The Chipmunk Adventure

***The Chipmunk Adventure*** is a 1987 American animated musical-comedy film based on the Saturday-morning cartoon series *Alvin and the Chipmunks*. Directed by Janice Karman and written by Karman and Ross Bagdasarian Jr., it stars the voices of Karman, Bagdasarian, and Dody Goodman, and follows the Chipmunks and the Chipettes as they go on a hot air balloon race around the world that is the cover for a diamond smuggling ring.

## *The Chipmunk Adventure*

***The Chipmunk Adventure*** is a 1987 animated film (released in 1987 on VHS, in 2006 and 2008 on DVD, and in 2014 on DVD/Blu Ray) featuring the characters from NBC's Saturday morning cartoon *Alvin and the Chipmunks*. This marked the first appearance of The Chipmunks in a feature film since their 1958 debut. *The Chipmunk Adventure* was directed by Janice Karman (one of the very few times a woman had done so for an animated feature) and features the voices of Ross Bagdasarian, Jr., Janice Karman, and Dody Goodman.

The film was not very successful at the box office, earning short of $7 million, though it was soon rushed to home video where it has managed to sell well over its releases, appearing on the Billboard Top Kid Video chart multiple times.

— Ross Bagdasrian, Jr.

## Plot

When Dave Seville goes off to Europe on a business trip, Alvin Seville, Simon Seville, and Theodore Seville are left at home with their rather absent-minded babysitter, Miss Miller - much to the chagrin of Alvin, who dreams of world travel. While the three are playing an arcade game of *Around the World in Thirty Days* with The Chipettes, Alvin and Brittany begin to argue over which would win an actual race around the world. Their conversation is being eavesdropped on by siblings Klaus and Claudia Furschtein, two German diamond smugglers running out of ways of getting their wares to customers without government interference. Seeing an opportunity, the Furschsteins approach the children, telling them that they will provide them with the means for a real race around the world by hot-air balloon, with the winner receiving $100,000.

After tricking Miss Miller with a recorded phone call from Dave, The Chipmunks and Chipettes meet at the Furschtein's mansion, where they are told the rules: each team is given a separate route to follow, along with a chest of dolls, made in their own likenesses, which they are required to drop off to verify that they have visited all checkpoints. Upon dropping off one of their own dolls, they will receive a doll made in the likeness of the opposing team. In reality, the dolls being dropped off are filled with diamonds, and the dolls received are filled with cash, given to them by the buyers.

Before they take off, Simon warns Jeanette not to take the easterly route because of a hurricane. However, Brittany overhears him and ignores his advice, believing it to be a trick to slow them down.

And so, after a masterly take off, both teams begin their travels; while The Chipmunks go to Mexico City, The Chipettes are caught in a hurricane (as Simon predicted) before reaching Bermuda. Unknown to both teams, however, they are being trailed by two rather-intimidating looking Interpol agents named Cisvan and Cuomo, sent by the French Inspector Jamal, who was informed by Klaus and Claudia's Italian butler, Mario, of the Furschstein's operation. The agents silently follow behind as The Chipmunks and Chipettes travel through South America and Africa, visiting Machu Picchu, Rio de Janeiro, Angel Falls, Morocco, and Venice. More time is given to the countries and sites The Chipettes see, including the white cliffs of Dover, the Netherlands, Switzerland, London, Rome (where they visit the Colosseum), Paris, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and Germany.

Both teams meet up in Athens, where Alvin and Brittany begin bickering, each claiming they can "out-rock and roll" the other. This results in the performance of the song "The Girls of Rock 'n' Roll" amongst the Grecian ruins, with Dave, Cisvan, and Cuomo nearly spotting them.

The Chipettes then travel on to Egypt, passing the Sphinx. There, they are chased by a group of men on a camel. Despite their attempts to fight them off, the girls are captured which later reveals they are actually being rescued from Klaus and Claudia's trick and brought to their young Arabian prince. The Prince falls in love with Brittany and, oblivious to the diamond smuggling, agrees to return the valuable dolls to Jamal but declares that he is keeping the girls, and making Brittany his bride.

Despite being showered with gifts, including a baby penguin, the girls are desperate to make an escape. Still unaware of the contents of their dolls, they secretly try to retrieve them - only to find them guarded by cobras. Brittany and Jeanette "charm" the snakes by singing "Getting Lucky," then grab the dolls and escape out a window, just as Eleanor arrives carrying a small cooler.

