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The Chipmunk Adventure
Because rodents instinctively know how to operate a hot air baloon
Tags: Alvin and the Chipmunks Categories: DVD/TV Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Apr 17th, 2008
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My kids liked this. Then again, the ones that watched this are 4 and 2. Let’s face it, The Chipmunks at this point have long stopped being the quaint novelty act with broad appeal and are now simply a form of children’s entertainment. The Chipmunk Adventure capitalized on this at the height of the trio’s popularity in the 80’s. There was a television series, and I’m not sure if it was in syndication or part of the Saturday morning lineup of a network, but I remember seeing it a couple of times, and not enjoying it that much. Of course, by that time I had moved on to things such as “Star Blazers” if I even watched cartoons on television at all having gotten to the age when these types of programs held no appeal for me.
So here I am years later and I have the theatrical release from 20 years ago that was created on the back of the show’s popularity. What I remember about the original version of The Chipmunks from the 60’s is that they weren’t specifically meant for kids. As time went on the focus of their intended appeal shifted, and by the time the property hit the 80’s revival it was meant specifically for kids. The Chipmunk Adventure is a kid’s movie from the 80’s in virtually every sense of the phrase. The animation is good, but not great, the storyline is ridiculous but simplistic enough for kids to follow along, and it is short. Unlike other “G” rated fare which is meant to appeal to a wide audience, The Chipmunk Adventure was designed to appeal to the grade school crowd.
The Chipmunks are left in the care of The Chippettes human handler, Miss Miller while their human “dad” goes off on a trip to Europe. Wishing they could go around the world, two diamond smugglers trick the rodent youths into doing their dirty work for them – and The Chipmunks and Chipettes take off. What happens is an international tale of adventure and espionage that sees the six stars get into and out of more predicaments than would be safe for any real youngster to attempt.
The Chipmunk Adventure is innocuous entertainment that is wildly improbable with regards to plot and execution. In many ways it is a shame that the film was so… well, it’s not really a problem with the film itself, but with The Chipmunks and how the property has evolved (or devolved, according to your preference). Instead of a broadly appealing novelty act what we now have is something specifically for children.
As a film for the elementary school set, The Chipmunk Adventure is decent enough. There are better offerings, but not that many that are as musical. To help drive that point home, a soundtrack of the film is included on a separate disc within this DVD release. Part of the appeal for this edition is getting the soundtrack. Actually, that’s the main appeal, really, if you already own the DVD – apparently it was released just a couple of years ago on DVD.
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Also newly reissued on DVD is “Alvin and the Chipmunks Go To The Movies: Funny, We Shrunk The Adults” – a collection of three episodes from the 80’s television series that directly spoof Hollywood hits. While the films spoofed may be recognizable today, the pop culture relevancy of their spoofs only serve to highlight how much of a product of its time the television series was. That’s not to say the episodes are bad, just highly dated. It would have been better to release the series in season sets rather than just a few episodes. Young kids will enjoy the DVD, but they won’t be able to appreciate the way it was intended.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
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+ Innocuous children's entertainment + Soundtrack packed in on a seperate CD |
5.0 |
| What Doesn't | |
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- Released on DVD again? So Soon? - The "Go to the Movies" DVD release shouldn't have been. |
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| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| If your kids saw the live action Alivin and the Chipmunks movie and enjoyed it, and if they are young enough to want more, then Paramount is hoping you look at these DVDs with an open wallet. The only one worth getting is The Chipmunk Adventure, but that isn't saying a lot. | |
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Tags: Alvin and the Chipmunks
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Apr 17th, 2008 and is filed under DVD/TV Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
