Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel is a 2009 American live-action/computer animated musical family comedy film directed by Betty Thomas. It is the second live action/animated film starring Alvin and the Chipmunks and stars Zachary Levi, David Cross, and Jason Lee with the voices of Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler, Jesse McCartney, Amy Poehler, Anna Faris and Christina Applegate. The film was written by Jon Vitti, Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, distributed by 20th Century Fox, and produced by Fox 2000 Pictures, Regency Enterprises and Bagdasarian Company. It is a sequel to the 2007 film Alvin and the Chipmunks and was released in theaters on December 23, 2009 by 20th Century Fox. The film grossed $443.1 million[3] on a $70 million[2] budget. Unlike its predecessor, The Squeakquel received mixed reviews from critics.
| Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Betty Thomas |
| Produced by |
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| Written by |
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| Based on | Alvin and the Chipmunks by Ross Bagdasarian The Chipettes by Janice Karman |
| Starring | |
| Music by | David Newman |
| Cinematography | Anthony B. Richmond |
| Edited by | Matthew Friedman |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release date |
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Running time | 88 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States[1] |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $70 million[2] |
| Box office | $443.1 million[3] |
Plot
Dave is injured when a cardboard cutout sends him flying across the stage during a charity benefit concert. Dave asks his aunt, Jackie, to look after the Chipmunks, Alvin, Simon, and Theodore. Arrangements are also made for them to go to public school at West Eastman High School. After Jackie also has an accident, the Chipmunks are left in the care of Toby, Jackie's grandson.
Former CEO Ian Hawke, who is broke and destitute, lives in the basement of JETT Records. Three singing female chipmunks, Brittany, Jeanette, and Eleanor, also known as The Chipettes, emerge from a FedEx package. Ian recruits and hires the Chipettes in an effort to resurrect his career.
While at school, bullies ridicule the Chipmunks and threaten to kill them for drawing their girlfriends' attention. They chase the Chipmunks around the school and give Simon a swirlie in a toilet. The chipmunks are summoned to the principal's office and discover the principal, Dr. Rubin, is a fan. She enlists their help to raise money for a music program by participating in a contest. Ian is shocked to find the Chipmunks on the front page of his newspaper. After he reads a story about them, he quickly sends the Chipettes to school.
When the Chipmunks meet the Chipettes, both groups are smitten with each other. However, Brittany reminds the girls that Ian said the Chipmunks betrayed him and are untrustworthy. Alvin and the boys struggle to make it through a rehearsal because of their new crushes. Ian smugly walks in and introduces his new stars, the Chipettes. The boys are shocked to see the girls are working with Ian, and a rivalry emerges when Ian convinces Dr. Rubin to let the Chipettes compete in the Battle of the Bands. Dr. Rubin sets up a concert for them to compete to represent the school.
Alvin becomes popular with the jocks and joins the football team, not realizing that the next game is during the concert. At the concert, Theodore and Simon tell the fans that Alvin failed to show up, and they cannot perform, leading to a victory for the Chipettes. Alvin arrives after the concert to an empty auditorium, and Brittany calls him out for his lack of responsibility. Alvin returns home and attempts to apologize to his brothers, but is ignored. Theodore runs away to the zoo the next day. Alvin and Simon save him from an eagle, and the three reconcile.
Soon, the Chipettes are hired but learn they are to perform as an opening act for a Britney Spears concert on the same night as the school contest. Ian convinces them to call off the battle and perform at the concert, but refuses to give the same credit to Jeanette and Eleanor that he gives Brittany. She demands that they all perform together or not at all, until Ian threatens to send them to a barbecue restaurant unless they perform.
Before the Battle of the Bands, Alvin receives a phone call from the Chipettes, who tell him that Ian has locked them in a cage. Alvin races off to rescue them while Simon tells Jeanette how to pick the lock over the cell phone. Simon and Theodore are on the verge of going out to perform until the others arrive just in time to perform at the contest. The Chipmunks and the Chipettes perform together and receive the money for the music program. Dave, who had left the hospital upon learning that Toby was looking after the Chipmunks, returns during the contest, happy to see the Chipmunks again. Ian is further exposed at the concert he set up for the girls when he attempts to imitate them, only to be taken away by security guards. After the contest, Dave allows the Chipettes to stay with them. Both the Chipmunks and Chipettes get ready for bed. As Alvin and Dave bicker over bedtime and fight over the light switch, Rubin has the jocks scrape the gum off from under the bleachers in the gymnasium as punishment for making Alvin late for the sing-off, and the security guards throw Ian in a dumpster.
