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Alvin and the Chipmunks
Rated PG
1.5 Stars Out of 4

For nearly 50 years, for some inexplicable reason, the whiney cartoonish sounds of the singing chipmunk trio Alvin, Simon and Theodore have been a minor cultural phenomena. The marketing of Ross Bagdasarian, Sr’s creations, with seasonal records, children’s morning cartoon shows and related figurines peaked several decades ago during the Age of Aquarius. You’d think the novelty of listening to voices recorded at 33 rpm played at 78 rpm would have worn thin after a couple of years, but filmmaker Tim Hill’s Alvin and the Chipmunks is a yet another attempt to revise 1960’s nostalgia for a new generation.

As a writer for television’s Sponge Bob SquarePants, and director of last year’s Garfield: A Tail of Two Kiddies, Hill is undeniably skilled at working with animated characters and silly live action situations. Alvin and the Chipmunks has a story only first graders and pre-schoolers will love. After their natural habitat is uprooted for a Christmas display in the film’s opening minutes, our heroes Alvin, Simon and Theodore, voiced by Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler and Jesse McCarthy, are dropped into a large office building and mistakenly adopted by a struggling song writer, played by Jason “My Name is Earl” Lee, whose just had his latest creation rejected by a music promoter. Dave, the songwriter, quickly discovers the marketing aspects of singing chipmunks and thus creates a musical sensation.

Screenwriters Jon Vitti and Will McRobb litter their script with mild potty jokes and pratfalls that will insight giggles from the Cartoon Network crowds and while many will find the CG lead characters somewhat cute and endearing, most of the film’s lame humor and predictable plot will make you wish you spent your 90 minutes on anything other than this.