SCREEN IT! PARENTAL REVIEW: ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: THE SQUEAKQUEL

"ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: THE SQUEAKQUEL"
(2009) (Zachary Levi, David Cross) (PG)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Minor	Mild	Heavy	Moderate	None

Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Heavy	None	Mild	None	None

Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Mild	None	Moderate	Heavy	Moderate

QUICK TAKE:: Family comedy: The three pop-star chipmunks from the first film are back and enrolled in high school, where they vie with three female singing chipmunks discovered by their evil former agent.

PLOT:

Alvin, Simon and Theodore (featuring the modified voices of JUSTIN LONG, MATTHEW GRAY GUBLER and JESSE McCARTNEY, respectively) have their lives thrown for a loop when their manager and legal guardian, Dave (JASON LEE), is injured during a concert in Paris. The three rodent brothers then fly back to Los Angeles where they are to be cared for by Dave's ne'er-do-well cousin, Toby (ZACHARY LEVI).

Acting on Dave's wishes to have the three chipmunk pop-stars live as normal a life as possible, Toby enrolls them at the local high school where they quickly draw the attention of the principal (a closet Chipmunks fan played by WENDIE MALICK) and the school bully (KEVIN G. SCHMIDT).

At the same time, their disgraced and still-unscrupulous former manager, Ian (DAVID CROSS), looks to get revenge on the chipmunks by discovering and then promoting a female version of the band, dubbed the Chipettes (voiced by CHRISTINA APPLEGATE, ANNA FARIS and AMY POEHLER). When Alvin becomes the school's newest sports star, Simon and Theodore are left to fend for themselves, leaving the band's future in jeopardy.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: Yes, it's targeted right at the youngest ones. And the quasi-"High School Musical" ripoff plot should bag more than a few tweens, too.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG: For some mild rude humor.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:: ZACHARY LEVI plays the three titular chipmunks' new caregiver, an unemployed slacker twentysomething who plays video games all day long, is painfully shy around women, and has a problem forming human connections in general.
JASON LEE plays the chipmunks' legal guardian and band manager, who is critically injured in the film's opening sequence and literally phones in most of the rest of his performance. He frets constantly about Alvin, Simon and Theodore's physical hijinks.
DAVID CROSS plays a crooked former record label executive who previously tried to exploit Alvin and the Chipmunks as pop stars and looks to do so with an all-female version of the group. He cares nothing about his clients and is not above lying, cheating and conniving to get his way and return himself back into the industry limelight.
ALVIN is a rambunctious chipmunk who can talk and sing and is shown in this film to have an oversized ego. He often disregards authority and angers his brothers by trying to curry favor with the popular jocks at school.
SIMON is his more intellectual brother who sings and performs with his siblings.
THEODORE is their younger brother who still occasionally has nightmares and thus seeks the company of others to comfort him. He also has weight issues.
BRITTANY is essentially the female version of Alvin, the lead singer of the Chipettes who Ian tries to make the focal point of the group.
JEANETTE is essentially the female version of Simon, the Chipettes' intellectual member.
ELEANOR is essentially the female version of Theodore. She, too, has weight issues and Ian also criticizes her for her lack of height.; JASON LEE plays the chipmunks' legal guardian and band manager, who is critically injured in the film's opening sequence and literally phones in most of the rest of his performance. He frets constantly about Alvin, Simon and Theodore's physical hijinks.
DAVID CROSS plays a crooked former record label executive who previously tried to exploit Alvin and the Chipmunks as pop stars and looks to do so with an all-female version of the group. He cares nothing about his clients and is not above lying, cheating and conniving to get his way and return himself back into the industry limelight.
ALVIN is a rambunctious chipmunk who can talk and sing and is shown in this film to have an oversized ego. He often disregards authority and angers his brothers by trying to curry favor with the popular jocks at school.
SIMON is his more intellectual brother who sings and performs with his siblings.
THEODORE is their younger brother who still occasionally has nightmares and thus seeks the company of others to comfort him. He also has weight issues.
BRITTANY is essentially the female version of Alvin, the lead singer of the Chipettes who Ian tries to make the focal point of the group.
JEANETTE is essentially the female version of Simon, the Chipettes' intellectual member.
ELEANOR is essentially the female version of Theodore. She, too, has weight issues and Ian also criticizes her for her lack of height.; DAVID CROSS plays a crooked former record label executive who previously tried to exploit Alvin and the Chipmunks as pop stars and looks to do so with an all-female version of the group. He cares nothing about his clients and is not above lying, cheating and conniving to get his way and return himself back into the industry limelight.
ALVIN is a rambunctious chipmunk who can talk and sing and is shown in this film to have an oversized ego. He often disregards authority and angers his brothers by trying to curry favor with the popular jocks at school.
SIMON is his more intellectual brother who sings and performs with his siblings.
THEODORE is their younger brother who still occasionally has nightmares and thus seeks the company of others to comfort him. He also has weight issues.
BRITTANY is essentially the female version of Alvin, the lead singer of the Chipettes who Ian tries to make the focal point of the group.
JEANETTE is essentially the female version of Simon, the Chipettes' intellectual member.
ELEANOR is essentially the female version of Theodore. She, too, has weight issues and Ian also criticizes her for her lack of height.; ALVIN is a rambunctious chipmunk who can talk and sing and is shown in this film to have an oversized ego. He often disregards authority and angers his brothers by trying to curry favor with the popular jocks at school.
SIMON is his more intellectual brother who sings and performs with his siblings.
THEODORE is their younger brother who still occasionally has nightmares and thus seeks the company of others to comfort him. He also has weight issues.
BRITTANY is essentially the female version of Alvin, the lead singer of the Chipettes who Ian tries to make the focal point of the group.
JEANETTE is essentially the female version of Simon, the Chipettes' intellectual member.
ELEANOR is essentially the female version of Theodore. She, too, has weight issues and Ian also criticizes her for her lack of height.; SIMON is his more intellectual brother who sings and performs with his siblings.
THEODORE is their younger brother who still occasionally has nightmares and thus seeks the company of others to comfort him. He also has weight issues.
BRITTANY is essentially the female version of Alvin, the lead singer of the Chipettes who Ian tries to make the focal point of the group.
JEANETTE is essentially the female version of Simon, the Chipettes' intellectual member.
ELEANOR is essentially the female version of Theodore. She, too, has weight issues and Ian also criticizes her for her lack of height.; THEODORE is their younger brother who still occasionally has nightmares and thus seeks the company of others to comfort him. He also has weight issues.
BRITTANY is essentially the female version of Alvin, the lead singer of the Chipettes who Ian tries to make the focal point of the group.
JEANETTE is essentially the female version of Simon, the Chipettes' intellectual member.
ELEANOR is essentially the female version of Theodore. She, too, has weight issues and Ian also criticizes her for her lack of height.; BRITTANY is essentially the female version of Alvin, the lead singer of the Chipettes who Ian tries to make the focal point of the group.
JEANETTE is essentially the female version of Simon, the Chipettes' intellectual member.
ELEANOR is essentially the female version of Theodore. She, too, has weight issues and Ian also criticizes her for her lack of height.; JEANETTE is essentially the female version of Simon, the Chipettes' intellectual member.
ELEANOR is essentially the female version of Theodore. She, too, has weight issues and Ian also criticizes her for her lack of height.; ELEANOR is essentially the female version of Theodore. She, too, has weight issues and Ian also criticizes her for her lack of height.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
Then read OUR TAKE of this film.

(Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).

OUR WORD TO PARENTS:

Here's a brief summary of the content found in this PG-rated family comedy. Some colorful phrases are uttered throughout of the "Darn it to heck" and "You jerk" variety. One man is briefly shown sleeping and then waking up in a T-shirt and underpants with little hearts on them. Another man prances about nearly half the movie in a bathrobe with his hairy chest exposed, while some of the female chipmunks' dance moves include some mildly suggestive poses and grinding gyrations.

Slapstick-style violence is also present, including the villain taking a toy motorcycle to the crotch, as is other potentially imitative behavior. A few moments might be tense for the youngest of viewers, while some bad attitudes are on display. Crude humor, including one flatulence gag, is also featured, and some tense family material is also present.

If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your household who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.

ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE: Dave is given a sedative (off-screen) in the hospital that makes him drowsy.
Alvin is given the same sedative after he wrecks Dave's hospital room. We see the nurse administer the shot into Alvin's CGI behind.

BLOOD/GORE: Dave's eye is badly bruised, discolored and swollen after a concert accident.
Toby farts loudly in bed, sending Theodore gasping for air.
As punishment, Ryan and his jock friends are forced by Dr. Rubin to pull the chewing gum off the bottoms of the high school's grandstand seats.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE: Alvin defies Dave, his legal guardian, and hogs the spotlight at a concert. His on-stage antics cause a large photo display to come unhinged and crash into Dave.
Toby tells the chipmunks that he won't be the disciplinarian that Dave would be.
The chipmunks lie to an incapacitated Dave over the phone that they are being taken care of by his favorite aunt and that nothing is wrong at home.
The chipmunks are shown messing up Dave's kitchen in his absence, doing things they know he would disapprove of like playing in a blender, eating junk food, and knocking pans down.
Ryan knocks Alvin's tray of food off the table and then threatens to kill him and his two chipmunk brothers if he doesn't stop talking to his cheerleader friends.
Ryan refers to the chubby Theodore as a "fatty ratty."
Ian lies to the Chipettes that he is still a top agent and talent manager.
Ian lies to the Chipettes that his office is on the roof of his former building and lies that a model condo is really his penthouse.
Ian also lies to the Chipettes that fame went to Alvin and the Chipmunks' heads and they discarded him when they became famous. In fact, he isolated them from Dave in the first movie, locked them in cages, and forced them to do his bidding until they fought back and disgraced him.
Ian makes Brittany the star of the Chipettes and orders Jeanette and Eleanor to be her backup singers.
Ian criticizes Eleanor for her weight and the fact that she is not as tall as the other two Chipettes.
When the Chipettes refuse to do exactly what Ian wants them to do, he first threatens to mail them back home and then tells them he'll have them barbecued.
Alvin knowingly goes along with a scheme by the jocks to make Simon think he is a "litter monitor," even though no such job exists.
Ryan litters repeatedly, compelling Simon to write him citations that are meaningless. Ryan and his friends laugh at Simon's expense.
Ian later locks the three Chipettes in a small cage to keep them under his control.
Alvin turns the light switch back on multiple times after Dave has turned it off, defying him by not going to sleep when he is supposed to.

FRIGHTENING SCENES: The chipmunks are nearly trampled in their first day of high school by a rush of students in the halls.
Some high-school bullies chase the three chipmunks through the school hallways and eventually threaten to flush Simon down a toilet.
Theodore is threatened by an eagle after he wanders into the bird of prey's enclosure at the zoo.
Theodore, slightly chubby, gets stuck in the zoo's fence trying to escape as the bird bears down on him.

GUNS/WEAPONS: None.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR: Phrases: "Darn it," "Darn it to heck," "Nuts," "Taco Boy," "You dirty rats," "Rat-face," "Jerks," "You're dead, furball," "Does this make my butt look smaller?" "Don't hate on the high-five," "He's the Devil," "In your face," "Fatty ratty," "Don't be a fascist Franny," "It's on like Donkey Kong," "Sucks to be you," "What do you think about that, suckers?" "And the Fat Lady she's a singin'," "1-800-LOW-LIFE," "Life is good, especially when you're not a loser" and "Where's the music, you loser?"
Alvin defies Dave, his legal guardian, and hogs the spotlight at a concert. His on-stage antics cause a large photo display to come unhinged and crash into Dave.
Toby pulls out of a parking space fast, causing his aunt's broken wheelchair to fall off the back of the car. Unaware, he drives off with the wheelchair left in the middle of the street.
Toby is shown on at least one other occasion driving aggressively.
Toby is clearly addicted to videogames to the point where he rarely leaves the house and has problems forming human attachments.
Toby seems almost completely incapable of cleaning up after himself, leaving food and various trash strewn throughout Dave's home.
The chipmunks are shown messing up Dave's kitchen in his absence, doing things they know he would disapprove of like playing in a blender, eating junk food, and knocking pans down.
Skateboarders at school are shown doing tricks on a flight of outside stairs.
Alvin gives Ryan and one other football player wedgies.
Dr. Rubin has a secret Chipmunks tattoo on her arm.
A homeless Ian is shown eating food out of a public dumpster, at one point even fighting a rat for a morsel.
Ian is later shown brushing his teeth in a public fountain.
Ian lies to the Chipettes that a model condominium is actually his real penthouse. To hide the fact that he doesn't have keys to the unit, he uses one of the animals to pick the lock.
During a flashback sequence, we see Toby hit repeatedly with dodgeballs in his torso and face. He is also dunked face-first into a toilet by bullies and is pinched repeatedly in the hallways because there is a "Pinch me" sign taped to his back.
Classmates laugh at Brittany after she takes a spill in the lunchroom.
Both Eleanor and Theodore fret about their weight.
Alvin blows off a family obligation to go celebrate a big football victory with his new jock friends.
An audience of high-school kids boos Simon and Theodore when they tell the crowd they can't perform without Alvin.
Alvin and Simon quarrel over who is hogging a blanket.
Toby farts loudly in bed, sending Theodore gasping for air.
Alvin drives a motorcycle at an excessively high rate of speed, popping "wheelies" in the process, all in an effort to rescue the Chipettes from Ian.
All three Chipettes jump from the roof of a moving limo onto Alvin's motorcycle.
Ian dresses in drag and tries to convince a massive audience that some hand puppets are the real Chipettes.

