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Alvin And The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel

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Alvin and the Chipmunks:
The Squeakquel

Promotional film poster
Directed by Betty Thomas
Produced by Janice Karman
Ross Bagdasarian, Jr.
Written by Jon Vitti
Jonathan Aibel
Glenn Berger
Based on Characters by
Ross Bagdasarian
Janice Karman
Starring Zachary Levi
David Cross
Jason Lee
Justin Long
Matthew Gray Gubler
Jesse McCartney
Amy Poehler
Anna Faris
Christina Applegate
Music by David Newman
Cinematography Anthony B. Richmond
Editing by Matt Friedman
Studio Fox 2000 Pictures
Regency Enterprises
Bagdasarian Productions
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Release date(s)
  • December 23, 2009 (2009-12-23)
Running time 88 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $70 million[1]
Box office $443,140,005[2]

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel is a 2009 American comedy film directed by Betty Thomas. The film stars Zachary Levi, David Cross, and Jason Lee with the voices of Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler, Jesse McCartney, Amy Poehler, Anna Faris, and Christina Applegate. It was written by Jon Vitti, Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, distributed by 20th Century Fox, and produced by Regency Enterprises and Bagdasarian Productions. The film is a sequel to the 2007 film Alvin and the Chipmunks and was released in theaters on December 23, 2009.

Contents

  • 1 Plot
  • 2 Cast
    • 2.1 Voices
    • 2.2 Cameos
  • 3 Reception
    • 3.1 Critical reception
    • 3.2 Box office
    • 3.3 Awards
  • 4 Soundtrack
    • 4.1 Track listing
    • 4.2 Chart performance
  • 5 Marketing
    • 5.1 Video game
  • 6 Home media
  • 7 Sequel
  • 8 References
  • 9 External links

Plot

During a benefit concert in Paris, France, David Seville is injured. Dave must recuperate and is forced to leave his aunt to look after the Chipmunks. Arrangements are also made for them to go to school. After another accident, the Chipmunks are left in the care of Toby, the grandson of Dave's aunt.

Meanwhile, Ian Hawke lives in the basement of JETT Records. Three singing female chipmunks, Brittany, Jeanette, and Eleanor, also known as the Chipettes, emerge and Ian hires them as plot to get back at the Chipmunks and revive his career.

While at school, the Chipmunks are bullied by jocks and visit the principal's office. They discover that the principal is a huge fan and wants them to help raise money for the music program by participating in a contest. Meanwhile, Ian is shocked to find the Chipmunks on the front page of his newspaper. After he reads a story about him, he quickly sends the Chipettes to school.

When the Chipmunks meet the Chipettes, they fall for their counterparts, but are soon forced to have a rivalry after discovering that they are with Ian. Meanwhile Dave finds out Toby is watching the boys, and he quickly leaves the hospital. At the concert, the Chipettes sing and Alvin fails to show for the Chipmunks - who then forfeit. When Alvin finally shows, he finds the auditorium empty and is ignored by his brothers at home.

Soon, the Chipettes are hired. The concert is on the same night as the school contest, so Ian decides to blow off the battle and make the Chipettes perform at the new concert, opening for Britney Spears.

Alvin finds out that Ian has locked the Chipettes in a cage, so Alvin races off to rescue them while Simon tells Jeanette how to open the cage over the phone. The Chipettes manage to escape with Alvin, and they arrive just in time to perform at the contest. The Chipmunks and the Chipettes perform together and they win. Dave returns during the contest. Meanwhile, Ian gets into more trouble at the concert he set up for the girls when he attempts to imitate them. After the contest, Dave allows the Chipettes to stay with them. In two post-credits scenes, the principal has the jocks scrape gum off from under the bleachers in the gymnasium, while Ian is thrown into a dumpster.