Cast
- Justin Long as Alvin Seville
- Matthew Gray Gubler as Simon Seville
- Jesse McCartney as Theodore Seville
- Christina Applegate as Brittany Miller
- Anna Faris as Jeanette Miller
- Amy Poehler as Eleanor Miller
- Zachary Levi as Toby Seville
- David Cross as Ian Hawke
- Jason Lee as David "Dave" Seville
- Wendie Malick as Dr. Rubin
- Anjelah Johnson as Julie Ortega
- Kevin G. Schmidt as Ryan Edwards
- Chris Warren, Jr. as Xander
- Bridgit Mendler as Becca Kingston
- Alexandra Shipp as Valentina
- Aimee Carrero as Emily
- Brando Eaton as Jeremy Smith
- Kathryn Joosten as Aunt Jackie
- Ross Bagdasarian, Jr. as Alvin Seville (singing voice)
- Steve Vining as Simon Seville (singing voice)
- Janice Karman as Theodore Seville/The Chipettes (singing voice)
Cameos
- Eric Bauza as Digger the NASCAR gopher
- Sean Astin as Meerkat Manor Narrator (voice)
- Quest Crew as Li'l Rosero Dancers
- Charice Pempengco as herself
- Honor Society as themselves
Reception
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 20% based on reviews from 84 critics, with an average rating of 3.88/10. The site's consensus is that, "This Squeakquel may entertain the kiddies, but it's low on energy and heavily reliant on slapstick humor."[4] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 41 out of 100 based on 20 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[5] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade A on scale of A to F.[6]
Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly graded the film a C-.[7] Gleiberman wrote in his review with this question: "Will kids eat up this cutely fractious claptrap? Of course they will. They'll eat up whatever you put in front of them. But that doesn't make The Squeakquel good for them."[7] Sue Robinson from Radio Times said that "even if there's little here for older viewers to enjoy, youngsters will love the slapstick action and catchy soundtrack."[8]
Some reviews were positive, such as Joe Leydon, writing for Variety, calling it "a frenetic but undeniably funny follow-up that offers twice the number of singing-and-dancing rodents in another seamless blend of CGI and live-action elements."[9] Betsy Sharkey of the Los Angeles Times commented on Betty Thomas' direction, saying that she brings "a light campy touch as she did in 1995's The Brady Bunch Movie."[10]
After the film had garnered $112 million worldwide at the box office over its first weekend, some critics were disappointed that it was more popular than other movies in wide release aimed at a family audience.[11][12] Richard Corliss of Time wrote that families "could have taken the cherubs to The Princess and the Frog or Disney's A Christmas Carol, worthy efforts that, together, took in only about a fifth of the Chipmunks' revenue in the same period".[13]
Box office
On its opening Wednesday, the film opened to #1 with $18.8 million and finished the weekend at #3 behind Fox's own Avatar and Warner Bros' Sherlock Holmes[14] with $48.9 million and a $75.6 million 5-day total, eclipsing its budget in only five days. In the US, it is the 9th highest-grossing film of 2009, and on March 7, 2010, it outgrossed its predecessor to become the second highest-grossing film to never hit #1 behind My Big Fat Greek Wedding.[15] Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel ended its run with $219.6 million in the US and $223.5 million overseas for a total of $443.1 million worldwide.[3]
Accolades
- 2010 Kids' Choice Awards: Favorite Movie (winner)
- 2010 BAFTA Children's Awards: BAFTA Kids' Vote - Feature Film (winner)
Soundtrack
| Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | December 1, 2009 | |||
| Genre | Pop, rock, hip hop, dance | |||
| Length | 50:15 | |||
| Label | Rhino | |||
| Producer | Ross Bagdasarian, Janice Karman, Ali Dee Theodore | |||
| The Chipmunks and The Chipettes chronology | ||||
| ||||
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack based on the film. It was released on December 1, 2009. Bands Honor Society and Queensberry, along with Filipino singer Charice, were all featured artists for both the movie and soundtrack.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Performing Artist(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "You Really Got Me" | Ray Davies | The Chipmunks Feat. Honor Society | 3:05 |
| 2. | "Hot n Cold" | Katy Perry, Lukasz Gottwald, Max Martin | The Chipettes | 4:05 |
| 3. | "So What" | Alecia B. Moore, Johann Karl Schuster, Max Martin | The Chipettes | 4:05 |
| 4. | "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" | Pete Burns, Steve Coy, Wayne Hussey Mike Percy, Timothy Lever | The Chipmunks | 3:36 |
| 5. | "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" | Beyoncé Knowles, Terius Nash, Thaddis Harrell, Christopher Stewart | The Chipettes | 2:57 |
| 6. | "Bring It On" | Ali Dee Theodore, Jason Gleed | The Chipmunks | 3:46 |
| 7. | "Stayin' Alive" | Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb | The Chipmunks | 3:05 |
| 8. | "The Song" | Ali Dee Theodore, Alana Da Fonseca, Mike Klein, John McCurry | The Chipettes Feat. Queensberry | 3:06 |
| 9. | "It's OK" | Ali Dee Theodore, Alana Da Fonseca, Vinny Alfieri | The Chipmunks | 2:48 |
| 10. | "Shake Your Groove Thing" | Dino Fekaris, Frederick Perren | The Chipmunks and The Chipettes | 3:52 |
| 11. | "Put Your Records On" | Corinne Bailey Rae, John Beck, Steven Chrisanthou | The Chipettes | 3:35 |
| 12. | "I Want to Know What Love Is" | Mick Jones | The Chipmunks | 2:54 |
| 13. | "We Are Family" | Bernard Edwards, Nile Rodgers | The Chipmunks and The Chipettes | 3:03 |
| 14. | "No One" | Alicia Keys, Kerry Brothers, Jr., George Michael Harry | The Chipettes Feat. Charice | 4:00 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Performing Artist(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15. | "I Gotta Feeling" | The Black Eyed Peas, David Guetta, Frédéric Riesterer | The Chipmunks and The Chipettes | 4:06 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Performing Artist(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16. | "In The Family" | Ali Dee Theodore, Jason Gleed, Alana Da Fonseca | The Chipmunks and The Chipettes | 3:01 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Performing Artist(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16. | "Daydream Believer" | John Stewart | The Chipmunks | 2:45 |
