Alvin And The Chipmunks - Chipwrecked: "We're Chipmunks. Yeah, Alvin And The Chipmunks"

Director: Mike Mitchell
Writer:    Jonathan Aibel
               Glenn Berger
Starring: Jason Lee
               David Cross
               Jenny Slate
               Justin Long
               Matthew Gray Gubler
               Jesse McCartney
               Christina Applegate
               Anna Faris
               Amy Poehler
               Andy Tudyk
Rating:    *

Release Date: Out Now

This film is definitely for our really, really tiny friends who might find the chipmunks cute and wish to befriend them, but for any adults watching you will hate it and most definitely want to kill them, especially Alvin.

The singing rats are lost at sea and most of the movie is spent on an island with some crazy bitch. Alvin, Simon, Theodore (Long, Gubler & McCartney) and the Chipettes (Applegate, Faris & Poehler) get separated from their daddy Dave (Lee) and Uncle Ian (Cross). With no roof over their head and nothing to eat, they light fire, build a new home and adapt to their new surrounding with zest. Randomly a spider bite turns Simon into Simone, an amorous, French-speaking daredevil, which results in a poor and unfunny plot twist. I will say that Simone is endearing and has the sort of energy and irreverent humour that the movie lacks. A ludicrous treasure hunt subplot also fails to pump any kind of suspense and thrill that could have made it enjoyable, if only slightly so.

As a viewer, particularly an adult one, one looks for any positives and in that desperation, finds even David Cross' Chipmunk-hating Ian, the dullest character in recent memory, massively funny. The film manages to waste/ remove/ destroy all of the comedic talent in the film, slowly killing the likes of Amy Poehler, Jason Lee, Anna Faris and Christina Applegate and basically taking away some of their credibility. Jason Lee has it the worst because we can see him, at least you can't see the funny ladies, but poor Lee has to actually put his face to this film.

If you watch any of the Alvin trilogy, you won't be able to tell one from the other. The writers don't think hard enough and seem to rely completely on the Alvin brand, which the big wigs know ensures box office success and big money no matter how mediocre their effort. This one, in particular, is given a completely dumbed down treatment. They think today's kids are stupid and it is that assumption that prevents the Alvin flicks from getting better, and that is the reason for what is going very wrong with children's movies in Hollywood, especially those that are made with the money in mind, especially when they take advantage of the festive season. I really hope the remakes of classic cartoons will stop now, because they are slowly killing my childhood...oh wait, we still have The Smurfs 2...brilliant.

Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked