By Bob Tourtellotte Reuters - Tuesday, December 11 07:07 am

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Nearly 50 years after they topped the charts with a novelty Christmas song, squeaky-voiced chipmunks Alvin, Simon and Theodore return this holiday season in a computer-animated film with a modern twist.

On Friday, the family film "Alvin and The Chipmunks" arrives in theatres, long after 1958's "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" catapulted to fame the ersatz rodent trio and their real-life creator, Ross Bagdasarian.

"To me, there is something about the voices themselves," said Bagdasarian's son, Ross Bagdasarian, Jr., who shares stewardship of the Chipmunks with his wife Janice Karman.

"It's really hard to be having a bad day when those voices start to sing. It's just hard not to smile," he said.

Back in the 1950s, his father was a struggling musician and songwriter earning a living as a sound technician. Bagdasarian found he could change the pitch in voices by adjusting the speed of tape recordings, and his hit novelty song, "Witch Doctor" was born. Soon after came "The Chipmunk Song", which won three Grammys.

In 1961, "The Alvin Show" debuted on TV with the "singing group" managed by human David Seville. The show lasted only one season, but Bagdasarian continued cranking out hit albums until he died of a heart attack in 1972.

PUNK 'MUNKS

By 1980, Bagdasarian Jr. and Karman had taken the reins of the Chipmunk empire, and he recorded an album, "Chipmunk Punk," that put wiseacre Alvin, book-smart Simon and young brother Theodore back in the limelight.

A second animated TV show, "Alvin and the Chipmunks" began airing in 1983, and since then Bagdasarian Jr. reckons the trio have been seen in more than 110 countries around the world.

"My dad created characters that every parent and every kid can identify with: the parent who is being driven nuts by good-hearted kids that are full of ideas but not always going to do the right thing," said Bagdasarian.

The movie "Alvin and the Chipmunks" utilizes that same formula and reinvents the trio for modern times. The voices of Alvin, Simon and Theodore are performed by actors Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler and singer Jesse McCartney, respectively.

The Chipmunks' home tree in the forest is felled to become a Christmas decoration for a big city office building. To escape their new environs, the trio stowaway in a gift basket carried home by a struggling songwriter, Dave Seville (Jason Lee).

After a round of home-wrecking, Dave discovers the 'Munks can sing, so he writes a hit song -- naturally, "The Christmas Song" -- and the foursome soar to Hollywood stardom. Along the way, there are lessons to be learned about love, family and the corrupting power of fame and fortune.

(Editing by Belinda Goldsmith and Eric Walsh)

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20071211/ten-uk-chipmunks-90f61ed_2.html

I wanna see this movie it looks cute. the Chipmunks pretend to be Kunfue Monks, LOL.:lol:

I absolutely have to see this movie. When I was a kid I was the biggest chipmunk fan ever. The movie sounds great.

I have no interest in seeing this movie, this is NOT the cute, loveable Chips I grew up with, they look as if they should be out, selling crack, in the hood! :thumbsdow

I have no interest in seeing this movie, this is NOT the cute, loveable Chips I grew up with, they look as if they should be out, selling crack, in the hood! :thumbsdow
I SECOND THAT!!! Who wants to see CGI Chipmunks, anyway? They look almost as scary as Gene Shalit!! :eek:

I SECOND THAT!!! Who wants to see CGI Chipmunks, anyway? They look almost as scary as Gene Shalit!! :eek:
It's a heck of a lot better than watching some stupid animals that don't resemble the original animated ones, eg: Underdog. Underdog should have been CGI like the chipmunks it would have been better. The previews for this new movie looks really good.

why is everyone so opposed to good ol' handdrawn animation? Everything is CGI. Granted, I think CGI can be very impressive, but what was a cartoon should remain a cartoon

why is everyone so opposed to good ol' handdrawn animation? Everything is CGI. Granted, I think CGI can be very impressive, but what was a cartoon should remain a cartoon
Actually Dean, Cat and I both agree with that, if you read the posts :cow: yup,yup!

why is everyone so opposed to good ol' handdrawn animation? Everything is CGI. Granted, I think CGI can be very impressive, but what was a cartoon should remain a cartoon

i don't mind CGI- i just don't like the character design of the chipmunks that's all. and them dressing up in hip hop garb, WTF is all that about? they should look remotely like the ones in my avator for example. now THAT is how alvin, simon and theodore should look like

I have no interest in seeing this movie, this is NOT the cute, loveable Chips I grew up with, they look as if they should be out, selling crack, in the hood! :thumbsdow

they look like hampsters more than cartoon chipmunks

By Bob Tourtellotte Reuters - Tuesday, December 11 07:07 am

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The movie "Alvin and the Chipmunks" utilizes that same formula and reinvents the trio for modern times.

