Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Tim Hill

Writers (WGA):

Jon Vitti (screenplay) and
Will McRobb (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

14 December 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Family | Fantasy | Music

Tagline:

Here comes trouble.

Plot:

A struggling songwriter named Dave Seville finds success when he comes across a trio of singing chipmunks: mischievous leader Alvin, brainy Simon, and chubby, impressionable Theodore.

Plot Keywords:

Chipmunk | Songwriter | Pineapple | Champagne | Wine

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Jason Lee	...	Dave
David Cross	...	Ian
Cameron Richardson	...	Claire
Jane Lynch	...	Gail
Justin Long	...	Alvin (voice)
Matthew Gray Gubler	...	Simon (voice)
Jesse McCartney	...	Theodore (voice)
Allison Karman	...	Female Intern #1
Tiara Parker	...	Female Intern #2
Kira Verrastro	...	Female Intern #3
Veronica Alicino	...	Amy
Beth Riesgraf	...	Mother in Store
Adriane Lenox	...	Vet
Don Tiffany	...	Engineer
Lorne Green	...	Director

MPAA:

Rated PG for some mild rude humor.

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

USA:PG (certificate #43659) | Ireland:G | Singapore:PG | South Korea:All | Malaysia:U | UK:U | Switzerland:0 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:0 (canton of Vaud) | Germany:o.Al. | Portugal:M/4 | Argentina:Atp | Philippines:G (MTRCB) | Sweden:Btl | New Zealand:G | Australia:G | Brazil:Livre | Finland:K-3 | Norway:A | Denmark:A | Canada:G (all jurisdictions) | Hong Kong:I | France:U | Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

Canoga Park, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Fox 2000 Pictures

Trivia:

After the chipmunks are caught lip-syncing, Simon begins dancing a jig. This is a reference to an October 2004 episode of "Saturday Night Live" (1975) in which musical guest 'Ashlee Simpson' was caught lip-syncing.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: When Claire is taking pictures of the Chipmunks at the party you can see a flash go off directly at them, even though Claire's camera flash is in the off (retracted) position. However, the Chipmunks are being flashed at every few seconds throughout the scene, even before Claire comes to their table, and after she leaves as well. It's obvious that all those flashes come from the other cameras nearby, not from Claire's.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Alvin (singing voice), Simon (singing voice), Theodore (singing voice): [a capella] Where is the moment we needed the most/You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost/They tell me your blue skies fade to gray/They tell me your passion's gone away/And I don't need no carryin' on/Cause you had a bad day/You're taking one down/You sing a sad song just to turn it around/You say you don't know/You tell me don't lie/You work at a smile and you go for a ride/You had a bad day/You've seen what you like/And how does it feel for one more time/You had a bad day/You had a bad day/
Alvin: [pushing the last of the acorns into the tree] It's going, It's going.
[gets sucked in and falls out with all of the acorns]
Simon: And it's gone.
Alvin: [from inside the tree] Whatever!
Theodore: Maybe we should take a break.
[an acorn hits him on the head]
Theodore: Ouch!
Alvin: That's it! I can't take this anymore! I can't! I give up! I'm sick of struggling for survival! Competing with gophers and earthworms, and that loser sparrow who always takes my nuts! And I'm especially sick of this stupid, stupid...*tree!*
[...]

Movie Connections:

Spoofs Team America: World Police (2004)

Soundtrack:

Joy to the World

Great family movie

I'm surprised at the disappointing reviews of this film. I can agree that Jason Lee wasn't the perfect person to play Dave but he still did a pretty good job. I mean, let's be honest here and admit that none of the acting is great in this movie. It isn't horrible but it isn't great either. The thing is that the acting is on par for 90% of kids films. Also, how much can we really expect when it is a story about 3 singing chipmunks? The delight of the film and what people (my family anyway) want to see is the chipmunks get down and boogie. This movie in my mind accomplished everything and more that it might have set out to accomplish. It is extremely funny at times and also has a few heart felt moments. The overall story was very good. There are some morals taught here and you don't always see that with these types of movies. If you are in for some slapstick chipmunk boogie and rock and roll then check this out. I can almost guarantee you that any kid under 12 will love it and it is still enjoyable for adults.