Cast

  • Zachary Levi as Toby Seville
  • David Cross as Ian Hawke
  • Jason Lee as David "Dave" Seville
  • Wendie Malick as Dr. Rubin
  • Anjelah Johnson as Julie Ortega
  • Kathryn Joosten as Aunt Jackie Seville
  • Kevin G. Schmidt as Ryan Edwards
  • Chris Warren, Jr. as Xander
  • Bridgit Mendler as Becca Kingston
  • Aimee Carrero as Emily

Voices

  • Justin Long (Ross Bagdasarian, Jr., singing) as Alvin Seville
  • Matthew Gray Gubler (Steve Vining, singing) as Simon Seville
  • Jesse McCartney (Janice Karman, singing) as Theodore Seville
  • Christina Applegate (Janice Karman, singing) as Brittany
  • Anna Faris (Janice Karman, singing) as Jeanette
  • Amy Poehler (Janice Karman, singing) as Eleanor

Cameos

  • Quest Crew as Li'l Rosero Dancers
  • Charice Pempengco as herself
  • Honor Society as themselves
  • Eric Bauza as Digger the Gopher (voice)

Reception

Critical reception

The film received mostly negative reviews. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 20% of 80 critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 3.9 out of 10.[3] Among Rotten Tomatoes' "Top Critics", the film holds an overall approval rating of 33%, based on a sample of 9 reviews. The site's general consensus is that, "This Squeakquel may entertain the kiddies, but it's low on energy and heavily reliant on slapstick humor."[4] On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from film critics, has a rating score of 41 based on 20 reviews.[5]

Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly graded the film a C-.[6] Gleiberman wrote in his review with this question: "Will kids eat up this cutely fractious claptrap? Of course they will. They'll eat up whatever you put in front of them. But that doesn't make The Squeakquel good for them."[6] Sue Robinson from Radio Times said that "even if there's little here for older viewers to enjoy, youngsters will love the slapstick action and catchy soundtrack."[7]

Some reviews were positive, such as Joe Leydon, writing for Variety, calling it "a frenetic but undeniably funny follow-up that offers twice the number of singing-and-dancing rodents in another seamless blend of CGI and live-action elements."[8] Betsy Sharkey of the Los Angeles Times commented on Betty Thomas' direction, saying that she brings "a light campy touch as she did in 1995's The Brady Bunch Movie."[9]

After the film had garnered $112 million worldwide at the box office over its first weekend, some critics were disappointed that it was more popular than other movies in wide release aimed at a family audience.[10][11] Richard Corliss of Time wrote that families "could have taken the cherubs to The Princess and the Frog or Disney's A Christmas Carol, worthy efforts that, together, took in only about a fifth of the Chipmunks' revenue in the same period".[12]

Box office

On its opening Wednesday, the film opened to #1 with $18,801,277, and finished the weekend at #3 behind Avatar and Sherlock Holmes[13] with $48,875,415 and a $75,589,048 5-day total, eclipsing its budget in only five days. Domestically, it is the 9th highest grossing film of 2009, and on March 7, 2010, it outgrossed its predecessor to become the second highest grossing film to never hit #1 behind My Big Fat Greek Wedding.[14] Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel ended its run with $219,614,612 domestically and $223,525,393 overseas with a total of $443,140,005 worldwide, which is higher than its predecessor.[2]

Awards

  • 2010 Kids' Choice Awards: Favorite Movie (winner)
  • 2010 BAFTA Children's Awards: BAFTA Kids' Vote - Feature Film (winner)

Soundtrack

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by Alvin and the Chipmunks and The Chipettes
Released December 1, 2009 (December 1, 2009)
Genre Pop, rock, hip hop, dance
Length 50:15
Label Rhino
Producer Ross Bagdasarian, Janice Karman, Ali Dee Theodore
Alvin and the Chipmunks and The Chipettes chronology
Undeniable
(2008)
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
(2009)
Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked: Music from the Motion Picture
(2011)

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the licensed soundtrack based on the film. It was released on December 1, 2009. Bands Honor Society and Queensberry, along with Filipino singer Charice, were all featured artists for both the movie and soundtrack.

Track listing

Standard
No. Title Performing Artist(s) Length
1. "You Really Got Me" (featuring Honor Society) The Chipmunks  
2. "Hot n Cold"   The Chipettes  
3. "So What"   The Chipettes  
4. "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)"   The Chipmunks and The Chipettes  
5. "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)"   The Chipettes  
6. "Bring It On"   The Chipmunks  
7. "Stayin' Alive"   The Chipmunks  
8. "The Song" (featuring Queensberry) The Chipettes  
9. "It's OK"   The Chipmunks  
10. "Shake Your Groove Thing"   The Chipmunks and The Chipettes  
11. "Put Your Records On"   The Chipettes  
12. "I Want to Know What Love Is"   The Chipmunks  
13. "We Are Family"   The Chipmunks and The Chipettes  
14. "No One" (featuring Charice) The Chipettes  
Bonus track
No. Title Performing Artist(s) Length
15. "I Gotta Feeling"   The Chipmunks and The Chipettes  

Chart performance

Chart (2009) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[17] 15
New Zealand Albums Chart[citation needed] 3
UK Albums Chart[citation needed] 6
U.S. Billboard 200[citation needed] 6

Marketing

Video game

A video game adaption was released on December 1, 2009 (the same day as the movie's soundtrack) only for the Wii and Nintendo DS.

