Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (20th Century Fox)
The Kids Will Love It
The first Alvin and the Chipmunks movie surprised everyone and was a big hit. Now Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel has arrived and it too should have a bright future. Who could resist the sight of three furry chipmunks singing their squeaky little songs and having distinct personalities to boot Adults maybe, but kids never!
In this film the Chipmunks have achieved celebrity status but Dave (Jason Lee) thinks they need a shot of normalcy in their lives so he plans to take them to LA to go to school. Then he has an accident and cant accompany them, but their plane is met by their Aunt Jackie (Kathryn Joosten). But then she has an accident and they end up going home with their cousin Toby (Zachary Levi).
At school they are met by the principal (Wendie Malick) who asks them to compete in a talent contest to help fund a new arts center. Their competition ends up being The Chipettes who are managed by the Chipmunks nemesis Ian Hawke (David Cross).
The new female versions of the Chipmunks are almost as cute as Alvin and his gang, especially when they trill out Put A Ring On IT. Still they have not yet reached the personality level of the original trio.
The film is rated PG for some rude humor.
Kids will love this second installment of the Chipmunk legacy, but adults will probably be checking their watches every three or four minutes. One guy in the audience when I saw the movie said he should have only had to pay half price because he only understood half of what they were saying. It is a little difficult to translate chipmunk-speak.
None of the human actors have much to do. Malick at least gets to act like a rabid chipmunks fan who is trying to suppress her urges. Jason Lee has an abbreviated role and is missed. We could have used more of Kathryn Joosten also.
If you have small kids or grandkids then this is a movie they will enjoy. As for the adults, it really isnt that long a movie. Relax and enjoy the squeaks.
I scored Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel a shrill 5 out of 10.