The film cuts back to the boys, who are camping in a jungle in Fiji while taking a shortcut. Theodore senses something is wrong, and he knows something's out in the jungle. Simon and Alvin just think his imagination is running wild, with Alvin saying, "*He's still afraid of the bogeyman.*" Upon waking up the next morning, they find Theodore missing. While trying to find him, Alvin and Simon are taken captive by some local natives. They soon learn that Theodore is being worshipped as the natives' "Prince of Plenty". Alvin and Simon are forced to wear nothing but cap, glasses, a string necklace with three shark teeth, and a brown loincloth and are made into Theodore's personal servants.

Meanwhile, the girls learn that Eleanor's cooler contains not only cold drinks and sandwiches, but the baby penguin, whom Eleanor feels needs to be returned to its parents in Antarctica. At first, Brittany is confused ("*You were going to eat this penguin?*"). After the song "My Mother," the girls soon agree and head to Antarctica. However, Claudia is alerted to the girl's actions by her henchmen and concludes that they must have discovered the diamonds and are trying to make off with them. She orders her henchmen to get the dolls back.

As the girls deliver the penguin to their parents, they are attacked by Claudia's henchmen. The Chipettes wrestle with the men as they attempt to steal the dolls, and a Brittany doll tears as the goons fall from the balloon. Grateful to the girls, the penguins snowball the thugs into submission and the girls escape. They notice the torn Brittany doll lying on the floor of the balloon; Jeanette picks it up and diamonds fall out of it. Opening an Alvin doll, they find it full of dollar bills; the girls realize that the whole race was just a set-up for delivering the diamonds. Deciding the boys are likely in danger as well, they head off to find them.

Alvin and Simon, meanwhile, are forced to search a nearby cave for mushrooms for "Prince Theodore," with Alvin growing increasingly fed-up with the situation ("*3:00 in the morning and Prince Theodore has a craving for MUSHROOMS! I hope he chokes on 'em!*"). Inside the cave, they find a series of ideograms on the walls, which Simon translates as "Sacrifice the Prince of Plenty on the full moon." They look up and see a full moon overhead. Alvin looks at Simon and exclaims, "Over my dead body!" but in the next scene, all three Chipmunks are tied to stakes by the natives for no reason, hanging precariously above a pit full of crocodiles, much to Simon's annoyance ("*You mean, over OUR dead bodies."*). In a desperate attempt to delay their own deaths, they sing the song "Wooly Bully", which pleases the natives and lasts just long enough for The Chipettes to rescue them.

Together in the girls' balloon, the kids return to the U.S.A.. They are met at the airport by Klaus and Claudia, and after a short chase accompanied by the song "Diamond Dolls," they are forced into a 1935 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I under the false threat of Miss Miller being kidnapped. Dave is arriving home to the airfield at the same time and hears Alvin's cries for help. Inspector Jamal runs up, identifying himself, and he and Dave begin to make chase in his 1987 Chevrolet Caprice but two other cars crash into each other and block them off at an intersection. While it at first appears that Klaus and Claudia will escape on a private jet to Costa Rica, they are accidentally run off the road by none other than Miss Miller, who was heading to the airfield to pick up Dave. Klaus and Claudia are then taken away by the police, and Brittany and Alvin begin arguing over who really won the $100,000. An exasperated Dave breaks up the argument and guides them to Miss Miller's 1959 Lincoln Continental, where the others await. On the way home Alvin blithers about the race, frustrating the adults.

When their guardian David Seville goes to Europe on business, the Chipmunks—Alvin, Simon, and Theodore—are left home in Los Angeles with their babysitter, Ms. Miller. Later, the Chipmunks and Chipettes—Brittany, Jeanette, and Eleanor—play the arcade game *Around the World in 30 Days*, and Alvin and Brittany argue over which would win an actual race around the world. They are overheard by international diamond-smuggling siblings Claudia and Klaus Furschtein, who have $5 million worth of diamonds to distribute to buyers but no couriers who are unknown to their nemesis, Jamal. Claudia tricks the children into being unwitting mules, offering to arrange a real race around the world between the Chipmunks and Chipettes for a $100,000 prize. To participate, Alvin records a phone call to Dave and edits it to trick Ms. Miller into believing that Dave wants the Chipmunks to meet him in Europe.

