Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007 film)

Three musical chipmunks are discovered by an aspiring songwriter who wants to use their amazing singing abilities to become famous.
Alvin and the Chipmunks is a 2007 American live-action/animated jukebox musical comedy film directed by Tim Hill. Based on the characters of the same name created by Ross Bagdasarian Sr., the film stars Jason Lee, David Cross and Cameron Richardson, while Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler and Jesse McCartney voice the titular Chipmunks. The film follows the Chipmunks (Alvin, Simon, and Theodore) who move in with struggling songwriter Dave Seville after they lose their home. When Dave discovers they have rare singing talent, he has them perform in front of JETT Records executive Ian Hawke, who then plans to trick them into living with him to profit off their success with a world tour.
Christopher Lennertz composed the film's musical score. It was released worldwide on December 14, and it was produced by Fox 2000 Pictures, Regency Enterprises and Bagdasarian Productions. It received generally negative reviews from critics. The Rotten Tomatoes consensus criticizes the film's humor and "rehashed kids' movie formula". Alvin and the Chipmunks grossed $361 million worldwide on a budget of $60 million and was the seventh-best-selling DVD of 2008.
Alvin and the Chipmunks is the first film starring Alvin and the Chipmunks since Little Alvin and the Mini-Munks was released in 2003, as that film features puppetry used for the Chipmunks and this film features CGI used for them. The film was followed by three sequels: Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (2009), Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (2011), and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip (2015).
== Plot ==
Talking chipmunk brothers Alvin, Simon, and Theodore reside in a fir tree alone, after their parents left them to fend for themselves. The tree is cut down and driven to Los Angeles after JETT Records purchases it as a Christmas tree. Struggling songwriter and composer David Seville has his latest demo rejected by their chief executive, Ian Hawke who was his college roommate. Hawke suggests that Dave quit writing songs. The Chipmunks hop into a basket of muffins that Dave stole from one of Ian's co-workers and follow Dave home.
Dave discovers the Chipmunks in his home. He forces them to leave, but then he hears them sing "Only You (And You Alone)" and "Funkytown". Dave makes a deal with the Chipmunks to sing songs that he writes in exchange for shelter. Later, when Dave tries to present the Chipmunks to Ian, they fail to sing because of stage fright. The day worsens as Dave is dismissed from his advertising job due to the Chipmunks having unknowingly ruined his presentation boards by drawing and writing on them. While hosting dinner with former girlfriend Claire, Dave struggles to hide the Chipmunks after Alvin attempts to create a romantic atmosphere, making Claire uncomfortable and causing her to leave. As an apology to Dave, the Chipmunks go to Ian's lavish mansion, where they sing Dave's song, prompting Ian to sign a record deal.
The Chipmunks quickly become an international success. Dave, concerned for their well-being, insists that the Chipmunks are too young to handle fame, but Ian convinces them that Dave is reducing their success. After a misunderstanding and after reading a letter he wrote about them going back to the forest, the Chipmunks choose to live with Ian, whose only interest is profiting off the Chipmunks' success as they set off on a nationwide cross-country tour. Ian exploits their naïveté by overworking them constantly. When Ian's plan to take the Chipmunks on a twelve-month international tour is revealed on the news, Dave decides to infiltrate their concert at the Orpheum Theatre to retrieve them.
Before their tour can begin, a veterinarian explains to Ian that the Chipmunks' voices have been worn out due to exhaustion and suggests that they take a long rest. Unwilling to cancel the concert and issue refunds, Ian advises the Chipmunks to lip-sync. Dave sneaks into the concert with help from Claire; the Chipmunks hear Dave calling and realizing that Ian has tricked them, they decide to sabotage the show by causing chaos onstage. Dave is stopped by security, and Ian catches the Chipmunks, locks them in a cage, and prepares to take them on their world tour. Dave tries to convince Ian to let the Chipmunks go by saying they need a real life but Ian refuses. He then escapes in his limousine with Dave in pursuit. When he loses Ian, the Chipmunks unexpectedly show up in his car. As Dave and the Chipmunks reconcile, Ian uncovers the escape, which costs him both his career and his fortune.
== Production ==
=== Development ===
Ross Bagdasarian Jr., the son of Alvin and the Chipmunks creator Ross Bagdasarian Sr. who revived the franchise after his father's death, dreamed of making a live-action Alvin film since 1997, "and the dream has had many nightmare moments." On September 17, 2004, Fox 2000 Pictures, 20th Century Fox Animation and Bagdasarian Productions announced they would collaborate to create a live-action computer-generated film starring Alvin and the Chipmunks. On April 17, 2005, Jon Vitti, writer of The Simpsons, was revealed to be writing the screenplay. On January 24, 2007, it was announced Tim Hill, former writer of Rocko's Modern Life and SpongeBob SquarePants was in talks with Fox to direct the film, having previously directed Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties.
=== Casting ===
Chevy Chase, Jim Carrey, Tim Allen, John Travolta, Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, and Bill Murray were originally considered for the role of David Seville. On March 7, 2007, Jason Lee joined the project to play David Seville, and Cameron Richardson signed on March 21. David was a more clean-cut character for Lee than his past roles, which he appreciated. Patton Oswalt and Brian Posehn were approached to play Ian Hawke but both declined.
Bagdasarian and his wife, Janice Karman, had always voiced the chipmunks since they revived the franchise; however, for the film, they were replaced by Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler and Jesse McCartney for marketing reasons, despite the fact that for the first trailer of the film, Bagdasarian and Karman voiced the chipmunks.
