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| caption = Theatrical release poster |
| caption = Theatrical release poster |
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| director = [[Tim Hill]] |
| director = [[Tim Hill]] |
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| producer = [[Ross Bagdasarian, Jr.]]<br>[[Janice Karman]] |
| producer = [[Ross Bagdasarian, Jr.|Ross Bagdasarian]]<br>[[Janice Karman]] |
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| writer = [[Jon Vitti]]<br>[[Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi|Will McRobb<br>Chris Viscardi]] |
| writer = [[Jon Vitti]]<br>[[Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi|Will McRobb<br>Chris Viscardi]] |
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| based on = {{Based on|Characters|[[Ross Bagdasarian, Jr.]]<br />[[Janice Karman]]}} |
| based on = {{Based on|Characters|[[Ross Bagdasarian, Jr.|Ross Bagdasarian]]<br />[[Janice Karman]]}} |
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| starring = [[Jason Lee (actor)|Jason Lee]]<br />[[David Cross]]<br>[[Cameron Richardson]]<br>[[Justin Long]]<br />[[Matthew Gray Gubler]]<br>[[Jesse McCartney]] |
| starring = [[Jason Lee (actor)|Jason Lee]]<br />[[David Cross]]<br>[[Cameron Richardson]]<br>[[Justin Long]]<br />[[Matthew Gray Gubler]]<br>[[Jesse McCartney]] |
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| music = [[Christopher Lennertz]] |
| music = [[Christopher Lennertz]] |
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===Voices=== |
===Voices=== |
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* [[Justin Long]] ([[Ross Bagdasarian, Jr.]], singing) as [[Alvin Seville (character)|Alvin]] |
* [[Justin Long]] ([[Ross Bagdasarian, Jr.|Ross Bagdasarian]], singing) as [[Alvin Seville (character)|Alvin]] |
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* [[Matthew Gray Gubler]] ([[Steve Vining]], singing) as [[Simon Seville (character)|Simon]] |
* [[Matthew Gray Gubler]] ([[Steve Vining]], singing) as [[Simon Seville (character)|Simon]] |
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* [[Jesse McCartney]] ([[Janice Karman]], singing) as [[Theodore Seville (character)|Theodore]] |
* [[Jesse McCartney]] ([[Janice Karman]], singing) as [[Theodore Seville (character)|Theodore]] |
Revision as of 00:35, 21 August 2011
Alvin and the Chipmunks | |
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Directed by | Tim Hill |
Written by | Jon Vitti Will McRobb Chris Viscardi |
Produced by | Ross Bagdasarian Janice Karman |
Starring | Jason Lee David Cross Cameron Richardson Justin Long Matthew Gray Gubler Jesse McCartney |
Cinematography | Peter Lyons Collister |
Edited by | Peter Berger |
Music by | Christopher Lennertz |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release date |
|
Running time | 91 minutes |
Country | Template:Film US |
Language | English |
Budget | $60 million |
Box office | $361,336,633 |
Alvin and the Chipmunks is a 2007 comedy film directed by Tim Hill. Based on the animated series of the same name, the film stars Jason Lee, David Cross, and Cameron Richardson with the voices of Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler, and Jesse McCartney. It was distributed by 20th Century Fox and produced by Regency Enterprises and Bagdasarian Productions. The film was critically panned, but was a major financial success: on a budget of $60 million,[1] it made $217 million in North America and $361 million at the box office worldwide,[2] and was the seventh-best selling DVD of 2008, earning over $101 million.
Plot
The tree that the chipmunks Alvin (Justin Long), Simon (Matthew Gray Gubler), and Theodore (Jesse McCartney) live in is cut down and driven to Los Angeles. Once in L.A., the Chipmunks meet struggling songwriter David Seville (Jason Lee) who had his latest song rejected by JETT Records executive Ian Hawke (David Cross), his old college roommate. Dave also once had a relationship with his next door neighbor, Claire Wilson (Cameron Richardson).
