A full review will follow on Friday, but it’s worth noting that even with reasonably decreased expectation bracing one for the
inevitable chipmunk flatulence, Alvin and the Chipmunks is fairly dispiriting. “They can make us so much money if you just let me use them!” says David
Cross’ gleefully conniving music industry executive about midway through the film, a CGI/live-action hybrid based on the old cartoon series of the same name. He’s
supposed to be addressing the marketability of the title characters, but one
gets the feeling they might have stumbled across the distilled pitch session
for this lazy, low-grade family flick, based on the strange, enduring creation
of 1950s singer/songwriter Ross Bagdasarian — three chipmunks who lay waste to their
human host’s surroundings and sing in high-pitched, three-part harmonies. After
all, with characters Garfield, Underdog, et al,
hitting the big screen, why specifically not Alvin and
the Chipmunks too, the thinking seems to go.