The two teams set off by hot air balloon, each given a different route and twelve dolls made in their likenesses, which they are to exchange at designated locations for dolls in the likenesses of the other team to confirm they visited the locations. Unbeknownst to them, their dolls are filled with diamonds, and those they are receiving contain cash. The Furschteins' butler, Mario, is secretly an informant for Jamal, who dispatches two of his men to acquire the dolls. The Chipmunks' first stop is Mexico City, where they join in a fiesta. In Bermuda, the Chipettes scuba dive to make their first exchange and Brittany is almost eaten by a shark. The teams continue their journeys, exchanging their dolls in various countries along the way. Jamal's men tail them, but fail to get the dolls due to various mishaps. The teams cross paths in Athens, where they try to outperform one another in a musical number at the Acropolis and are almost spotted by Dave.

Frustrated by his men's failures, Jamal enlists the aid of a young sheikh who has his mercenaries capture the Chipettes in Giza. Rather than turn them over to Jamal, the prince desires instead to marry Brittany, and gifts her a baby penguin. The girls perform a song to charm the cobras guarding their dolls, escape in their balloon, and detour to Antarctica to return the baby penguin to its family. Learning that they have deviated from their route, Claudia sends her thugs after them. The girls escape, but discover the diamonds and cash inside the dolls, realize they have been deceived and set out to find the boys.

Meanwhile, the Chipmunks take a shortcut through a jungle, where they are captured by a native tribe who name Theodore their "Prince of Plenty" and force Alvin and Simon to be his slaves. They soon learn that they are to be sacrificed by being dropped into a pit of crocodiles. By performing the song "Wooly Bully" to entertain the natives, they stall their execution and are rescued by the Chipettes.

Claudia discovers Mario passing information to Jamal, who is revealed to be an Interpol Inspector. The children land at Los Angeles International Airport at the same time as Dave's returning flight, and are chased by the Furschteins, who get them to surrender by falsely saying that they have kidnapped Ms. Miller. Dave sees them being taken away in the Furschteins' car, and joins Jamal in pursuit. Ms. Miller is absentmindedly driving the wrong way on a one-way street on her way to pick up Dave, and accidentally runs the Furschteins off the road. They are arrested by Jamal, and the children are reunited with Dave. Alvin and Brittany argue over who won the race, much to the adults' frustration.

## Voice cast

* Ross Bagdasarian Jr. as Alvin, Simon, and David Seville
* Janice Karman as Theodore Seville, and Brittany, Jeanette and Eleanor Miller
* Dody Goodman as Ms. Miller
* Susan Tyrrell as Claudia Furschtein
* Anthony De Longis as Klaus Furschtein
* Frank Welker as Sophie, Infant Penguin, Native Chief, and additional voices
* Ken Sansom as Inspector Jamal
* Nancy Cartwright as the Arabian prince

### Cast

* Ross Bagdasarian, Jr. - Alvin, Simon, Dave Seville
* Janice Karman - Theodore, Brittany, Jeanette, Eleanor
* Dody Goodman - Miss Miller
* Susan Tyrrell - Claudia Furschtein
* Anthony De Longis - Klaus Furschtein
* Frank Welker - Sophie, Baby Penguin, Native Chief

#### Additional Voices

* Nancy Cartwright - Arabian Prince
* Philip Clark
* Ken Sansom - Inspector Jamal
* George Poulos
* Charles Adler
* Pat Pinney

## Production

After the success of his animated cartoon series on NBC, Ross Bagdasarian, Jr. began developing a concept for a full-length feature film. The box-office failure of Disney's *The Black Cauldron* in 1985 had led to the layoff of a number of Walt Disney Productions animators (such as Glen Keane, Dan Haskett and Dave Pruiksma), whom Bagdasarian promptly hired to work on the film. Haskett already was a part of the 1983 series by the time he was hired to work on the film.

Bagdasarian and his wife Janice Karman decided to finance themselves, having generated so much revenue from the TV series. While much of the work was done in New York, most of the animation was done in Los Angeles. The ink and paint, however, were done over in Korea. Their decision to work with several overseas studios led to major production delays. By late 1986, production had fallen far behind schedule, and a shortage of time and money resulted in major cuts being made; one deleted scene had the Chipmunks go to Russia. Some storyboards and animatics were released on the 2006 DVD issue.

