Voices of Ross Bagdasarian Jr, Janice Karman, Dodie Goodman, and Susan Tyrell
Directed by Janice Karman
Music and Lyrics by various
Bagadararian's father created the Chipmunks and their human handler David Seville in 1958, on the single "Please Christmas Don't Be Late." It was a smash that season, leading to records and a prime-time cartoon three years later. The franchise stalled after Bagadararian died, but the cartoon continued to be popular in re-runs, enough for his son to revive the characters on record and in new Christmas special and cartoon show. The new Saturday morning show was even more successful, leading to more albums and this movie. How do those three squeaky-voiced juvenile rock stars and their female counterparts the Chipettes come off in a feature-length movie? Let's begin at David's (Bagdasarian) house, just as he's preparing for a trip to Europe, and find out...
The Story: Alvin (Bagdasarian) is bitterly disappointed when the Chipmunks can't join their guardian in Europe. Worse yet, their babysitter is kind but eccentric Mrs. Miller (Goodman). Alvin, his brothers Simon (Bagdasarian) and Theodore (Karman) join their girlfriends Brittany, Jeanette, and Eleanor (all Karman) at a local diner to play an around-the-world themed game. They're spied by wealthy Claudia Furstein (Tyrell) and her brother Klaus (Anthony De Longis), who offers to subsidize a race around the world to drop off sets of dolls representing the opposing team. Alvin and Theodore trick Mrs. Miller into thinking David wanted them to join him and convince a suspicious Simon to come along.
At first, the trip goes splendidly for all involved...but then, after incidents for the girls in Cairo and Antarctica and the boys in the jungles of Fiji, it becomes clear that the Furnsteins sent them on a lot more than a world trip and doll exchange. In addition to the Furnsteins' people, there's another even shadier group trying to steal the dolls and keep them from their travels. It'll take a lot of teamwork for the kids to bring these characters down and reveal the Furnsteins' plot for once and all.
The Animation: Bagasarian said this was farmed out to more countries than the Chipmunks and Chipettes visited, and I'm afraid it looks it. The designs of the characters, especially the Chipmunks, fluctuate wildly from scene to scene, and even from minute to minute. There's several continuity errors too, with objects and characters vanishing from backgrounds or appearing where they shouldn't. At least the colors are gorgeous, with each country visited well represented by glowing jewel tones.
The Song and Dance: My sisters and I loved this movie when our parents recorded it off cable in the late 80's, and it's still fun to watch today. Kamen and Bagdasarian manage to bring range to the kids and their squeaky voices, and the Furnsteins are a hoot, especially Klous' ongoing feud with Claudia's nasty little dog Sophie. The music is incredibly catchy too, with some of these songs having lodged in my mind for over 30 years.
Favorite Number: We don't get our first song until almost 20 minutes in and the kids have started our journey, but it's the delightful medley of the old Carmen Miranda numbers "I Yi Yi Yi Like You Very Much" and "Cuanto le Gusto." Alvin romps under a sombrero with all the pretty girls in Mexico, while Theodore desperately tries to get lunch and Simon ends up in the fountain. "Off to See the World" shows the kids at the different locations they visit throughout their trip, from the boys in Peru marketplaces and African waterfalls to the girls skiing in Switzerland and marching with the guards at Buckingham Palace in England.
They're "The Girls (and Boys) of Rock and Roll" when they meet in Athens, and their bet to see "who can out rock-and-roll each other" turns into a show stopping dance routine. Eleanor sings the heart-wrenching ballad "My Mother" to an ailing baby penguin to remind him of his own parent as she and the other Chipettes return him to Antarctica.
Trivia: Mrs. Miller can be heard singing "Witch Doctor" while talking to David on the phone after the boys leave and "Come On' a My House" as she drives to the airport. Bagdasarian's father wrote those major late 50's hits; the latter was associated with Rosemary Clooney for most of her life.
The TV show was such a success, the Bagdasarians used the money from it to fund this film. Working with those overseas studios ended up causing delays and pushing the film from December 1986 to May 1987. Several sequences and a song were ultimately cut for time and money, including a third Chipmunks/Chipettes routine "Flying With the Eagles" and a trip for the Chipmunks to Russia.
What I Don't Like: As funny as the film is, a lot of it hasn't dated well. The sequences in Mexico, Cairo, and with the native tribe in Fiji are awash in obvious and ridiculous stereotypes. The "Wooly Bully" sacrificial number in Fiji in particular plays with this, with the natives partying with torches even as they want to throw the boys to the crocodiles. There's also all the animation bobbles in the second half, some of them quite distracting.
Jeanette and Brittany sing "Gettin' Lucky" to charm a pack of snakes guarding the dolls during the Arabic sequence. The sight of the girls slinking around in relatively skimpy harem costumes while singing about making out may rub more than one audience the wrong way nowadays. There's also an awful lot of violence here for a lighthearted kid's film; the Fursteins and their jewel smuggling plot sounds more like something from a TV show of this time than anything on the Chipmunks' cartoon.
The Big Finale: Even with those complaints, I still recommend this for older elementary school-age kids who'll enjoy the Chipmunks' antics and can handle the rougher stuff and adults who grew up watching the movie on cable and video.
Home Media: Out of print and expensive on DVD and Blu-Ray and, as far as I can tell, not on streaming. Your best bet is likely to check eBay and other used sources as I did.
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