After winding up at Dave's interview, the Chipmunks hop into his basket and follow him home. Once at home, Dave discovers the Chipmunks, and is accidentally knocked unconscious. Upon waking, he kicks them out until hearing them sing "Only You (And You Alone)". Dave then makes a deal with them; they sing the songs he writes, and in exchange he provides food and shelter for them. However, all does not go well, as Dave's job presentation is ruined by their coloring on it, and when Alvin tries to set the mood for his dinner with Claire, things become weird and she rejects him after he tells her, "My life is being sabotaged by talking chipmunks." To make it up to Dave, the boys go to Ian in an attempt to record a song and get a record deal.
Once the Chipmunks sing Dave's song to Ian, Ian signs them to the label and rehires Dave the next day. After a few singles, the Chipmunks become wildly popular. When Dave expresses concern for their well-being and insists that the Chipmunks are "kids" who don't need so much craziness in their lives, Ian convinces the Chipmunks that Dave is holding them back. Eventually, Dave tells the Chipmunks that if they like "Uncle Ian" so much, they should just go live with him. They become enchanted with Ian at first, but once they set off on a coast-to-coast tour, Ian takes advantage of their naivete, changing their image and working them constantly. Meanwhile, Dave misses the chipmunks and he wishes they would come back home. He calls Ian to see if he can talk to them but Ian refuses, and then conceals Dave's motives from the boys. Later, the Chipmunks are wearing out, and it is all over the news. Dave, infuriated by what Ian has done to the three, decides to take matters into his own hands by infiltrating their concert.
Just before the big concert, a doctor says that the Chipmunks can not sing because their voices have given out. Ian declines to hand out refunds and orders the Chipmunks to lip sync. With Claire's help, Dave sneaks into the concert, but is grabbed by the security guards. When the Chipmunks see Dave being taken away, they decide that they have had enough of Ian, revealing that they were lip-syncing and ruin the concert. They are soon caught by Ian just when Dave is about to rescue them. He locks them up in a cage and prepares to take them to Paris. Dave tries to convince Ian to let the boys go but Ian refuses. Ian then leaves in his limo with the boys and Dave chases them but the boys have already escaped to Dave's car. Dave immediately pulls over and admits that he loves them like his own family. Meanwhile, Ian looks in the cage and is shocked to see the boys have replaced themselves with merchandising dolls.
Sometime later, when the boys are fully accepted as part of the family, they invite Claire over for dinner again. Alvin accidentally creates a short circuit while having difficulty opening a bottle of champagne. Dave is trying not to say it, but the short circuit causes a blackout in the kitchen. Dave can hold it in no longer and says it, letting out his trademark yell "ALLLLVINNN!!", to which Alvin responds with "Okay!".
In the film's epilogue, Ian (now unemployed) tries to make three squirrels sing, but fails.
Cast
- Jason Lee as David Seville
- David Cross as Ian Hawke
- Cameron Richardson as Claire Wilson
- Jane Lynch as Gail
- Beth Riesgraf as Mother in Store
- Adriane Lenox as Vet
- Frank Maharajh as Barry
Voices
- Justin Long (Ross Bagdasarian, singing) as Alvin
- Matthew Gray Gubler (Steve Vining, singing) as Simon
- Jesse McCartney (Janice Karman, singing) as Theodore
Release
Critical reception
The film received generally negative reviews from film critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 27% of 104 critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 4.4 out of 10. The site's general consensus is that "Though cutely rendered, Alvin and the Chipmunks suffers from bland potty humor and a rehashed kids' movie formula."[3] Among the site's notable critics, 22% gave the film a positive write-up, based on a sample of 23.[4] On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from film critics, the film is considered to have "generally unfavorable reviews" with a rating score of 39 based on 23 reviews.[5]
Variety magazine called the film a "harmless and frequently humorous trifle that might be a potent B.O. performer, if only by default, during a holiday season surprisingly short on kidpics" and noted that "homevid prospects are huge";[6] the home video prediction later proved to be accurate. Roger Ebert gave it two stars out of four, saying it is "about as good as a movie with these characters can probably be...at some level, the movie may even be doing something satirical about rock stars and the hype machine."[7] The critics for The Guardian and The Observer were split, with Philip French saying its a "film that kids will love and adults will find tolerable" and Peter Bradshaw giving it one star out of five and calling it a "thoroughly brain-dead semi-animated family comedy".[8]
Box office
Alvin and the Chipmunks was released in North America on December 14, 2007. Despite negative reviews, the film grossed $44,307,417 in 3,475 theaters its opening weekend averaging to about $12,750 per venue, and placing second at the box office behind I Am Legend.[9] According to Box Office Guru, the first weekend was twice as much as Fox originally expected. Its second weekend was $28,179,556, behind National Treasure: Book of Secrets and I Am Legend. On its third weekend, it surpassed I Am Legend for #2 at the box office, but still ranked behind National Treasure: Book of Secrets.