JUMP SCENES: None.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE): Some fairly tense music plays during a sequence in which Alvin has to rescue Theodore from a preying zoo eagle and at the climax when Alvin and the Chipettes are racing to get to a school concert.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE): None.

PROFANITY: None.

SEX/NUDITY: Toby is shown waking up in a T-shirt and underpants with little hearts on them.
Ian goes through most of the film's first half wearing nothing but a bathrobe, exposing his hairy chest.
Some of the Chipettes' dance moves include some mildly suggestive poses and grinding gyrations.
Ian is briefly shown dressed as a woman in a strapless dress that exposes much of his hairy chest.

SMOKING: None.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES: Because Alvin's showboating causes Dave to be critically injured in Paris, the Chipmunk brothers are without their legal guardian and main caregiver for nearly the entire film.
Toby accidentally causes bodily injury to his elderly aunt, forcing the irresponsible young man to be the chipmunks' new caregiver.
Toby briefly mentions that his father was a very strict man who was always telling him "Don't do this" and "Don't do that."
Alvin's desire to be popular at school and get in good with the jocks puts him at odds with his two brothers, who are not as athletically inclined.
Alvin knowingly goes along with a scheme by the jocks to make Simon think he is a "litter monitor," even though no such job exists at the school.
Alvin neglects to compete in a high-school talent show with his brothers, because he opts to go out celebrating a big football victory with his new jock friends.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT: Why one should strive to be selfless and not a show-off.
The importance of family and being there for your siblings.
The allure of the "cool crowd" in high school, even though they are typically exclusionary and even bullying to those they do not like.
The negative effects of losing yourself in a virtual world of video games, TV and other technology at the expense of making real human connections.

VIOLENCE: Most of the following is played for laughs of the slapstick variety.
A large concert display comes loose, swings and hits Dave, sending him across the stage. He is shown badly injured and in traction immediately afterward.
A dog watching the chipmunks perform on television charges the TV and knocks it over.
Alvin hops all around a hospital room as medical personnel try to corral him. In doing so, he knocks over multiple items and accidentally causes Dave's bed to rise, lower and contort.
Toby accidentally nudges a wheelchair in which his elderly aunt is sitting and she goes careening down two flights of stairs at an airport. She is shown with a neck brace while being loaded into an ambulance immediately after.
A skateboarding mascot loses control and crashes down a flight of steps at the high school.
Ryan knocks Alvin's tray of food off a table during lunch at school.
Alvin gives Ryan and one other football player wedgies.
Ryan and his jock friends chase Alvin, Simon and Theodore down school hallways, eventually trapping Simon and threatening to flush him down a toilet.
When the jocks threaten Theodore, Alvin and Simon spring into action. The boys stumble out of camera view and we only hear the chipmunks' attack. In the next scene, the jocks' clothes are shown tattered and chewed up (but no facial or hand injuries).
Alvin accidentally throws a Wii game controller at Dave's TV, shattering its screen.
Ryan and his jock cohorts throw multiple dodgeballs at the chipmunks. Simon and Theodore are hit hard and are sent crashing into the wall. Alvin is the only one skilled enough to catch a ball.
During a flashback sequence, we see Toby hit repeatedly with dodgeballs in his torso and face. He is also dunked face-first into a toilet by bullies and is pinched repeatedly in the hallways because there is a "Pinch me" sign taped to his back.
Ryan picks Simon up and throws him a considerable distance into a garbage can.
Alvin and Simon fight in a garbage dumpster. The camera doesn't show any wrestling or other violent activity. We just see trash being kicked up in the air in comical fashion.
Ryan, the school's quarterback, is sacked hard from his blind side during a football game.
Alvin's toy motorcycle hits Ian in the crotch.
Dave slips on a skateboard in the chipmunks' room as he is trying to get Alvin to stop playing around with the room's light switch.

Reviewed December 23, 2009 / Posted December 23, 2009

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