARE HAPPY SIMPLE!!!!
I watched it with my two girls they loved it so did I if I am honest it was good around entertainment that is brillant for the kids and family. Plenty of laughs the story was easy to follow and some good backing tracks well worth a view and it keeps the children happy for an hour or so you can't get alot better than that.