| 17. | "Get Ur Good Time On" | The Chipmunks | 2:48 | |
| 18. | "The Song" | Ali Dee Theodore, Alana Da Fonseca, Mike Klein, John McCurry | Queensberry | 3:06 |
Chart performance
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart[18] | 15 |
| New Zealand Albums Chart | 3 |
| UK Albums Chart | 6 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 6 |
Marketing
Video game
| Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel | |
|---|---|
 Cover Art | |
| Developer(s) | ImaginEngine |
| Publisher(s) | Majesco Entertainment |
| Director(s) | Betty Thomas  |
| Producer(s) | Janice Karman Ross Bagdasarian Jr. |
| Composer(s) | David Newman |
| Series | Alvin and The Chipmunks |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo DS, Wii |
| Release |
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| Genre(s) | Platform |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, Multi-player |
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel is a platform game based on the movie. It was released on December 1, 2009 (the same day as the movie's soundtrack) only for the Wii and Nintendo DS.
Home media
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel was released on DVD/Blu-ray/Digital Copy on March 30, 2010 in North America, on April 12, 2010 in the United Kingdom and on June 2, 2010 in Australia.
Sequels
Shortly after the film's release on DVD and Blu-ray, Fox and Regency had announced that Alvin and the Chipmunks 3D was scheduled to be released on December 16, 2011.[19] The title was then changed to Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked.[20] On January 22, 2011, Fox 2000 Pictures started production on the film during a Caribbean cruise on the Carnival Dream ship. Filming took place primarily on the ship's upper, open decks with scenes featuring actor Jason Lee (reprising his role as David Seville) and the antics of The Chipmunks in the Carnival Dream's outdoor recreation areas. Stops on the itinerary included Cozumel, Roatan, Belize and Costa Maya (which provided tropical backdrops for many of the film's shipboard scenes).[21] A fourth film, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip, was released on December 18, 2015.[22]
References
- "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (2009)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
- Fritz, Ben (2009-12-28). "Holiday box-office take is highest in recent history". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 1 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-03.
- "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Archived from the original on 5 June 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-01.
- "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (2009)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
- "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 21 December 2009. Retrieved 2010-01-05.
- "ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: THE SQUEAKQUEL (2009) A". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on 2018-12-20.
- Gleiberman, Owen (2009-12-24). "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel Movie Review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 15 January 2010. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
- Robinson, Sue (2009-12-24). "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel". RadioTimes. Archived from the original on 2010-01-17. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
- Leydon, Joe (2009-12-20). "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel Review". Variety. Archived from the original on 25 December 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
- Sharkey, Betsy (2009-12-23). "Bright-eyed, Bushy-tailed". Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel movie review, Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2011-12-13.
- Ryan Michael Painter (2009-12-28). "Weekend Box Office Reaction". Archived from the original on 2011-07-16.
- Scott Mendelson (2009-12-27). "HuffPost Weekend Box Office in Review: Avatar Dominates Record-Breaking Weekend". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 30 December 2009. Retrieved 2010-01-24.
- Corliss, Richard (2009-12-30). "Alvin 2: The Unspeakable Squeakquel". Time. Archived from the original on 2010-01-02. Retrieved 2010-08-09.
- "Weekend Box Office Results for December 25–27, 2009". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 17 July 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-09.
- "Top Grossing Movies That Never Hit #1 at the Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 4 August 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-09.
- "Alvin And The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] (Amazon MP3 Exclusive Version): Alvin And The Chipmunks: MP3 Downloads". Retrieved 2012-04-23.
- "iTunes - Music - Alvin and The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) [Deluxe Edition] by Various Artists". Itunes.apple.com. 2009-12-01. Retrieved 2012-04-23.
- Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Australian chart history
- "The Chipmunks are Coming in 3D, Wall Street Bumped". ComingSoon.net. Archived from the original on 2012-04-15. Retrieved 2010-03-10.
- "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked at Box Office Mojo". Boxofficemojo.com. 2011-12-16. Retrieved 2011-12-27.
- "Alvin and the Chipmunks Movie Filmed on Caribbean Cruise". Travel Agent Central. 2011-02-02. Archived from the original on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 2011-12-27.
- Kit, Borys (December 18, 2014). "'Alvin and the Chipmunks 4' Finds a Director (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
External links
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