Alvin and the Chipmunks is an American animated music group. It was created by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. in 1958. The group is made up of three animated chipmunks who sing and talk. They are Alvin, Simon and Theodore. The trio is managed by a fictional man named Dave Seville, who adopted the chipmunks. In reality, "David Seville" was Bagdasarian's stage name, and the chipmunks themselves are named after the executives of their original record label. The characters became a success, and were recreated in animated cartoons and eventually movies.

The voices of the group were all done by Bagdasarian. He recorded his voice and then sped up the playback to create high-pitched voices. It was so unusual and well-done that it earned the record two Grammy Awards for musical engineering. Bagdasarian, performing as the Chipmunks, released a long series of albums and singles. Bagdasarian died in 1972. The characters were revived in the 1980s and 1990s, with the voices being performed by Ross Bagdasarian, Jr. and his wife Janice Karman.

A computer-animated movie based on the characters was released in 2007, called Alvin and the Chipmunks. It had three sequels: one in 2009, one in 2011 and one in 2015. The actors Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler and Jesse McCartney performed the talking voices of the Chipmunks. Bagdasarian, Jr. and Karman performed the singing voices for Alvin, Theodore and the Chipettes, but Steve Vining does Simon's singing voice. The project has earned five Grammy Awards, an American Music Award, a Golden Reel Award, and three Kids' Choice Awards, and has been nominated for three Emmy awards.

Television series
The Alvin Show (1961-1962)
Alvin and the Chipmunks (1983-1990)
ALVINNN!!! and the Chipmunks (2015-)

Main characters
 David "Dave" Seville is a the adoptive father of the Chipmunks. He is a human. He was played by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. and later Ross Bagdasarian, Jr. In the movies, he is played by Jason Lee.
 Ian Hawke is the Chipmunks and Chipettes former nemesis and Dave's former arch-rival, he is played by David Cross.
 Alvin is the lead singer of the Chipmunks. He is the oldest of his brothers. He was voiced by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. and later by Ross Bagdasarian, Jr. In the movies, he is voiced by Justin Long. His singing voice is done by Ross Bagdasarian.
 Simon is the second oldest brother. He is a very intelligent chipmunk. He was voiced by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. and later by Ross Bagdasarian, Jr. Matthew Gray Gubler voiced Simon in the movie series. His singing voice is done by Steve Vining.
 Theodore is the youngest of his brothers. He was voiced by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. and later by Janice Karman. In the movies, he is voiced by Jesse McCartney. His singing voice is done by Ross Bagdasarian, Jr.
 The Chipettes is a girl group of chipmunks. It is made up of Brittany (voiced by Christina Applegate in the movies), Jeanette (voiced by Anna Faris) and Eleanor (voiced by Amy Poehler in the second and third films and Kaley Cuoco in a fourth film).
 Agent James Suggs is the Chipmunks nemesis of U.S. Air Marshal, he is played by Tony Hale.

Other characters
 Claire Wilson, played by Cameron Richardson
 Gail, played by Jane Lynch
 Toby Seville, played by Zachary Levi
 Zoe, played by Jenny Slate
 Simone, voiced by Alan Tudyk
 Samantha, played by Kimberly Williams-Paisley
 Ashley Grey, played by Bella Thorne
 Miles, played by Josh Green

Other websites
 Chipmunks.com, Bagdasarian Productions' official site

Animated characters
1950s American music groups
Children's musical groups
Grammy Award winners
Musical groups from California
1958 establishments in the United States
Musical groups established in 1958
Musical groups disestablished in the 1970s
1972 disestablishments in the United States
Musical groups established in 1979
1979 establishments in California
1950s establishments in California
1970s disestablishments in California
American Music Awards
 
Fictional characters introduced in the 1950s