Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel is a 2009 American live-action/animated jukebox musical comedy film directed by Betty Thomas and written by Jon Vitti and the writing team of Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, based on the characters Alvin and the Chipmunks created by Ross Bagdasarian Sr. and the Chipettes created by Janice Karman. It is the second installment in the live-action Alvin and the Chipmunks film series and the sequel to Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007). The film stars Zachary Levi, David Cross and Jason Lee. Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler and Jesse McCartney return to voice the Chipmunks from the previous film. Christina Applegate, Anna Faris and Amy Poehler voice the new characters, the Chipettes. The film sees the Chipmunks entering high school and being under the care of Dave Seville's cousin, Toby, while Ian Hawke recruits the Chipettes to restore his career.
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel was released in the United States on December 23, 2009, by 20th Century Fox. The film received generally negative reviews from critics, who criticized the over-reliance of slapstick humor. However, it grossed over $443 million worldwide against a $70 million budget. Two sequels were later released: Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked in 2011 and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip in 2015.
== Plot ==
David "Dave" Seville is injured when a cardboard cutout of Alvin sends him flying across the stage during a charity benefit concert in Paris. While he recovers in a French hospital, Dave asks his aunt, Jackie, to look after the Chipmunks, Alvin, Simon, and Theodore. Arrangements are also made for them to attend West Eastman High School. After she also has an accident at the airport, the Chipmunks are left in the care of Toby, Jackie's grandson and Dave's cousin.
Former JETT Records chief executive Ian Hawke, who is broke and destitute, lives in the company's basement. Three singing female chipmunks, Brittany, Jeanette, and Eleanor, A.K.A. the Chipettes, emerge from a FedEx package. Ian recruits them to resurrect his career.
While at school, two jealous jocks, Ryan and Xander, bully the Chipmunks by chasing them around, putting Simon's head in a toilet and poking at Theodore's backside. The group are summoned to the principal's office after attacking the jocks. The principal, Dr. Rubin, a fan who saw them in Denver, Colorado, enlists their help to raise money for the school's music program by participating in a contest. Ian is shocked to find the Chipmunks on the front page of his newspaper. After he reads a story about them representing the school, he also enrolls the Chipettes there.
When the Chipmunks meet the Chipettes, both groups are smitten with each other. However, Brittany reminds the girls that Ian said they betrayed him and are untrustworthy, unaware of his true colors. Alvin and the boys struggle to make it through a rehearsal because of their new crushes. Ian smugly walks in and introduces his new stars, the Chipettes. The boys are shocked to see the girls are working with him, and a rivalry emerges when Ian convinces Dr. Rubin to let the Chipettes compete in the Battle of the Bands. Rubin sets up a concert for the two groups to compete to represent the school.
Alvin becomes popular with the jocks and joins the football team, not realizing the next game is during the concert. At the concert, Theodore and Simon tell the fans that Alvin failed to show up and they cannot perform, so the Chipettes win by default. Alvin arrives afterwards to an empty auditorium, and Brittany calls him out for his lack of responsibility.
Alvin returns home and unsuccessfully tries apologizing to his brothers. Theodore runs away to the Los Angeles Zoo the next day to live with a meerkat family, only to find that a wedge-tailed eagle has moved into their exhibit. Alvin and Simon save him from the eagle, and the three escape alive.
Soon, the Chipettes soon learn that they are to perform as an opening act for a Britney Spears concert on the same night as the school contest. Ian convinces them to call off the battle and perform at the concert, but refuses to give the same credit to Jeanette and Eleanor that he gives Brittany, who demands that they all perform together or not at all, until Ian threatens to send them to a barbecue restaurant unless they perform.
Before the Battle of the Bands, Alvin receives a distressed phone call from the Chipettes, who tell him that Ian has locked them in a cage. He goes on to rescue them with a mini motorcycle while Simon tells Jeanette how to pick the lock over the phone. Simon and Theodore are on the verge of going out to perform just by themselves until the others arrive just in time to perform. The Chipmunks and the Chipettes perform together for the first time and win the money for the music program. Dave, who had left the hospital upon learning that Toby was looking after the Chipmunks, returns during the contest, happy to see the Chipmunks again, and allows the Chipettes to stay with them.
Meanwhile, Ian attempts to imitate the Chipettes at the Staples Centre, only to get booed at and for security guards to eject him from the arena and throw him in a dumpster (after the credits have finished). Also, Ryan, Xander, and Jeremy have to scrape the gum off from under the gymnasium bleachers as punishment for harassing the Chipmunks and making Alvin miss the sing-off by bribing him into their football team.
== Production ==
Originally, Dave Seville was written to have a larger role in the film, but it was reduced due to Jason Lee’s filming schedule for the fourth and final season of My Name Is Earl. During preproduction of Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel in 2008, most of his scenes were rewritten, with much of Lee's role being replaced with Zachary Levi’s character, Toby Seville. The visual effects and animation for the chipmunks were produced by Los Angeles-based Rhythm and Hues Studios. David Newman composed the film's musical score, replacing Christopher Lennertz.
== Reception ==
=== Box office ===
On its opening Wednesday, the film opened to #1 with $18.8 million and finished the weekend at #3 behind Fox's own Avatar and Warner Bros' Sherlock Holmes with $48.9 million and a $75.6 million 5-day total, eclipsing its budget in only 5 days. In the US, its the 9th highest-grossing film of 2009, and on March 7, 2010, it out-grossed its predecessor to become the second highest-grossing film to never hit #1 behind My Big Fat Greek Wedding. The Squeakquel ended its run with $219.6 million in the US and $223.5 million overseas for a total of $443.1 million worldwide.
=== Critical response ===
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 21% of 85 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4/10. The website's consensus reads: "This Squeakquel may entertain the kiddies, but it's low on energy and heavily reliant on slapstick humor." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 41 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade A on scale of A+ to F.
Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly graded the film a C-, asking, "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." 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."
Joe Leydon, writing for Variety, called 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." 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."
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. 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".
=== Accolades ===
At the 2010 Kids' Choice Awards, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel won Favorite Movie. The film was one of nominees for the "Family" category at the 2010 National Movie Awards, losing to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009). Music supervisor Julianne Jordan won the Guild of Music Supervisors Award for Best Music Supervision for a Film in 2011. At the 2010 British Academy Children's Awards, The Squeakquel won Kid's Vote — Film.
Category:Alvin and the Chipmunks
Category:20th Century Fox
Category:2009
Category:December
Category:Live Action
Category:Bagdasarian Productions
Category:Regency Enterprises