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thesilversirenWelcome to something new here, reviews of children's TV and movies. Because honestly, if there's one thing I'm acutely aware of- it's that any tv show or movie my kids see and like will be viewed ad nauseum. So if there's something that I can enjoy along with my kids, it's something that should be shared.
My kids love Alvin & The Chipmunks. While they didn't see it in movie theaters, they loved it from the moment the watched it on DVD. Music, physical comedy and Christmas? A win in their eyes. In mine? I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the movie. It was sweet and the two classic Chipmunks songs ("Christmas Don't Be Late" and "Witch Doctor") were updated in a way that didn't anger me.
When The Chipmunks 2 came out in theaters this Christmas, we debated whether or not we should take our oldest to see it. If anything could get him to sit still for a couple hours, it would be singing Chipmunks. But, he still has some issues with loud noises, so we decided to wait for it to come out on DVD. Admittedly, I wasn't excited by what I saw in commercials. I knew that Jason Lee wouldn't be in much of the movie, and knew that they were throwing in high school to the picture.
So, last night we finally got to watch The Squeakual. Sadly, this is not a movie I'm looking forward to watching again and again, though I know I will.
One problem the movie faces is that there are too many storylines. We have to care about the Chipmunks fitting in at high school, as well as performing well enough to save their high school's music program by winning an intra-school talent show. Not to mention that we're supposed to wonder if slacker Toby will ever grow up and win the girl he crushed on in high school. Or whether or not growing up will pull the Chipmunks apart.... and I haven't even mentioned the Chippettes yet. In their attempt to give everyone their own storyline, it becomes much too cluttered.
Another problem the movie faces is the lack of Dave Seville. Because Jason Lee couldn't be available for the entire movie, they replaced Dave with his aunt's grandson Toby (Chuck's Zachary Levi) - a video-game obsessed manchild without direction in his life. While they attempted to recreate Dave's original story arch (learning to care for the Chipmunks and becoming a better man for it), Toby has much further to go- he can't even clean up after himself. Equally unfortunate, Toby is essentially a less likable version of Levi's Chuck. But while Chuck is always sweet and likable- Toby seems much too much of a loser for us to even care. Toby issues aside, Dave made a great balance in the movie for Ian- whose greed was matched by Dave's genuine concern from the get go that the Chipmunks not get chewed up by the industry. Unfortunately, without that, it's up to the Chipmunks to serve as Ian's foil in this movie- and with all their own subplots, it doesn't work. Though, David Cross, as always is enjoyable (as is Wendy Malick, as the school principal) As the Chippettes, you have Christina Applegate as Brittany, Anna Faris as Jeannette, and Amy Poehler as Eleanor. Much like the Chipmunks, it almost didn't matter who they cast- though vocally, there's not much difference between the girls' voices, it's all in the delivery that differentiates them.
The most ridiculous of the storylines is the intraschool talent show with a $25k prize- that the Chipmunk's high school has to win, otherwise their school's music program will shut down. I know, $25,000 seems like a lot of money to little kids, but for me, I had to laugh at what a tiny sum that is for any school program. (Though a throwaway scene of football players cleaning gum off the bleachers is equally baffling, since aside from the jocks being jerks, they didn't really do anything horribly bad at the end of the movie)
The music isn't too bad- the Chippette's cover of Beyonce's "Single Ladies" is pretty cute, as is their extremely cut down version of Katy Perry's "Hot and Cold." Beyond that, the Chipmunks since "You Spin Me Right Round," "We Are Family" and "Shake Your Groove Thing." Though admittedly, the version of "Single Ladies" is most likely to get stuck in your head.
The bottom line: Not as enjoyable as the first movie, so if you didn't like the first one... you really won't enjoy this one. The message is still the same- that greed is bad, and family is important. But even still, it isn't a movie I'm looking forward to watching on repeat.
Note: this is the first movie that I knew two people credited on this! One on the post end of it, and someone in the movie. So I really wish I could enjoy it more, just so I could plug them both by name.
My kids love Alvin & The Chipmunks. While they didn't see it in movie theaters, they loved it from the moment the watched it on DVD. Music, physical comedy and Christmas? A win in their eyes. In mine? I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the movie. It was sweet and the two classic Chipmunks songs ("Christmas Don't Be Late" and "Witch Doctor") were updated in a way that didn't anger me.
When The Chipmunks 2 came out in theaters this Christmas, we debated whether or not we should take our oldest to see it. If anything could get him to sit still for a couple hours, it would be singing Chipmunks. But, he still has some issues with loud noises, so we decided to wait for it to come out on DVD. Admittedly, I wasn't excited by what I saw in commercials. I knew that Jason Lee wouldn't be in much of the movie, and knew that they were throwing in high school to the picture.So, last night we finally got to watch The Squeakual. Sadly, this is not a movie I'm looking forward to watching again and again, though I know I will.
One problem the movie faces is that there are too many storylines. We have to care about the Chipmunks fitting in at high school, as well as performing well enough to save their high school's music program by winning an intra-school talent show. Not to mention that we're supposed to wonder if slacker Toby will ever grow up and win the girl he crushed on in high school. Or whether or not growing up will pull the Chipmunks apart.... and I haven't even mentioned the Chippettes yet. In their attempt to give everyone their own storyline, it becomes much too cluttered.
Another problem the movie faces is the lack of Dave Seville. Because Jason Lee couldn't be available for the entire movie, they replaced Dave with his aunt's grandson Toby (Chuck's Zachary Levi) - a video-game obsessed manchild without direction in his life. While they attempted to recreate Dave's original story arch (learning to care for the Chipmunks and becoming a better man for it), Toby has much further to go- he can't even clean up after himself. Equally unfortunate, Toby is essentially a less likable version of Levi's Chuck. But while Chuck is always sweet and likable- Toby seems much too much of a loser for us to even care. Toby issues aside, Dave made a great balance in the movie for Ian- whose greed was matched by Dave's genuine concern from the get go that the Chipmunks not get chewed up by the industry. Unfortunately, without that, it's up to the Chipmunks to serve as Ian's foil in this movie- and with all their own subplots, it doesn't work. Though, David Cross, as always is enjoyable (as is Wendy Malick, as the school principal) As the Chippettes, you have Christina Applegate as Brittany, Anna Faris as Jeannette, and Amy Poehler as Eleanor. Much like the Chipmunks, it almost didn't matter who they cast- though vocally, there's not much difference between the girls' voices, it's all in the delivery that differentiates them.
The most ridiculous of the storylines is the intraschool talent show with a $25k prize- that the Chipmunk's high school has to win, otherwise their school's music program will shut down. I know, $25,000 seems like a lot of money to little kids, but for me, I had to laugh at what a tiny sum that is for any school program. (Though a throwaway scene of football players cleaning gum off the bleachers is equally baffling, since aside from the jocks being jerks, they didn't really do anything horribly bad at the end of the movie)
The music isn't too bad- the Chippette's cover of Beyonce's "Single Ladies" is pretty cute, as is their extremely cut down version of Katy Perry's "Hot and Cold." Beyond that, the Chipmunks since "You Spin Me Right Round," "We Are Family" and "Shake Your Groove Thing." Though admittedly, the version of "Single Ladies" is most likely to get stuck in your head.
The bottom line: Not as enjoyable as the first movie, so if you didn't like the first one... you really won't enjoy this one. The message is still the same- that greed is bad, and family is important. But even still, it isn't a movie I'm looking forward to watching on repeat.
Note: this is the first movie that I knew two people credited on this! One on the post end of it, and someone in the movie. So I really wish I could enjoy it more, just so I could plug them both by name.
