Download Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chip-Wrecked Movie
They said it couldn't be done. They said that 2009's Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel was such an indisputable masterwork that it could never be topped. But, thanks to a combination of back-breaking effort and superhuman intellect, lightning is about to strike twice. This winter sees the release of Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked. It promises to be everything that Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel was, but on a boat. Gird yourselves for the trailer analysis:
As previously mentioned, Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked is set on a boat, thus implying that all further Alvin and the Chipmunks movies will be based around things that contain a pun on one or more aspects of the word "chipmunk". For instance, Alvin and the Chipmunks 4 will almost definitely be called Chiplash, and will deal with Theodore's adventures in a small claims compensation trial following a minor motoring accident. Alvin and the Chipmunks 5 will be called Chips Don't Lie, detailing their time spent as Shakira's backing band. Films six, seven and eight: The Girl From Chipanema, We Got The Munk and Honey I Munk The Chips, which are all fairly self-explanatory.
Anyway – back to the film. Hopefully this will be a peaceful, event-free cruise for everyone involved, right?
Uh-OH! Not if THAT wise-guy smirk is anything to go by! It looks as if Alvin has his mind set on all SORTS of crazy high jinks! This is going to be a RIOT!
Here's Alvin standing at the front of the boat like Leonardo DiCaprio, screaming "I'm the king of the world!" See? This is fun. Referencing films that are five years older than the target demographic of your film is fun.
Oh NO! Now, for reasons that aren't immediately clear, Alvin has decided to cover the deck of the cruise ship with oil. It seems like the sort of thing that would inevitably cause a horrible accident later on down the line, but Alvin is a responsible young thing. I'm certain he'll be sure to ...
WHOOPS! TOO LATE! The oil has made Jason Lee slip over. He's probably really angry now. He'll probably shout the word "Alvin" as loudly as he can in a minute.
Yep. Just look at how angrily he's shouting the word "Alvin". The Chipettes have their fingers in their ears. The little girl in the green T-shirt has her fingers in her ears. The guy in the sunglasses has ... well, actually he just looks quite happy to be on a boat at all, but his fingers are in his ears anyway. Either Jason Lee is shouting really loudly or they're all trying to block out the voices in their heads that are berating them for accepting work on the second sequel to an animated film about farting rodents.
And here's the title screen, with all three of our heroes present and correct. There's Theodore, who's cruelly been pushed to the back because he's the fat one. There's Simon, who's done up like a kind of vacationing serial killer. And then there's Alvin, wearing the wraparound sunglasses and crooked baseball cap of the man from down your road who breeds rottweilers and sits outside his front door drinking cans of Fosters all day while swearing at his equally terrifying but quite sad-looking wife. This film is going to be AMAZING.
The trailer ends with a man intoning the word "Christmas". This is either because Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked is released at Christmas, or because the trailer was so abjectly soul-destroying that they decided to end it with the happiest word they could think of as a kind of desperate apology to the audience. I'm pretty sure it's the latter.
The third instalment in the Chipmunks movie franchise sees the Chipmunks and the Chipettes, along with Dave, going on a cruise. It's a little break before performing at the International Music Awards. Of course, trouble brews when Alvin goes overboard (in the widest sense of the word) with one of his pranks. As the title suggests, they find themselves lost on an island, but not everything is as it seems.
The movie is a little short on plot: In a nutshell, how they get off the island and learn some important lessons along the way. But then again, this movie wasn't made for adults. Unlike Puss In Boots, there are no "adult" asides in this one, no snarky twists to the tale. Kids, though, will love it. The pace sags somewhat in the middle, but there are just enough hi-jinks to keep them entertained. And when the finale came about, I saw several children leap off their seats with arms raised. (Although it must be said that an adult couple sitting next to me also cheered, so there.)
Sure, other animated movies this season - from Tintin to Happy Feet 2 - will vie for your dollar, but at least with Chipwrecked, you know what you're going to get. Oh, you also get to watch the new Scrat-centric Ice Age trailer as an appetiser. Opens in cinemas on Dec 15.