When I was growing up three cartoon chipmunks by the names of Alvin, Simon and Theodore often dominated our tv screens... so when I heard about this film I was obviously going to end up watching it.

Dave (Jason "My Name is Earl" Lee) wants to be a singer/songwriter, but his friend who works in the business offers him little more than pity for the songs (which are perfectly good - though possibly not from a marketing point of view) he produces.

Dave has had it - he's giving up - so he throws all his instruments out into the rain. Three chipmunks, fed up of saving up acorns for the winter, suddenly find themselves in the foyer of a certain music company since their home has become a Christmas tree there.

So as they make a run for it and nearly get trampled underfoot, they take refuge in Dave's basket of muffins. Dave gets the fright of his life when the chipmunks start talking to him - but when he hears them sing - he realises that this could be the solution he's been waiting for.

This is a charming childrens film, with some catchy covers and interesting original song ideas. It's amazing how quickly everyone - except Dave - accepts the reality of singings chipmunks, but if you had to show the reactions of each person individually then it wouldn't flow as well.

This is a fun film, far more about these chipmunks being goofy than the major plotline, which is slow to develop and is resolved rather quickly. Make no mistake, this isn't a deep "on two levels" film unlike films like Shrek or Flushed Away - this is at its core a Children's film.

Anyone who loved the Chipmunks as a child will get a kick out of this. It brings back memories for me and made me chuckle more than a few times - but I doubt I'll be buying it unless its for a child's birthday.

see also:
Aladdin, Toy Story 3, Over the hedge, The Incredibles

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photo © 20th Century Fox.