PREMIERE'S REVIEW (posted 12/13/07)

It's been nearly 50 years since struggling musician Ross Bagdasarian Sr. had the idea to record his voice on a tape recorder running at a reduced speed, thus giving birth to the high-voiced fringe pop phenomenon known as Alvin and the Chipmunks. What began as a novelty act quickly grew into a cottage industry that spawned two animated television series and three multi-platinum albums (including the legendary Chipmunk Punk), and garnered a handful of Grammys. Now, just in time for the furry trio's golden anniversary, comes a new live-action/CGI production designed to introduce a new generation to the mischievous, singing rodents.

Produced by Bagdasarian's son (Ross Bagdasarian Jr.) and directed by Tim Hill (Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties), Alvin and the Chipmunks is a modern-day version of the original 1961 TV cartoon, which tells how the three brothers, Alvin, Simon, and Theodore, become international pop sensations after teaming up with a down-on-his-luck songwriter.

When the tree they reside in winds up in the lobby of Jet Records, the parentless boys soon find their way into the home of Dave Seville (Jason Lee), a commitment-phobic bachelor desperately trying to write a hit song. His girlfriend Claire (Cameron Richardson) has left him, and not even the large poster of Dylan's Time Out of Mind album that graces his living room wall (a nod to Todd Haynes, or merely what was lying around 20th Century Fox's prop department?) can help summon up the needed inspiration. Enter three talking, farting, poop-eating chipmunks to the rescue.

The songs that made the brothers Chipmunk famous are all here, though with updated arrangements to make them more palatable to today's youth. Yet while "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" reworked as a Green Day tune isn't half bad, the Pussycat-Dolls-by-way-of-Justin-Timberlake version of "Witch Doctor" is criminally awful. An overnight sensation, the "fab fur" (as a mock Rolling Stone cover dubs them) are quickly exploited by Jet Records exec Ian Hawk (David Cross), who showers the boys with toys and endless unhealthy sugary treats, while demanding a grueling recording and touring schedule. It's like the Geffen Records and Nirvana story, just without the shotgun.

Jason Lee makes for a sympathetic Dave, yet there's an almost somnambulistic quality to his performance, which, to be fair, consists primarily of him acting to empty spaces. Even so, Dave's signature exhortation "Alvin!" is delivered without the requisite amount of frustration — it's a half-hearted yelp at best. As literal girl-next-door, Claire (Cameron Richardson) is sufficiently adorable and winsome, though the film's purity makes it difficult to imagine any sort of romantic entanglement.

Rather than catering to generations both young and old, as is custom with many recent children's films, this is sweet, innocent fare that's strictly for the kiddies. Cross' Ian is not nearly as villainous as he could be, and the film contains a healthy dose of uplifting lessons on what it means to be a family. At times funny, and even occasionally witty, Alvin and the Chipmunks is a lively, entertaining romp that will certainly bring smiles to the young ones this holiday season.

— Andrew Grant