Review by JAM
Who would have thought that three little woodland creatures could have become the worldwide sensations that they are today. Alvin (Justin Long), Simon (Matthew Grey Gubler), and Theodore (Jesse McCartney) ended up walking into Dave Seville’s (Jason Lee) life, and his world was never the same.
The Squeakquel picks up after the original movie as Alvin and the boys prepare to enter high school, fresh off of a benefit concert in Paris in which Dave ends up with the typical cartoon injury with body cast, prolonged hospital visit, and all. So the guardianship for this movie is passed along to another family member, Aunt Jackie (Kathryn Joosten) who conveniently takes the wheelchair stairway plunge and ends up in the hospital herself. Enter cousin Toby (Zachary Levi who is seriously awesome in his weekly gig as Chuck on NBC). Needless to say, Toby’s strengths of character do not involve raising kids, chipmunks, or probably even plants.
High school starts and the chipmunks are the new hot things as they take over the school much to the chagrin of the big men on campus, the football team. Normal teen family dramatic hijinks abound as the brothers’ relationship is tested, Simon and Theodore are picked on, Alvin screws up an important event, etcetera. The Chipettes also make their way into the Sqeakquel as Brittany (Christina Applegate), Jeanette (Anna Faris), and Eleanor (Amy Poehler) make their way to the Chipmunks old boss Ian (David Cross) and get dragged into their own challenges. In the end, all is well and full of singing and dancing as the Chipmunks and the Chipettes have all become one big happy family.
JAMS Ink on Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
My little girl loved this, as I expected. The funny thing is, I kinda did too. I grew up with the cartoon and enjoyed the adventures of Alvin, Simon, and Theodore, and later when they added Brittany, Jeanette, and Eleanor as well. Each of them usually had the same plot outline, Alvin does something that gets everyone in some kind of trouble, Simon figures something out only he could, and Theodore is the emotional rock of the group keeping them strong, even if he always seemed the weakest. This movie had much of the same feeling as the older cartoon episodes and it made the movie that much better.
The inclusion of the Chipettes made the movie more fun for the little girls out there. It is kind of weird watching animated chipmunks dancing to Beyonce’s Single Ladies but that’s probably because I have seen everyone from the Jonas Brothers to Justin Timberlake doing that dance. They’ve always been an interesting foil to the brothers as each of them tends to have the personality traits that match the trios up, but they each bring something new to the mix as well. So if I were to guess, we may be seeing more of these fuzzy little critters running around again, and I would like to think that that is okay with me.
Zach Levi is my new go-to guy for comedy I think. A long time ago, it used to be Dana Carvey and/or Mike Myers, then Jason Biggs, followed by Jackie Chan (he may play the straight guy, but his movies were funny). I feel this way mainly due to Chuck which has become one of my favorite shows (along with Castle). And in this part he may have overplayed some, but he comes off as an everyman type guy in whatever role he plays. And I appreciate it and enjoy his brand of comedy.
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment is an enjoyable return to characters that have shared our lives for many years. This fun filled DVD comes Highly Recommended from JAMMovieReviews and HollywoodTeenZine.
Extras
As I only received the basic DVD copy, my reviews of the extras are going to be fairly disappointing, but I have included a listing of the extras that are included on both the two-disc set and the Blu-Ray edition. The standard DVD did have the Munk Music Machine included which is a collection of the musical scenes throughout the movie. It was a fun extra for the daughter who loves to sing and dance, and loved to do that along with the Chipmunks and Chipettes. The other extra included was Music Mania which was a making-of type featurette on the final scene from the movie, highlighting the talent groups along with the cast and crew. Good addition as well. There look to be a ton of extras on the other sets, so you might want to take a look at them if you like the additions to the film.
Bonus features are listed in the press release that follows:
The Official Press Release from Warner Home Video
THE BIGGEST SQUEAKIN’ FAMILY
EVENT OF THE YEAR ON BLU-RAY & DVD
The Blockbuster Squeakquel Arrives Now With Over An Hour More of Music, Dancing and Chipmunk Fun With The All New “Squeak-Along” Bonus Content on March 30
LOS ANGELES, CA. (February 9, 2010) – The box office smash hit Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel sings and shakes its way to Blu-ray Disc/DVD Combo Pack, “Squeak-Along” double DVD, and DVD Single Disc March 30th from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. A follow-up to 2007’s Alvin and the Chipmunks, Chipmunk singing sensations Alvin, Simon and Theodore are back for an encore in this hilarious “squeakquel” packed with over an hour more of music. The Squeak-Along bonus content includes new sing-alongs such as Beyonce’s “Single Ladies,” teaches audiences how to dance like the Chipmunks with the “Shake Your Groove Thing” dance instructional video, games and more nutty fun for the whole family!
