REVIEW: ‘Alvin & The Chipmunks-The Squeakquel’

By Germain Lussier on December 23rd, 2009

• Share
• Link to StumbleUpon
• 2 Comments

There’s one very positive thing I can say about “Alvin & The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel.” It does not in anyway dishonor everyone’s favorite singing rodents.

In fact, the film does a fantastic job at portraying Alvin, Simon and Theodore just as everyone remembers them. Alvin is still the cool, hip leader of the group with a natural born swagger and quick wit. Simon is the brains of the operation, always thinking three steps ahead and Theodore is still the youngest, hungriest and cutest of the crew. So make no mistake about it, these are The Chipmunks that sang “The Chipmunk Song” in 1958 and had kids glued to their TV sets in the mid Eighties.

Unfortunately, the rest of the movie doesn’t come close to living up to that legacy.

In 2007, when “Alvin and the Chipmunks” was first rebooted to massive worldwide success, the film found its charm with the back and forth between the Chipmunks and Dave Seville, played by Jason Lee. He was the perfect foil. In “The Squeakquel,” Dave is basically cut out of the movie in the very first scene and is eventually replaced by his relative Toby, played by “Chuck’s” Zachary Levy.

The problem here isn’t that Levy can’t be a capable foil for the Chipmunks. It’s that the character isn’t written as one. He’s just there, floating around, playing video games and letting the Chipmunks basically do whatever they want. What makes the whole IDEA of “Alvin and the Chipmunks” funny is that they terrorize such a likable guy such as Dave and that is sorely lacking in “The Squeakquel.”

Instead, we’re giving some weird story of the Chipmunks actually going to a high school where they are simultaneously bullied by the jocks and swooned over by the girls (remember, as a result of the first film, they are now huge recording artists). At one point, Alvin even plays football. Yes, real football. With humans.

As that’s all going down, the villain Ian (David Cross) is fighting his way back to the top because The Chipettes were literally Fed Exed to his office. How this happened, we have no idea, but it doesn’t matter. Shenanigans ensue including a lot of sped up pop music and, at the end, another sequel is set up that looks way more interesting than the film you just watched.

Chances are, if your kids enjoyed the first “Alvin and the Chipmunks,” they will enjoy its “Squeakquel.” And while it paints the Chipmunks in a fairly positive way, they deserve a much better movie than this.

“Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel” is rated PG for some mild rude humor. You can check for showtimes and get tickets by clicking here.