Home media

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel was released on DVD/Blu-ray on March 30, 2010 in North America, on April 12, 2010 in the United Kingdom and on June 2, 2010 in Australia.

Sequel

Shortly after the film’s release on DVD and Blu-ray, Fox and Regency had announced that Alvin and the Chipmunks 3D was scheduled to be released on December 16, 2011.[18] The title was then changed to Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked.[19] On January 22, 2011, Fox 2000 Pictures started production on the film during a Caribbean cruise on the Carnival Dream ship. Filming took place primarily on the ship’s upper, open decks with scenes featuring actor Jason Lee (reprising his role as David Seville) and the antics of The Chipmunks in the Carnival Dream’s outdoor recreation areas. Stops on the itinerary included Cozumel, Roatan, Belize and Costa Maya (which provided tropical backdrops for many of the movie’s shipboard scenes).[20]

References

  1. ^ Fritz, Ben (2009-12-28). "Holiday box-office take is highest in recent history". Los Angeles Times. class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved 2010-01-03. 
  2. ^ a b "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved 2010-06-01. 
  3. ^ "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (2009)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved 2010-01-16. 
  4. ^ "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (Cream of the Crop)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved 2009-12-25. 
  5. ^ "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel". Metacritic. class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved 2010-01-05. 
  6. ^ a b Gleiberman, Owen (2009-12-24). "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel Movie Review". Entertainment Weekly. class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved 2009-12-24. 
  7. ^ Robinson, Sue (2009-12-24). "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel". RadioTimes. class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved 2009-12-24. 
  8. ^ Leydon, Joe (2009-12-20). "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel Review". Variety. class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved 2009-12-24. 
  9. ^ Sharkey, Betsy (2009-12-23). "Bright-eyed, Bushy-tailed". Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel movie review, Los Angeles Times. class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved 2011-12-13. 
  10. ^ Ryan Michael Painter (2009-12-28). "Weekend Box Office Reaction". class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.btitle=Weekend+Box+Office+Reaction&rft.atitle=&rft.aulast=Ryan+Michael+Painter&rft.au=Ryan+Michael+Painter&rft.date=2009-12-28&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.inthisweek.com%2Fview.php%3Fid%3D2012967&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Alvin_and_the_Chipmunks:_The_Squeakquel"> 
  11. ^ Scott Mendelson (2009-12-27). "HuffPost Weekend Box Office in Review: Avatar Dominates Record-Breaking Weekend". Huffington Post. class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved 2010-01-24. 
  12. ^ Corliss, Richard (2009-12-30). "Alvin 2: The Unspeakable Squeakquel". Time. class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved 2010-08-09. 
  13. ^ "Weekend Box Office Results for December 25–27, 2009". Box Office Mojo. class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved 2010-08-09. 
  14. ^ "Top Grossing Movies That Never Hit #1 at the Box Office". Box Office Mojo. class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved 2010-08-09. 
  15. ^ "Alvin And The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] (Amazon MP3 Exclusive Version): Alvin And The Chipmunks: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.com. class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved 2012-04-23. 
  16. ^ "iTunes - Music - Alvin and The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) [Deluxe Edition] by Various Artists". Itunes.apple.com. 2009-12-01. class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved 2012-04-23. 
  17. ^ Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Australian chart history
  18. ^ "The Chipmunks are Coming in 3D, Wall Street Bumped". ComingSoon.net. class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved 2010-03-10. 
  19. ^ "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked at Box Office Mojo". Boxofficemojo.com. 2011-12-16. class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved 2011-12-27. 
  20. ^ "Alvin and the Chipmunks Movie Filmed on Caribbean Cruise". Travel Agent Central. 2011-02-02. class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved 2011-12-27. 

External links

  • Official website
  • Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel at the Internet Movie Database
  • Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel at Box Office Mojo
  • Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel at AllRovi