The Film
It's not easy, but I will admit when I'm wrong. Sure, I remember The Chipmunks from my youth, but not so fondly that I would go out as an adult and see a live action movie about their exploits. And would today's kids care about a pack of kitschy warbling rodents enough to kick into full whine mode and beg a trip to the local cineplex? Actually, yes, and the movie has proven to be a phenomenal hit, despite (or because of…?) the fart, poop and underwear jokes, and a hollow tree trunk full of clichés. Heck, writers Jon Vitti (The Simpsons) and Will McRobb & Chris Viscardi (the underappreciated Adventures of Pete & Pete) are not above riffing on the antics of Scrat, the lovable saber-toothed squirrel from Fox's own Ice Age movies.
Somewhere between the catchphrases and the helium-voiced covers of popular songs, Alvin tells the story of a trio of woodland creatures who find themselves suddenly thrust into the world of big-time music recording. Songwriter and reluctant patriarch Dave Seville (Jason Lee) shepherds them through overnight success, only to part ways before ultimately saving them from an unscrupulous executive (David Cross). It's not nearly as insipid as a lot of "family films," and you might even feel a tug or two at the heartstrings. Plus my daughter who was frightened by Enchanted couldn't get enough of Alvin and the Chipmunks, a.k.a. "the movie about the talking rats."
The Picture
As you might expect, the titular furballs are computer-generated, and because they look like neither cartoon chipmunks nor the real thing, they tend to call attention to themselves, to the technique which brought them to life. Individual hairs are clear enough, but the precision of Blu-ray works against the illusion, exposing them as a special effect even while flaunting shifts of focus from one virtual character to another, or more subtly between a tail and a face. The movie is adequately colorful but in no way visually spectacular, with definite artifacting here and there. This disc is single-layer and I can't help wondering if committing to the second layer and adding another 25 gigabytes of storage space would have resulted in a cleaner, sharper picture.
The Sound
While more restrained in some ways than several tracks I've heard recently, the DTS HD 5.1 Master Lossless Audio nonetheless has its moments, mostly musical in nature. The various songs, from an impromptu outdoor harmonizing all the way up to a big-venue concert, each take on a distinct character that realistically reflects the nuances of the different environments. The effect is further heightened by delayed delivery of someone speaking through a P.A. system, or the rear-channel activity of a crowd. There are also lots of crickets and chirping birds in this rendition of Los Angeles.
The Extras
Pickings are somewhat slim here. "Chip-Chip-Hooray" presents the history of the Chipmunk franchise in a brisk 12 minutes, focusing primarily on the reflections of producer Ross Bagdasarian Jr., son of Alvin, Simon and Theodore's creator. And the nine-minute "Hitting the Harmony" recounts the challenge of creating catchy, relevant, "legitimate" songs for the film and accompanying CD.
Final Thoughts
If you don't mind a little potty humor, this is a good movie to watch alongside the kids, with definite replay value if they enjoy the music.
Where to Buy:
Product Details:
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| Video | |
| Audio | |
| Movie | |
| Extras |