## Music

 Released
 Genre
 Label
 Producer

The soundtrack of *The Chipmunk Adventure* was performed by the Chipmunks and the Chipettes and includes a mix of original tunes and covers. The film's score was composed by Randy Edelman, who also contributed some of the songs for the film. Several songs throughout the film were performed by both the Chipmunks and the Chipettes. On April 1, 2008, the soundtrack was re-released as a bonus CD with the film's DVD.

## Release

The film was promoted one year before its release, at the 1986 Cannes Film Festival.

Though initially scheduled for Christmas 1986, *The Chipmunk Adventure* opened on May 22, 1987 through The Samuel Goldwyn Company and Bagdasarian Productions. With an opening weekend take of $2,584,720, it ultimately grossed $6,804,312 in North America alone.

### Critical reception

In *The New York Times*, Janet Maslin commentated that the film is enjoyable for both parents and children. In his *Family Guide to Movies on Video*, Henry Herx deemed the film a "charming, lighthearted diversion for the younger set", and remarked that it resembled "a musical revue of pop tunes". Johanna Steinmetz of *Chicago Tribune* gave the film three stars out of four, stating that the inclusion of the minor characters (especially the villains) would "[keep] an adult viewer from insulin crisis." Charles Solomon of *The Los Angeles Times*, commented "listening to six little characters talk and sing in speeded-up falsetto voices for 76 minutes becomes a real test of the viewer's endurance." Solomon also said that the villains resembled those from a Ralph Bakshi film and did not fit with the world of the Chipmunks.

Roger Ebert commented that the animation is slightly better than the TV series', but criticized the film's "dumb and predictable" story, while Gene Siskel criticized the plot for being right out of a Saturday morning cartoon, especially through the film's introduction of the Chipettes. Both Ebert and Siskel also criticized the plot and the Chipmunks' voices, with Ebert comparing them to "fingernails on the blackboard". Siskel and Ebert ultimately gave the film two thumbs down.

On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 75% based on 8 reviews, with an average rating of 6.6/10.

### Home media

The film was released on VHS by Lorimar Home Video in late 1987, Warner Home Video in 1992, and Universal Studios Home Video on March 17, 1998. On May 23, 2006, the film was released on DVD by Paramount Home Entertainment digitally remastered from the original 35mm film and presented with 5.1 surround sound. A special edition DVD re-release of the film with a bonus CD (which is the same soundtrack disc) was released on April 1, 2008, which matches that of the live-action/computer-animated *Alvin and the Chipmunks* and another DVD volume of *Alvin and the Chipmunks Go to the Movies*. On March 25, 2014, the film was released on Blu-ray for the first time.

## Goofs

* At the beginning of the movie, when Theodore tells Dave not to forget his mittens, he hands him his sandwich, which then turns into a piece of clothing.
* When Simon is trying to warn Jeanette about the hurricane, the folds on The Chipettes' map change from vertical ones to horizontal ones.
* Also in the same scene if the video is paused at the right moment Brittany's shirt isn't fully painted.
* When The Chipettes come out of the Flying Surprise with scuba gear on, Eleanor's eyes change from brown to green and then back to brown as she blinks.
* Also in the same scene the words Mr. and Anton on the note he left them are written on separate lines but during a close up shot they can be seen written on the same line.
* There are multiple instances during the song "Off to See the World" where The Chipmunks and The Chipettes are seen collecting and dropping of dolls of the wrong team.
	+ When The Chipettes are at the ski lifts, Brittany can be seen collecting a Chipette doll when the girls were supposed to be collecting Chipmunk dolls.
	+ When The Chipettes are at the lighthouse, Jeanette is seen placing an Alvin doll when it should have been a Chipette doll.
	+ When Jeanette climbs onto a windmill, she tries to retrieve a Jeanette doll.
	+ In Venice, Italy, Simon is seen preparing to put an Alvin doll into a pole. In the next shot, however, he is then seen putting a Simon doll into it.
* Also during "Off to See the World," Theodore gets his apple stolen by a bald eagle, a bird only native to North America, despite The Chipmunks having already left the continent by that point during the trip.
* During the sequence of "The Girls of Rock 'n' Roll," when The Chipmunks come up the steps, Theodore is standing across from Jeanette and Simon from Eleanor. But, when they reach the top of the steps, Simon and Theodore have switched places.
* When The Chipettes discover the dolls are full of diamonds the Brittany doll that was damaged turns into an Eleanor doll that's damaged in a different spot. In the next shot however it has turned back into the original damaged Brittany Doll only to then turn into an undamaged Eleanor doll.
* During the same scene the Alvin doll they open up is closed up again a few shots later.
* When the girls are close to the Chipmunks in the song “Wooly Bully” they are in their normal outfits.
* During the same performance the number of dolls tied to the posts The Chipmunks are tied to is inconsistent each time you see them.
* During the "Diamond Dolls" sequence, Theodore is seen wearing a loincloth like Simon and Alvin are. He was actually wearing a prince outfit for the rest of the movie.
* After The Chipmunks and The Chipettes were kidnapped, Alvin is briefly missing his cap upon entering Klaus and Claudia's car. Later, Alvin's hat is back on his head, not long before it flies off getting Dave's attention. Also, after Klaus and Claudia's arrest, Alvin's cap is back on his head despite losing it at the airport earlier.
* Near the end of the movie after the car crash, just before they get out of the limo Alvin and Simon can be seen in their normal outfits.

