Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (2011) Reviews

• Disgraceful,this trilogy gets worse as it goes on,

  lesleyharris302011-12-19

  Alvins And The Chipmunks:Chipwrecked is a terrible movie,the three Alvin And The Chipmunks movies aren't well received but to be honest I enjoyed the first two,but this one is absolutely awful,in the first two they sing a lot but at the right time,in this they just sing whenever they feel like it,but the thing I hate most about this movie is the god awful Zoe,played by Jenny Slatewho is just a stupid character,although I do like The Chipmunks themselves,not so much for the Chipettes. The Chipmunks,The Chippettes and Dave go on a cruise on there way to the international movie awards,but The Chipmunks and The Chippetes get stuck on an island (long story) and Dave separately gets stuck with Ian Hawke in a pellican suit.

• A Nutshell Review: Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chip-Wrecked

  DICK STEEL2011-12-16

  For as long as the Chipmunks can be milked to draw in the holiday crowds, the sequels will never stop. After all, the digital templates are there and done up to be recycled countless of times, and the live action characters just jolly well need not be there for things to work. Pop hits between the films serve as the highlights for getting the munked treatment, and while they do sound cute initially, eventually this novelty will soon wear off. Director Mike Mitchell, who sounded the death knell for Shrek with his Shrek Forever After, happened to do the same for Alvin and the Chipmunks in coming up with something so uninspired and clearly going through the motion. The first film as expected is the origin film, followed by the sequel which is more or less a mirror image of the first, except with the trio from the opposite sex known as the Chippettes. In the third film, with everyone - Alvin (voiced by Justin Long), Simon (Matthew Gray Gubler), Theodore (Jesse McCartney), Brittany (Christina Applegate), Jeanette (Anna Faris) and Eleanor (Amy Poehler) - all living under the same roof as Dave (Jason Lee) their surrogate dad/manager, you'd expect that perhaps things can get a wee bit more cerebral, but alas all we're getting is a rehash of characterization not already seen in the films, and done countless of times in their animated series. Alvin is still being Alvin, Simon needs to chill and Theodore just needs to be cute. So goes for the Chippettes with vain Brittany, introverted Jeanette and Eleanor just makes a lot of clothes and costumes in this one, since they're all stuck in an unnamed island (in Hawaii on location so it seems). What was to be a family cruise vacation turned out to be an abandoned island adventure, with Ian (David Cross) the chipmunks' ex-manager and one time music executive on board as well as the nasty opposition (too weak to be called a villain or the antagonist), and Zoe (Jenny Slate), a woman stuck in the island for close to a decade, and exhibiting the very same signs of loneliness that Tom Hanks' Chuck Noland did in Cast Away, except that she has more friends other than Wilson. Centering around the chipmunks' fight for survival amongst themselves and with Zoe, as well as Simon and Alvin's temporal transformation in character - one being French (don't ask) and more carefree while the other getting all serious and responsible, the story plays out like an extended cartoon episode, with Dave and Ian on a quest to try and rescue their cash cows before something untoward get to happen to them, which in the story, is zilch given a low threat situation, most of the time. Nothing spectacular gets to happen in the film, and it runs like on a plateau without any highs or lows, and soon you'll feel you may be better off looking at caged animals in a zoo. Which is a bit frustrating because the story's written by both Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, who were also responsible for what I felt were some of the more intelligent animated films in recent years with their Kung Fu Panda and its sequel, having the right elements balanced in terms of story, characters, comedy, action and entertainment for both the kids and accompanying adults alike, but this effort seemed to be written without much heart put into it to cater for the lowest common denominator, and it shows. Granted they also did stinkers like Monsters Vs Aliens, but when you set the bar higher, that's where you'll be benchmarked against, and that's where this proved to be a total Chip-Wreck.

• Fun movie, but uneven at times

  CMTiago2014-05-15

  After watching the first movie, and loving it, I was hoping that its sequels would have delivered in the same manner. Having not had the time to watch Nº2, I came across this one and decided to watch it. By the end of the movie I had smiled and laughed in some parts, but overall the plot was very uneven. I am not gonna bicker too much since it is a family movie and the little ones probably laughed and had a lot of fun. To summarize some of the problems I had with the movie, I believe that some of the characters were a bit too cartoonish (I shouldn't be surprised though) and a weak plot guideline that doesn't leave anything to the imagination. The movie also lacks any real thrills, which hurts its chances with more mature audiences. I will say that the performances of Jason Lee and David Cross were what I expected. Alvin and company are undoubtedly a good way to spend an afternoon with your family watching movies, but do yourself a favor and don't watch it alone. Rating 6/10

