| -- www.Ramascreen.com --Those adorable singing chipmunks are back! I grew up watching the cartooon show on re-runs when I was a kid and I enjoyed the first film but the previous installment was a mess in my book. This one, however, ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: CHIP-WRECKED is a fun family adventure film. It's the usual chaos and mayhem with an exciting story and hilarious sense of humor. What if you introduced another side of the chipmunks that you wouldn't expect them to have?! That's the main attraction, this film is about growing up and being independent and also about the trust <more> and responsibility that come with growing up and being independent..Don't dismiss this film as just something only young viewers or kids would enjoy, I think the film will also charm and entertain young adults, adults, and parents because the humor and especially the song selection in ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS movies have references to today's pop culture, it even pokes fun at Lord of The Rings, the film Cast Away, and the original James Bond. Think familiarity meets nostalgia. It's not Alvin And The Chipmunks movie if they don't sing or perform some of today's most popular hits from such artist as Lady Gaga to Willow Smith. This installment is way catchier and funnier than its predecessors. This is after all, the season of musical non-human characters, like Happy Feet 2 and The Muppets and I think ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: CHIP-WRECKED is strong enough to face the competition.I really appreciate the fact that ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: CHIP-WRECKED is not just gimmick, I appreciate the fact that the film actually has a story that works. The whole thing is more or less a chipmunked Lord Of The Flies but as I said earlier you get to be introduced to new sides of the characters. All of a sudden, Alvin who usually plays by his own rules, is forced to be the responsible one, Simon who's brilliant and uptight is now daring, spontaneous and oddly enough French, Theodore who's the naive and innocent one now finds himself adjusting to an environment that's out of his comfort zone, similar changes happen to the chippettes. All of them are now out of their element and they discover that there's more to themselves than what they've always perceived themselves.A lot of people find the chipmunks' voices annoying, there's not much that I or anyone could do about that, I mean,.. those high pitched voices are their trademark anyway. I suppose it's a matter of whether or not you grew up with them, as I did, or if you've grown accustomed to hearing them after the previous films. For this one, they brought in director Mike Mitchell who helmed Shrek Forever After which I thought was a nice ending to a saga that didn't always deliver. I don't know if ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: CHIP-WRECKED would be the final one of this franchise but I think Mitchell tackled the story, the relationships and the theme quite well, and so if this is an ending, then it's definitely a good one.Meanwhile, Dave Jason Lee , without planning it, spends time with his enemy from the first film, Ian David Cross who wears bird suit through the entire movie. And they argue about parenting and when can one parent let their kids start being independent. But it's not all dramatic, the humor is there and it's consistent. But that's the main theme in this film, a theme that I think kids and parents would be able to relate to. If there's one thing that I don't find quite satisfying about this installment is that there's not one big villain. The story does have a nutcase castaway obsessed with finding the island's treasure but in the end, everyone plays nice. Because the film is about going into adulthood, there are scenes in the film, particularly the ones in the cruise ship that may borderline adult-centric but the film never hits any type of provocative line whatsoever, it remains an exciting, fun family adventure film.-- www.Ramascreen.com -- <less> |
