Who knew that three singing chipmunks who were so popular on TV back in the ’60’s would be such a hit in their 2007 big-screen debut? I knew! But could Alvin, Simon and Theodore do it again two years later?
Well they did, sort of. And now “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel” is out on DVD, but it’s not the “must have” that the first movie was.
In “The Squeakquel” the brothers are still mega-superstars all across the globe. An accident (caused by Alvin, of course), sends Dave, their adopted father (Jason Lee), to the hospital. And so his cousin, a slacker played by Zachary Levi (from TV’s “Chuck”), gets the job of taking care of the chipmunks. And he’s very bad at it.
Meantime, the chipmunks are ready to attend high school, where they have to deal with bullies, an obsessed principal, peer pressure, and playing sports. There’s a singing competition that the school needs to win to save it’s music program, but Alvin is too distracted with everything else to take it’s seriously.
And, of course, there are The Chipettes, three female singing chipmunks who want to become stars, and the evil Ian (David Cross) is back from the first film as their manager.
There’s a lot going on in this sequel, maybe too many plot lines, which makes “The Squeakquel” not as much fun as the original. The writing is sloppy and there aren’t that many laughs.
The biggest problem is that in the first movie everything about the chipmunks- the way they looked, talked, sang, was new to the movie audience. And it was all pretty cool. Obviously none of that is new this time, and so a lot of the charm of the original is missing here. Also, there are too many songs and pop-culture references.
On the positive side, the animation of the chipmunk characters is outstanding, even better than in the original. If you didn’t know better you would actually think that these talking animals are real. And the voice work is good. Anna Ferris, Amy Poehler and Christina Applegate play the Chippettes (though you really can’t tell because their voices are so squeaky). But it must have been fun for them to work on this project.
As for the real actors, Cross gives his all again, Levi didn’t work for mel, and Lee, the star of the original, is only in a few brief scenes.
“Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel” is rated PG. There are a few bullying scenes and some mild peril involving the furry creatures. It’s appropriate for kids of all ages, and this is definitely a kids movie. Parents won’t enjoy it as much as the first one.
On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel” gets a C+.
A third “Alvin” movie is already in the works. Let’s hope this one has a better script.