• If you've never liked the singing and dancing Chipmunk and Chipette trio, you're certainly not going to after this rehash of a sequel

  moviexclusive2011-12-13

  You don't change the formula, not when it is one that has worked to amass a cool US$400mil worldwide per picture. So despite boasting a new director in the form of 'Sky High' and 'Shrek Forever After's' Mike Mitchell, this third live-action adaptation of the classic animated TV series is surprisingly alike to the earlier two instalments. That's going to be good news for those who loved both the first 'Alvin and the Chipmunks' as well as the 'Squeakquel'- but for those hoping that this third outing will finally have the charm that eluded the first two, we'd like to warn you to be disappointed. Penned once again by the duo of Johnathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, the 'Chipwrecked' adventure uses yet another paper-thin plot to string together the hi-jinks of the singing and dancing Chipmunk trio as well as their female Chipette equivalents. Here, Alvin's mischief while vacationing on a cruise with their kind beleaguered owner Dave (Jason Lee) leaves the Chipmunks and the Chipettes stranded on a desert island with a volcano that's about to blow its top. Oh and did we mention Alvin's hand-gliding stunt also lands both Dave and their arch-nemesis from before, Ivan (David Cross), overboard and washed up on the same, albeit different corner of the, island? It's no secret how- let alone if- the Chipmunks and Chipettes manage to make it off the island alive, and not even the addition of a new character, Zoe (Jenny Slate), whom Aibel and Berger unabashedly models after Tom Hanks' FedEx employee in Castaway, adds much life to what is really an awfully predictable plot. Admittedly, none of the Chipmunk movies have had much story, and to expect better from 'Chipwrecked' would therefore be a tall order. Like the previous instalments therefore, this one is simply content to coast on the 'aw-shucks' cute charms of the chipmunks. Indeed, each Chipmunk seems to be calculated to appeal to a certain demographic- whether the playful leader Alvin, the responsible brainiac Simon, or the adorably naïve Theodore, as well as the corresponding Chipettes Brittany, Jeanette and Eleanor. Their incessant high-pitched bantering and bickering that unfolds at a lightning pace is still clearly the highlight of the show, not forgetting of course their regular song and dance numbers set to some of the contemporary chart- topping pop tunes like Lady Gaga's 'Bad Romance', Willow Smith's 'Whip My Hair' and Destiny Child's 'Survivor'. Like we said, it's worked before- like a charm, if we may add- with family audiences, so expect more of the same this time round. A midway twist where Simon starts assuming an alter-ego in the form of Frenchman Simone after getting bitten by a poisonous spider tries to inject some novelty into the Chipmunks' routine, but the initial appeal of watching the usually rational Simon turn debonair and somewhat impetuous quickly wears out its welcome. Faring slightly better is the budding attraction between Simon and Jeanette, manufactured nonetheless to elicit maximum geek appeal. Speaking of geek, those who loved 'My Name is Earl' may be dismayed to find that Jason Lee plays again the lead human character in the movie- and while the talented Jason looks like he could easily sleepwalk through the role, he does succeed in drawing out more than a few laughs in between his repartee with David Cross. Mitchell however displays little of the flair he exhibited in the superhero surprise 'Sky High' and his work here is as nondescript as his earlier in 'Shrek Forever After'. Of course, the fault isn't entirely Mitchell's- after all, the template for the 'Alvin and the Chipmunks' live-action films have been pretty much fixed in stone after the resounding success of the first two movies. This three-quel is made only for those who have enjoyed both its predecessors, since ultimately it rehashes the same singing and dancing Chipmunk formula. Nevertheless, it's fast becoming a foolish consistency, and the likely fourth entry better not just be simply another Chip off the old block.

• Look in the Thesaurus under Execrable, Then Go Down from There

  RichardSRussell-12011-12-16

  Alvin and the Chipmunks [3]: Chipwrecked (1:27, G) — other: talking animals, 3rd string, sequel Aauuugggghhhh! Ack! Gack! Bork bork bork. Bllegegegghhhh! Ptui ptui ptui. My brain, my brain! Make it stop. Make it go away. I'll never be able to unsee this. Oh, god, the nightmares for years to come. ALLLVVIIINNNNN! No, no, no, no, no, no. It was never funny. It was never endearing. It was never cute. It was just awful and horrible and beaten to death over and over and yet it keeps coming back like a vampire with 98 stakes in its heart. I think my ears are bleeding. My mind is going, Dave. I can feel it. I can feel it. The horror. The horror. BONUS: The main excrescence is preceded by a Blue Sky short animated feature with Scrat, the acorn-crazed squirrel from the Ice Age films. It was abrupt and pointless and about 100 times more admission-worthy than the title printed on the ticket.