88 minutes
In theaters December 23, 2009
Rating: PG, Comedy
They're baa-a-a-ack. Agaa-a-ain.
Those singing squirrels -- er, I mean chipper chipmunks -- Alvin (Justin Long), Simon (Matthew Gray Gubler), and Theodore (Jesse McCartney), the stars of 2007's Alvin and the Chipmunks, the latest in a string of entertainment products springing from a 1958 holiday novelty song created by Ross Bagdasarian, return in a sequel that just squeaks by.
Thus the title, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, of this hybrid of CG-animation (the hyperactive rodents themselves) and live action (everything and everyone else) set immediately after the first installment ended.
Jason Lee also returns as David Seville, who demands that these international rock stars go to school. Then he sustains an injury and disappears for the duration (no dummy he, but contractual obligations are just that), leaving the trilling trio in the care of his twentysomething nephew Toby, played by Zachary Levi.
As if the burden of fame and fortune on these world-renown pre-teen pipsqueaks isn't heavy enough, they've also got the demands of school to deal with, including their latest mission: to save the school music program by winning the Battle of the Bands and its ,000 prize.
Which means that now not only do they also have to worry about competition from their female counterparts, the Chipettes -- Brittany (Christina Applegate), Eleanor (Amy Poehler), and Jeanette (Anna Faris) -- a trio of equally-high-pitched and mirror-image-similar chipmunk singers egged on by our heroes' manipulative former manager (David Cross), but they'll have to ignore that feeling of romance in the air to emerge victorious. And these 'Munks aren't exactly monks.
One way or the other, it would appear the boys have met their match.
The simplistic plot, with its message about being true to oneself and loyal to one's friends, is certainly age-appropriate for the target audience. As is the humor, which is aimed squarely at the silliness-celebrating little ones.
Betty Thomas (Private Parts, 28 Days, Doctor Dolittle, The Brady Bunch Movie) takes over the directorial reins from Tim Hill and a squeaky script by Jon Vitti (returning from the original) and Jonathan Aibel. There's plenty of the high-pitched singing that children love so much, but the voices of all the chipmunks tend to sound the same.
The original was colorful and energetic, and held the attention of the youngsters in the seven-and-under crowd. But it was also uninspired and condescending, with funny taking a back seat to cutesy. That's true again.
The problem is that it's gotten more difficult to accept this kind of semi-animated lowest-common-denominator entertainment for kids since the original surfaced, what with the astonishing level of quality in most of the animated offerings of the last year or so.
All things being squeakquel, kids respond to animated characters and slapstick hijinks good or bad. As they're certainly entitled to and well they should. It's just that there have been plenty of meritorious feature cartoons on screen of late, so we needn't kid ourselves about which category AatC:TS is in.
This is the kind of gimmicky, one-dimensional kidflick -- a chipmonk off the old block -- that disenfranchises the adults in attendance almost immediately, but nonetheless tickles the tykes. So while you're squiring your kids to and from this sequel, get ready for the inevitable threequel.
The helium-pitched and critic-proof Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel deserves 2 stars out of 4. But add a star if you swim in the kiddie pool and deduct one if you dip in the office pool.
Article © AHN - All Rights Reserved
Source:XMB