The film closed on Thursday June 5, 2008, making $217,326,974 domestically and $144,009,659 overseas for a total of $361,336,633 worldwide, making it a huge commercial success considering the film's modest $60 million budget.[9] The sustained box-office success of the film surprised 20th Century Fox; Elizabeth Gabler of Fox 2000 told the Los Angeles Times "I look at the numbers every day, and we just laugh."[10] Given its budget, Alvin was far more profitable than either I Am Legend or National Treasure: Book of Secrets.[10] According to MTV, it also became the highest-grossing talking animal/live-action cartoon adaptation until its sequel. It is also 20th Century Fox's highest grossing film domestically to be released in 2007.[1]
Home media
Alvin and the Chipmunks was released on DVD and Blu-ray April 1, 2008. The DVD release is presented on a double-sided disc featuring both full screen (1.33:1 aspect ratio) and widescreen formats (1.85:1 aspect ratio) with English 5.1 Dolby Surround, Spanish and French Dolby Surround with English and Spanish subtitles. Special features include a preview of Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!, a history of The Chipmunks, and an explanation of how the singing is created.[11] The Wal-Mart edition includes a bonus exclusive music CD.[11] The K-Mart edition includes a free junior novel of the film.[11] The Best Buy edition includes 3 mini plush toys of Alvin, Simon, and Theodore in a collectible box.[11]
Awards
- 2008 Kids' Choice Awards: Favorite Movie (winner)
- 2008 Young Artist Awards: Best Family Feature Film (Fantasy or Musical) (nominee)
- 2008 BMI Film & TV Awards: BMI Film Music Award (winner)
Marketing
Soundtrack
The soundtrack was released November 20, 2007, three weeks before the film's opening and contains new versions of old songs such as "Witch Doctor" and "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas, Don't Be Late)" (as made famous by David Seville and The Chipmunks), cover versions of songs such as "Bad Day" (as made famous by Daniel Powter) and "Funkytown" (as made famous by Lipps Inc.) and new songs such as "Coast 2 Coast", "Get You Goin'" and "Get Munk'd". The second track on the album is "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)", a remake version, without Jason Lee as the voice of Dave. However, the seventh track, the rock version of the song features Jason Lee as the voice of Dave.
Video game
The video game for this film was released December 4, 2007 for the Wii, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, and the PC, just ten days before the film was released. It was written and produced by DeeTown Entertainment.
Sequels
A sequel was released on December 23, 2009 in the USA, December 21 in the U.K., and December 26 in Australia. Excluding Cameron Richardson, all of the primary cast members returned for the sequel and the film also re-introduced The Chipettes. A third film (Chip-wrecked) is set for a release on December 16, 2011.
References
- ^ a b "Alvin & The Chipmunks To Meet Chipettes in Sequel?". MTV Movie Blog. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
- ^ Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007) from Box Office Mojo
- ^ "Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved 2009-12-25.
- ^ "Alvin and the Chipmunks (Cream of the Crop)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved 2009-12-25.
- ^ "Alvin and the Chipmunks". Metacritic. Retrieved 2009-12-25.
- ^ Review of Alvin and the Chipmunks by Variety magazine
- ^ Review of Alvin and the Chipmunks by Roger Ebert
- ^ Alvin And The Chipmunks Reviews from The Guardian and The Observer
- ^ a b "Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007) - Weekend Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2007-12-16.
- ^ a b "'Alvin's' broad appeal pays off" Los Angeles Times, 3 January 2008.
- ^ a b c d [1]