For recording, the chipmunk voice actors spoke their lines slowly to be sped up to normal speed in post-production; McCartney described it as a "tedious process", where "it could take 40 takes for one line." He was such an Alvin and the Chipmunks fan that he even owned the album Chipmunk Punk (1980), and studied 1980s Alvin cartoons for his role in the film.
=== Filming ===
Principal photography began on March 28, 2007, making it the first film to be produced under the leadership of Fox Animation president Vanessa Morrison. Seville's house was built on Sunset Gower Studios and contains references to Bagdasarian Sr.'s life. The set pieces included an upright piano he used to write his songs and a flower visual he painted; the house's address number includes 1958, the year he created the chipmunk characters; and the house design is based on a cottage built in 1919, the year Bagdasarian Sr. was born. In shots where Lee interacted with the chipmunks, the actor rehearsed with small stuffed animals indicating where the chipmunks would be; the animals were then removed when it was time to shoot, and he used his memory of where the animals were.
=== Visual effects ===
The Chipmunks were animated by Rhythm and Hues Studios, a company that previously animated creatures for projects such as Mouse Hunt (1997); Scooby-Doo (2002); The Cat in the Hat (2003); The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005); and Babe (1995), the latter of which garnered Rhythm & Hues an Academy Award. As with all of its past projects, Rhythm & Hues used its own software for animating Alvin and the Chipmunks, such as Voodoo and Icy, which was used for placing the CGI into live-action shots; although Autodesk programs like Flame and Maya were used.
According to Bagdasarian Jr., getting the look of the chipmunks suited for a live-action setting while maintaining the essence of the cartoon designs was challenging, and it took until September 10, 2006, for the artists to get it right. Hill instructed the artists to make the chipmunks look realistic, but not entirely like chipmunks. In addition to observing real chipmunks offered by Universal Studios, Rhythm and Hues studied all versions of the chipmunk characters from past Alvin media for conceiving, fur-texturing, and animating designs for the film. Human dancers were referenced for animating the dance movements of the chipmunks, and YouTube videos of famous guitarists playing the guitar influenced how Alvin's guitar-playing was animated. High-dynamic-range images of sets were also used for lighting the chipmunks to fit the live-action shots. The most difficult part of integrating the CGI critters in the live-action shots was match moving for instances when they climb on Seville's head. For scenes where the chipmunks interacted with props, some of them were live-action props while others, such as a paper airplane, were produced and animated with computers.
== Release ==
=== Marketing ===
The first poster for Alvin and the Chipmunks was revealed online on July 4, 2007. Later that month, Fox launched the official website for Alvin and the Chipmunks with only a trailer and synopsis; Several games were added later on. In an August 2007 survey of 750 American teens ran by eCRUSH and OTX, Alvin and the Chipmunks, alongside Saw IV, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, Mama's Boy, Fred Claus, I Am Legend, and Enchanted, were the most anticipated films of the 2007 fall and winter seasons in the group.
== Trivia ==
* The animators made it so that the Chipmunks frequently scratch their ears to make them seem more realistic.
* Justin Long (the voice of Alvin) went hoarse frequently during the recording sessions due to the fact they had to pitch up each sentence of dialogue so that the voice altering methods would sound more natural.
* (at around 24 mins) According to Ross Bagdasarian Jr., the name-sake son of the Chipmunks creator, in an Associated Press interview, the piano seen in the film where Dave and the Chipmunks sing "The Chipmunk Song" is the actual piano that Ross Bagdasarian Sr. used to write and perform the song (as well as "Witch Doctor") that launched the Chipmunks franchise.
* In some areas, release prints were delivered to theaters with the fake names 'Simon' and 'Hairy Beast'.
* (at around 9 mins) One of Jason Lee's original professional stereo skateboard decks can be seen leaning up against the wall in Dave's house after he arrives home from his meeting with the music executive.
* Alvin wears the signature red baseball cap twice in the film.
* The film was originally announced in June 1997 and going to be released by Universal Pictures and directed by Robert Zemeckis. But in September 2000 the estate of Ross Bagdasarian filed a lawsuit against Universal Pictures for which the development of the film was halted. It was until 20th Century Fox picked up the project in 2005.
* The car Dave drives throughout the movie is a mid 1960's Triumph TR4, British sports car.
* All three of the chipmunks were fake. No real chipmunks were harmed in the making of this movie.
* Beth Riesgraf: (at around 42 mins) Jason Lee's ex-fiancée, with whom he has a son named Pilot Inspektor Riesgraf-Lee (Pilot Lee), shares a scene with him in the grocery store where they both talk about their troublesome kids.
* Months before its release, bloggers predicted Alvin and the Chipmunks to be terrible because of the involvement of the director of Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (2006); the writers of Snow Day (2000), the Ice Age films, Robots (2005) and Big Momma's House 2 (2006); and the poor quality of previous live-action adaptations of old cartoons.
=== References or Mentions in CHACE! Media ===
* Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (2009): Picture only.
=== References from CHACE! Media ===
* "SpongeBob SquarePants" Have You Seen This Snail? (TV Episode 2005): Simon and Theodore watch this episode on TV.
* "Alvin & the Chipmunks" The Chipmunks Story (TV Episode 1983): Dave meeting Alvin Simon and Theodore came from this episode.
* The Chipmunk Adventure (1987): the soundtrack is seen during the end credits.
== Gallery ==
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