(Editing by Belinda Goldsmith and Eric Walsh)

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20071211/ten-uk-chipmunks-90f61ed_2.html

well, storyline and narrative-wise maybe but in terms of appearance it bears no relation to the cartoon versions. i'm sorry but i loved the cartoons and thus, i think this movie is going to flop

Actually Dean, Cat and I both agree with that, if you read the posts :cow: yup,yup!
I read, but I was just venting. It gets annoying that EVERY animated movie out now is supposed to have this "realistic" 3D CGI feel to it. I think it can be interesting and a feast for the eyes at times, but the fact that they have killed off hand-drawn animation and every animated movie that comes out now is a special effects CGI orgy (Simpsons Movie doesn't count since it's just replicating the show) has gotten out of hand.

I have a feeling in 20-30 years, a lot of today's CGI animation will look incredibly dated while old Disney and Warner Bros. cartoons that will be near 100 years old by that time like Snow White, Fantasia, Looney Tunes, etc... will still hold up and stand the test of time.

I read, but I was just venting. It gets annoying that EVERY animated movie out now is supposed to have this "realistic" 3D CGI feel to it. I think it can be interesting and a feast for the eyes at times, but the fact that they have killed off hand-drawn animation and every animated movie that comes out now is a special effects CGI orgy (Simpsons Movie doesn't count since it's just replicating the show) has gotten out of hand.

I have a feeling in 20-30 years, a lot of today's CGI animation will look incredibly dated while old Disney and Warner Bros. cartoons that will be near 100 years old by that time like Snow White, Fantasia, Looney Tunes, etc... will still hold up and stand the test of time.

definitely. i am more of a fan of classic cartoons which didn't rely on CGI or computer generated graphics because back then, that was when cartoons were just cartoons. just because we are in the 'digital age', it doesn't mean that with hand drawn animation, it should be abandoned for good. it shouldn't

definitely. i am more of a fan of classic cartoons which didn't rely on CGI or computer generated graphics because back then, that was when cartoons were just cartoons. just because we are in the 'digital age', it doesn't mean that with hand drawn animation, it should be abandoned for good. it shouldn't
well, I think like the musical genre and John Travolta, hand-drawn animation will eventually make a comeback because more and more people will admit how much they miss the standard classic animation.

well, I think like the musical genre and John Travolta, hand-drawn animation will eventually make a comeback because more and more people will admit how much they miss the standard classic animation.

i do hope so. i mean, i don't have a problem with CGI, its just that too much of it is excessive and people get bored afterwards. too much of anything is not good that is but anyway, i grew up on 2-D animation and i still enjoy it to this day.

i might still go and see this alvin and the chipmunks film, but no matter what it will never surpass the 60s and 80s versions. i understand in a way that the creators want to 'modernise' -if that's the correct word to use- the chipmunks but i just feel that personally, they have went about it in the wrong way, design-wise

"Toy Story" was the first movie done entirely in CG animation ... and for that
story, it was the ideal medium because the focus was on toys and toys are
three-dimensional. But just because that one movie was successful (and
deservedly), everybody wanted to come out with another CG movie ... and
another ... and another ad nauseum .. just in order to make a quick buck. And, if that weren't enough, the fact that "Toy Story" used well-known face
actors (Tom Hanks and Tim Allen) meant that every movie since then has cast celebrities in the main roles, putting talented voice actors out of work
(along with traditional animators). Enough already! Let's get back to what
made cartoons great in the first place: characters like Bugs Bunny and Woody Woodpecker and Tom & Jerry made us believe they were real without
CG and without celebrity voices. Why? Because they had PERSONALITY
(something sorely lacking in most of today's movies, which are hard to tell
apart).