When a concert mishap lands Dave in the hospital, the Chipmunks take a break from superstardom and enroll in school to fit in with kids their age. But they soon face some stiff competition when they meet the Chipettes — a beautiful, talented trio of chipmunks discovered by Ian, the boys’ evil ex-manager!
From director Betty Thomas (Dr. Dolittle), the heartwarming film stars Golden Globe® nominee* Jason Lee (“My Name Is Earl”), Emmy Award® winner** David Cross (“Arrested Development”) and Zachary Levi (“Chuck”), and features vocal talent from franchise veterans Justin Long (He’s Just Not That Into You), Matthew Gray Gubler (500 Days of Summer) and actor-pop heartthrob Jesse McCartney (Alvin and the Chipmunks). Newcomers Christina Applegate (“Samantha Who”), Anna Faris (The House Bunny) and Amy Poehler (“Saturday Night Live”) lend their voices to the musically talented Chipettes as Brittany, Jeanette and Eleanor, respectively.
The hit soundtrack to the Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel features The Chipmunks and The Chipettes covering some of today’s top hits and classic tracks as well as original songs including “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It),” “Hot N Cold,” “Stayin’ Alive,” and “I Gotta Feeling.” The album is certified gold by the RIAA for sales of over 500,000 and has reached #1 on the Billboard Top Soundtrack chart and #6 on the Billboard Top 200 Album chart.
The Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack includes a high definition Blu-ray version of the film, and all hilarious bonus features from the Squeak-Along Bonus Disc including Sing-Alongs, Chipmunk Adventures, Munk Music Machine, Meet the Chipettes, Meet The Rising Stars, Music Mania, Shake Your Groove Thing, Music Videos, a Live Lookup featurette, and much more. The pack also includes a Digital Copy and a standard DVD.
Featuring more entertainment for the whole family, the “Squeak-Along” double DVD pack features an all-new bonus disc with over an hour of added Chipmunks Sing-alongs, music videos, featurettes and much more.
The Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel will also be available in a single disc with two featurettes – Munk Music Machine and Music Mania.
For more Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel fun, go to www.MunkYourself.com now to create your own munk! The website will include many new updates that are sure to make you party like a munk-star, including 2 brand-new games -- "Dance to the Beat" and "Munk Mic" -- as well as the ability to generate a munked audio-recording of your voice which can be downloaded as a ringtone.
Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack Special Features:
Disc One
● Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel Blu-ray
● Munking History: 50 Years of Chipmunk Mischief, Mayhem & Music
● Munk Music Machine
● Meet the Chipettes
● Rockin’ Rising Stars
● Music Mania
● Meet the Stuffies
● Shake Your Groove Thing! with Rosero
● Music Videos & Sing-Alongs “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),” “We Are Family,” “Shake Your Groove Thing”
● Music Videos: (“You Really Got Me” featuring Honor Society & “The Song” featuring Queensberry)
● A-l-v-i-n-n-n-n!!! Album Maker
● Live Lookup
● Music In A Nutshell: Song Trivia
● The Chipmunks: Behind the Squeaking
● A-NUT-omy of a Scene
Disc Two
● Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel feature film
Disc Three
● Digital Copy
“Squeak-Along” Double DVD
Disc One
● Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel Blu-ray
● Munk Music Machine
● Music Mania
Disc Two
● Munking History : 50 Years of Chipmunk Mischief, Mayhem & Music
● Meet the Chipettes
● Rockin’ Rising Stars
● Chipmunks: Behind the Squeaking
● A-NUT-omy of a Scene
● Meet the Stuffies
● Shake Your Groove Thing! With Rosero
● Music Videos & Sing-Along (“Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)”, “We Are Family,” “Shake Your Groove Thing”
Single-Disc DVD Special Features
● Munk Music Machine
● Music Mania Featurette
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment DVD and Blu-Ray rises onto shelves on March 30, 2010. Sing along as you grab a copy today.
Remember check out this review and more from JAM at www.hollywoodteenzine.com for teens and tweens, and at www.jammoviereviews.blogspot.com for movies of all genres and ages.
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