## Trivia

* This film was dedicated to Ross Bagdasarian, Jr. and Janice Karman's dog, Tiger Lilly.
* The film's VHS release was the last to feature the MCA/Universal Home Video logo.
* Ross Bagdasarian Jr. and his wife financed the film themselves by using the 1980s show's revenue.
* This film was the first Janice Karman had ever directed.
* The first director quit after two months of working on the project.
* Animation for the film was carried out in Los Angeles, New York, Utah, Canada, Spain, and Asia and would travel to more countries in its production than The Chipmunks in the film itself.
* Two and a half years were spent on producing the film; large pieces of the original script were cut to make their April 20 deadline. Disappointing overseas production returns early on and an unmovable deadline were the cause of these cuts.
* "The Brave Chipmunks" musical segment was released as a special feature in the 2014 DVD release.
* The destinations shown in this movie were, Mexico, Bermuda, Rome, Venice, Machu Picchu, the White Cliffs of Dover, Switzerland, Morocco, Rio de Janeiro, the Amazon River, Paris, the Alps, the Netherlands, London, Germany, Athens, Egypt, Antarctica and Fiji.
* The theatrical and Lorimar video releases have The Samuel Goldwyn Company logo at the opening, and below the copyright notice at the closing, the Universal and Paramount releases obscure the SGC logo and keep the closing logo, and current releases have no SGC logos at all, to the point of removing it from the credits, and only displaying the Bagdasarian Productions credit and logo, so don't expect to see the same version twice.
* The name of the *Around the World in Thirty Days* arcade game in the diner scene is a reference to the Jules Verne adventure novel *Around the World in Eighty Days*. Subsequent adaptations of the novel also spawned the idea of circumnavigating the globe by hot air balloon much like Chipmunks and Chipettes would later do in the film.
* Several Greek god/goddess statues can be seen during the song "The Girls of Rock 'n' Roll": the one Brittany and Alvin pose next to is Poseidon, the one Alvin steals the harp off of is Terpsichore, the one Alvin dances on is Laocoon and Atlas, and the one the spy hides behind is Medusa.
* The scene in Peru where Alvin swaps a Brittany doll with an Alvin doll is a reference to the film, *Raiders of the Lost Ark*.
* Audio from the film was used in the 2017 *How I Built This* Interview.

## Songs

*Main article: The Chipmunk Adventure: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack*
## Gallery

*Main article: The Chipmunk Adventure/Gallery*
## References

1. ↑ The Chipmunk Adventure, Boxofficemojo.com, Retrieved 2014-12-18.
2. ↑ *Billboard* Apr. 18, 1998, Books.google.com, Retrieved 2020-08-27.
3. ↑ Jump up to:3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Chipmunks.com, *The Making of The Chipmunk Adventure*, Retrieved 2013-08-16.

This article uses modified CC BY-SA Licensed content from Wikipedia

1. ↑ Chipmunks.com, *The Making of The Chipmunk Adventure*, Retrieved 2013-08-16.