"Toy Story" was the first movie done entirely in CG animation ... and for that
story, it was the ideal medium because the focus was on toys and toys are
three-dimensional. But just because that one movie was successful (and
deservedly), everybody wanted to come out with another CG movie ... and
another ... and another ad nauseum .. just in order to make a quick buck. And, if that weren't enough, the fact that "Toy Story" used well-known face
actors (Tom Hanks and Tim Allen) meant that every movie since then has cast celebrities in the main roles, putting talented voice actors out of work
(along with traditional animators). Enough already! Let's get back to what
made cartoons great in the first place: characters like Bugs Bunny and Woody Woodpecker and Tom & Jerry made us believe they were real without
CG and without celebrity voices. Why? Because they had PERSONALITY
(something sorely lacking in most of today's movies, which are hard to tell
apart).

I agree, there has been some really cute CGI animated movies like Toy Story, Shrek, Finding Nemo and others, but what about the standard animated movies.

I am with you on the stuntcasting, granted people like Tom Hanks, Will Smith, Mike Myers and others are good at selling tickets, but animated movies are supposed to be character-driven, not star-driven. The classic characters were for the most part done by people who worked behind the scenes, I remember what an anomoly it was when Robin Williams did the voice in Aladdin because it was uncommon to have an A-list movie star doing a voice for a cartoon, now every one of those movies had at least three or four top tier actors doing voices for characters in these movies. Enough is enoug.

"Toy Story" was the first movie done entirely in CG animation ... and for that
story, it was the ideal medium because the focus was on toys and toys are
three-dimensional. But just because that one movie was successful (and
deservedly), everybody wanted to come out with another CG movie ... and
another ... and another ad nauseum .. just in order to make a quick buck. And, if that weren't enough, the fact that "Toy Story" used well-known face
actors (Tom Hanks and Tim Allen) meant that every movie since then has cast celebrities in the main roles, putting talented voice actors out of work
(along with traditional animators). Enough already! Let's get back to what
made cartoons great in the first place: characters like Bugs Bunny and Woody Woodpecker and Tom & Jerry made us believe they were real without
CG and without celebrity voices. Why? Because they had PERSONALITY
(something sorely lacking in most of today's movies, which are hard to tell
apart).

excellent point and what a coincidence it is too- and with disney and pixar's animated movies, all the so-called hollywood actors were called up to lend their voice overs to the character, whilst with hanna barbera, warner bros and other cartoons it was a different story altogether.

these days with pixar, audience's are more interested in knowing people like will smith, tom hanks, holy hunter, etc are taking part in these animated films, as opposed to actually caring about the story.

hanna barbera may not have had the luxury of having celebrities doing voice-overs, but it was the quality of the cartoons and characters, which made us fans of those cartoons in the first place

Why can't Hollywood be original anymore?!

Why can't Hollywood be original anymore?!

well, it might be because that a) it is an industry which cares more about making a quick buck than caring about the standard of its films it ought to be churning out these days and b) they keep relying on remakes and sequels, which aren't really neccessary because it is one way of gaining audiences and making money

I actually went and saw the Chipmunks this past weekend. I thought it was really cute, and yes, I grew up on the original cartoon. For most of the movie they are in clothes resembling the ones they wore on the show. I don't know, I thought it was a really cute movie.

I actually went and saw the Chipmunks this past weekend. I thought it was really cute, and yes, I grew up on the original cartoon. For most of the movie they are in clothes resembling the ones they wore on the show. I don't know, I thought it was a really cute movie.

i suppose it is pretty much down to those who like the film and those who don't. my opinions are based on the appearances of the characters, although generally speaking i am not a fan of remakes of old tv shows and cartoons as hollywood movies.

coming up soon is the A-team film and thundercats to name, and though whilst the a-team now leaves a lot to be desired (it is going to take a different direction from the tv series), i do hope thundercats is worth looking forward to. i am also going to be interested in who they are going to cast as lion-o, panthro, cheetara, tygra, wily kit, wily kat and mum-ra to name