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 - Movie: 3.5/5 Picture Quality: 4.75/5 Sound Quality: 4/5 Extras: 1.5/5Version: U.S.A / Region-A Title: Alvin and the Chipmunks Aspect ratio: 1.85:1 MPEG-4 AVC BD-25 Running time: 1:31:131 Movie size: 19,33 GB Disc size: 21,47 GB Average video bit rate: 21.79 Mbps DTS-HD Master 5.1 3923Kbps (48kHz/24-bit) English Spanish / French DD 5.1 Surround Subtitles: English SDH / Spanish / Cantonese / Mandarin / Koream Number of chapters: 28 #Chip-Chip-Hooray! Chipmunk History Featurette #Hitting the Harmony Chipmunk Music Featurette Rating:  - Y a a w w w w n n n n !I burned out on Alvin and the Chipmunks somewhere back around 1958. This may seem hard to believe, but they had a number one hit song. I felt sick every time I heard it on the radio. I just haven't been able to listen to Chipmunk music or view them since that time. I tell you this as a matter of disclosure so you may understand my review better. My wife likes animated cartoons and we watch them now and then, too often as far as I'm concerned. A few weeks ago, she purchased an "Alvin and the Chipmunks" DVD. Groan. Of course, we'd have to view it. Well, last night we viewed it. It was interesting in that the movie was filmed in a conventional fashion and then the animated chipmunks were added to the film as if they had been live at the scenes. It's a clever animation technique, without question. The animated Chipmunks therefore appeared to be interacting with the filmed characters. I suppose it must be difficult to get everything synchronized and in perfect order. The directors didn't. In a lot of places, the chipmunk characters were not in the focus of the actors and you could clearly see the actors were performing on their own. I could cite other glitches, but that would probably be considered too picky. In any case, I suppose I noticed such things because I found the animation rather interesting, but didn't find the movie itself all that interesting. The human acting seemed stiff and unnatural and the actors interfaced with the animated characters only poorly. The story line was weak and uninteresting. Three singing Chipmunks get discovered and work their way to the top of the charts. Yawn. There weren't many substantial laughs unless you like slapstick. In short, the movie was a waste of viewing time. However, the animated chipmunks themselves were rather well done, if not a little too cutsiepoo. I'm really burned out on Chipmunk music, especially that Christmas thing. However, some of the new songs in up-to-date styles with dance routines were mildly amusing. That's about it, folks. View it at your own discretion, it's your dime. I can't comprehend how adults could watch this, but I think that small kids (under six) might find it enjoyable. Did I mention that I'm really burned out on Alvin and the Chipmunks? Gary Peterson Rating:  - Allllvin!The lackluster cover design on the DVD case in no way reflects the movie. It's true they pay people to design these covers, but I nearly always think they'd be better with actual stills, especially in the case of animation. Forget that bad marketing decision, and slip in the disc. Immediately you're transformed back to the whimsical sense of the original "The Chipmunk Song" which took radio by storm so many decades ago, and for those lucky enough to remember it, to the great '60s cartoon, "The Alvin Show". At the end of the film, the credits even include some of the sleeves for the singles and albums, including Chipmunk Punk, the album that spurred the Chipmunk revival and their eventual return to TV. This film is a lot better than I expected, and the interview with Ross Bagdasarian explains why. He and Janice had the sense to try and make a family movie that wasn't dumbed down and stupefying. ABC Family, whose motto ought to be "No Kind of Family" could take a lesson here. Alvin has style and verve without trying to be Adult Swim. Jason Lee is dead on as Dave Seville, although the cartoon Dave yelled "Alllvin!" more often. The Chipmunk Song arrives in a suitably ramped up version, but one wonders why Dave Bagdasarian's other early radio hit, "The Witchdoctor" was recast in a hip hop/ disco/ pop mash that manages to be both overdone and a snooze at the same time (like much radio pop). In the interview Janice B. says that they wanted to keep updating the Chipmunks to keep them fresh. That led to the addition of the Chipettes in the recast TV show. That show proved a popular comeback, but later efforts smoothed off so many rough edges that the later 'toon chipmunks could pass as Care Bears. This film brings back the curious trio's animal instincts (they are Chipmunks) while echoing their individual traits as developed in the cartoons. What's missing from the mix, of course, is the '60s TV show. There's a tantalizing glimpse of it in an included featurette on the History of Chipmunkmania. This merely shows how great the modern, simple art of the '60s was compared to the later cartoons, not unlike classic "pie-eyed" Mickey Mouse compared to ghastly later versions as Disco Mickey. Disney had the sense to bring back the modern, retro Mickey, and hopefully the '60s The Alvin Show will also find its way onto DVD. The shows made a brief return as segments of Wienerville on Nick, which dropped the little orange Nick logo into the opening titles. Hopefully the Monks don't go Garfield, and start appearing in every style of CGI and animation possible, but rather release their extensive back catalog, and as with this film, remain true to Dave Seville AKA Bagdasarian's original vision. Rating: - GREAT MOVIEmy four year old son and eight year old daughter can watch this one over and over. I remember some of the songs on this as well. great movie and a must purchase. Rating: - Alvin: the next generationMe and my best friend, Roger,have loved the chipmunks ever sence we were little and now they star in a hit movie musical. the story is a little differant from what any of us were execting, but I liked that, it is more exiting than I ever expected. athogh everyone (including me) was epecting this movie to just be a live-action virsion of the chipmunk cartons, the movie's diffarant moods gave it more exitment, Storys whare the charicors have to solve problems and sort out difficulies are always more exiting than those that are just the same way all the way throgh, and sad, scary,and tence scenes make happy endings even more special. My favorite part, thogh is the old clasic chipmunk song "Christmas, don't be late" any time they sing it, I sing along and dance to it! I also like when dave finnally relizes he really does love the chipmunks, and considers them family. The ending, when the chipmunks are finnally reunited wirh Dave, and home agin is so sweet-and funny! I think they should make a sequel to this movie with the Girl chipmunks(Chipetts)in it, more songs and the old favorite chipmunk song "Christmas, don't be late" and another exiting story with lots of moods.
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