Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip is a 2015 American live action/computer animated family musical comedy film directed by Walt Becker and written by Randi Mayem Singer and Adam Sztykiel. The film's main cast features Jason Lee, Tony Hale, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Josh Green, and Bella Thorne. Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler, and Jesse McCartney all reprise their roles as the Chipmunks, while Kaley Cuoco, Anna Faris and Christina Applegate play the Chipettes. Cuoco replaced Amy Poehler as the voice of Eleanor in the film. The film centers on the  Chipmunks (Alvin, Simon, and Theodore) as they head to Miami after believing that Dave will propose to his girlfriend Samantha, who has a son who bullies the Chipmunks. Along the way they end up in unfortunate circumstances such as being put on the No Fly List. The film was released on December 18, 2015, by 20th Century Fox. The film grossed $234 million worldwide against a $90 million budget and received generally negative reviews from critics, although it was considered a slight improvement over . Plot. Four years after the events of , Alvin, Simon, and Theodore, along with the  Chipettes – Brittany, Jeanette, and Eleanor – have moved to a new house and set up a surprise birthday bash for Dave Seville that also serves as a good luck/going-away party for the Chipettes, who are scheduled to be guest judges on "American Idol". Alvin invites and hires many people and celebrities to Simon's dismay. Though dissatisfied, Dave agrees to take them mini-golfing, where the Chipmunks meet Samantha, who he has been dating for the past few months. While the Chipmunks like Samantha, her son Miles physically abuses the trio. Later, the Chipmunks find an engagement ring in  a bag Dave brought home and believe that he is going to propose to Samantha. Realizing in horror that Dave and Samantha getting married would make Miles their step-brother, they try to steal the ring, but are unsuccessful. Dave has to produce a record for rising pop artist Ashley Grey in Miami, and decides to bring Samantha along with him. The Chipmunks and Miles are staying together, but they agree to head to Miami to sabotage the supposed proposal. The Chipmunks drug three squirrels and dress them up in their clothes to fool their hard-of-seeing neighbor Ms.  Price, who was asked to look after them. The Chipmunks travel on a plane, but Theodore lets out a monkey, which then lets out several animals which cause an emergency landing and frustrates unscrupulous Air Marshal James Suggs, who is revealed to resent the Chipmunks because his girlfriend dumped him on Christmas for being so into them at the time, effectively eliminating his shot of becoming an FBI agent, so he puts them on the No Fly List (except for Miles). The Chipmunks perform at a bar, but are caught by Suggs, Alvin starts a bar fight and Chipmunks escape . They jump into a taxi cab, though the driver kicks the four out for not having the money. The Chipmunks and Miles rest at an old tree, and he reveals that his father left him when he was five years old, causing the four to bond and see each other in different lights. They raise money to take a bus to New Orleans, and perform at the Mardi Gras parade, which gets the attention of Dave when it is broadcast on live television and allows the Chipmunks to cause Suggs, who has followed them, to get drunk on moonshine. Dave  and Samantha find Miles and the Chipmunks at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport and punish them for sneaking out and not responding to numerous missed calls and texts from Dave. With the Chipmunks now on the No Fly List, Dave has to drive the boys. When they arrive in Miami, Alvin reveals that he stole the ring from the container, thus ruining the proposal. However, Miles had bonded with the Chipmunks during their trip and was upset that they were celebrating over this, thinking they just didn't want to have him around. He crosses the street with his  headphones on and is almost hit by a car, but the Chipmunks swing Theodore and push Miles out of the way, saving his life. They agree to give the ring back. During the dinner, Suggs catches up with the Chipmunks, but they trap him in an elevator. Miles and the Chipmunks return the ring to Dave saying they accept Samantha and Miles into the family, but Dave reveals the ring belonged to his friend Barry (Eddie Steeples), who was proposing to his girlfriend, Alice. As one final attempt, they try making it up to him by singing a new song  to him at the launch party with the help of the Chipettes, Ashley and Miles. They also return the ring to Barry, who reattempts his proposal to Alice, and this time, Alice accepts. Having forgiven them (while also apologizing for going overboard with his no music policy which was their punishment), Dave officially adopts the Chipmunks as his sons. Additionally, Maxie McClintock appears as Alice, Mark Jeffrey Miller appears as Cab Driver, Redfoo ("cameo") appears as himself, John Waters ("cameo") appears as John, Jennifer Coolidge ("cameo") appears as Ms. Price, Laura Marano ("cameo") appears as Hotel Babysitter, and Zeeko Zaki  appears as Paparazzo Production. In June 2013, 20th Century Fox announced that a fourth installment, "Alvin and the Chipmunks 4", would be released on December 11, 2015. In August 2014, Randi Mayem Singer signed on to write the fourth installment. On December 18, 2014, it was announced that Walt Becker signed on to direct and that the film would be released on December 23, 2015. The movie was officially released on December 18, 2015. It was also announced that the film would be titled "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip". In February 2015, Tony Hale joined the cast. On  March 10, 2015, Kimberly Williams-Paisley joined the cast. On March 23, 2015, it was confirmed that Bella Thorne had joined the cast. Principal photography began on March 16, 2015, and ended on May 20, 2015. Music. Mark Mothersbaugh, who previously scored "", returned to score "The Road Chip". Home media. "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip" was released on DVD and Blu-ray on March 15, 2016. Soundtrack. Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the licensed soundtrack based on the film. It was released on December 11, 2015, by Republic Records. Reception. Box  office. "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip" has grossed $85,886,987 in North America and $148,911,649 in other territories for a worldwide total of $234,798,636 against a budget of $90 million. In the United States and Canada, "The Road Chip" was released on December 18, 2015, across 3,653 theaters. The film grossed $4,126,717 on its first day and $14,287,159 in its opening weekend, finishing second at the box office behind "" ($247,966,675). Critical response. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 15% based on 67 reviews and an average rating of  3.42/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "In some respects, "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip" is a marginal improvement over prior installments, although this in no way qualifies as a recommendation." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 33 out of 100 based on 21 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale.