Those pesky singing chipmunks are wrecking havoc once again.
It was with great trepidation that I went to see the Alvin & The Chipmunks sequel, or Squeakquel to be precise. This is not because I hated the first film. Truth be told I never went to see it at the movies and still haven’t got around to watching it on DVD. No, the real reason is because the television series of Alvin & The Chipmunks is a cherished childhood memory for me. I was always up early to catch Alvin, Simon and Theodore terrorise poor Dave with their antics and oh-so-catchy tunes. All I wanted from this movie was to come out the other end with that childhood memory intact.
It’s gone. I imagine all my nostalgic yearning for classic kids cartoons would be destroyed if I went and revisited them all but that’s beside the point. The movie isn’t made for adults trying to recapture their childhood. This is a film so devoid of adult content that anyone out of primary school will be bored out of their mind. It’s not like the great works of Pixar where adults can get just as much, if not more enjoyment out of the films then the kids. Indeed the extent of care taken towards any suffering adult sitting through the film was one crudely obvious reference to Silence of The Lambs but it came off more like an obligatory ‘got to amuse the adults’ moment which backfires because it’s so in your face.
The plot, for anyone who cares revolves around Alvin, Simon and Theodore entering a high school music competition to raise money for their new school’s music department. The only problem is they face big competition from the ‘Chipettes’, who are managed by their old nemesis Ian Hawke (David Cross). Not only do they have to beat these new upstarts, the chipmunks are without Dave (Jason Lee), who’s in hospital after their last concert because of Alvin’s excessive showponying. And of course there are the usual high school dramas to deal with.
There is absolutely no reason for any sane adult to watch this movie. You can only be excused if you are attending with someone who thinks listening to a chipmunk version of ‘Single Ladies’ sounds like a good idea. Having said that I have no doubt this movie will make a load of money at the box-office, afterall the first film did over $330million worldwide.
I could not possibly recommend this film in a year where Up and Ponyo came out. If this sunny spell of weather we’re having does break during the holidays go see Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs or The Princess & The Frog instead which are infinitely superior prospects. Yet I know nothing I can say will prevent your 5-year old from dragging you to see this movie, such is the appeal of singing chipmunks to young children. I know, I used to be one of them.
1 & 1/2 Stars
Add an extra star and a half if going with an under 10 year old.