Alvin's shenanigans have gotten The Chipmunks into plenty of trouble before, but when Dave takes the 'Munks and their female counterparts The Chipettes on a cruise, Alvin's horseplay goes completely overboard - literally. Stranded on a remote island, stomachs growl and tensions flare as The Chipmunks and Chipettes struggle to adapt to life without their usual creature comforts.
Chipwrecked begins abruptly. There's no semblance of a back story or attempt at character introduction. Critics may see this as a cinematic faux pas, but these are established characters and if you can't deduce that they must board a ship in order to eventually be "Chipwrecked", maybe something a little less plot-centric would be a better choice for you. A Chipette rendition of the Go-Go's "Vacation" sets the scene and is the first of a fast and furious onslaught of songs. Musical numbers are better integrated in Chipwrecked than its predecessor The Squeakuel. Chipwrecked spares us from characters bursting into song or brief snippets of tracks squeezed in merely to secure a place on the movie's soundtrack.
The story moves quickly. After their unintentional departure from the ship, the result of one of Alvin's hair-brained schemes, we begin to see different sides of the Chipmunks' personalities as their relationships are put to the test. Alvin emerges as an unlikely worry-wart, taking on the task of keeping morale up and organizing the group's efforts to stay fed and sheltered. Simon undergoes a Peter Parker-like transformation when he suffers a venomous spider bite and transmogrifies into a free- spirited playboy with a French accent. His charms coax Jeanette out of her shell, leaving Brittany incensed that her sister is getting so much attention. The usually bashful Theodore is also encouraged by Simon (who now refers to himself as "Simone") to try bungee jumping and later invite Eleanor to dance. The previously ignorable Eleanor spends much of Chipwrecked on the sidelines, having suffered a sprained ankle, until she emerges as a heroine at the film's climax, leading the group to Jeanette, who has been 'munk-napped by Zoe.
Ahh, yes. Zoe. The real wild card of the movie is the new human character whose origin is somewhat mysterious. She claims to have been stranded when her UPS cargo plane crashed (a spoof of the Tom Hanks film Castaway) but emerges as a potential villain when it is revealed she came to the island seeking a lost treasure. She is neither a help nor a hindrance for much of the story but makes for better laughs than the bumbling Toby in Squeakuel. As original characters go, she's probably the best yet, aside perhaps from Claire Wilson in 2007's Alvin and the Chipmunks.
Critics have raked Chipwrecked over the coals while fans graded it an A- on the site Yahoo! Movies. It still holds the #3 spot at the box office and has grossed almost $100 million. I think the question to ask yourself before seeing this movie is "am I a fan or am I a critic?"
Chipwrecked is funny. Most of its laughs are references to pop-culture, including viral internet videos, one-liners from other movies (Castaway, James Bond), and even a Sarah Palin joke. The Chipmunks ARE a pop- culture reference and always have been. But the characters play on each other as well, and the scenarios themselves are funny on their own. One of my favorite laughs is when, after starting a fire, The Chipmunks wonder what to do next. Alvin shrugs and proceeds to lead the gang in a round of "Kumbaya". The 2007 Chipmunk movie was full or subtle humor and a little of that has been revived in Chipwrecked.
The entire pace of the movie feels just a little too fast. Songs, although well integrated, do come quickly at first. There are no less than three full-blown musical numbers in the first ten minutes, plus another song from the soundtrack playing as background music. Character development feels rushed at times too, such as when Simon is compelled to rescue Jeanette but simply declares he "can't do it". Moments later he swings to the rescue on a vine. Ian Hawke's redemption of sorts is also awkward and somewhat inexplicable after being a villain for so long, and Zoe is quickly forgiven for 'munk-napping Jeanette. Chipwrecked squeezes a lot of story and action in to 87 minutes and it's definitely a tight fit.
I found two other things strange about the movie. One is that there is almost no implication of peril at being dumped into the middle of the ocean. I also found the movie somewhat insensitive to heavyset people. At one point, Alvin trades a plateful of donuts to a husky boy in exchange for his toy. Ian also refers to Theodore and Eleanor as the "chubby one" and "girl chubby one" and implies that they are uninteresting.
Chipwrecked works because it doesn't try to be a bigger movie than it is. It's a "threequel", and a kid's movie. It manages to be endearing without being sickly-sweet. The animation looks great. At times I thought the Chipmunks' movements were a little too jerky and quick, but it still looks better than the first two films. The characters are expressive and interact seamlessly with their environment. There are plenty of laughs. More sophisticated humor wouldn't appeal to the younger crowd, and would probably seem out of place to the adults in the room. The Chipmunks are a pop-culture litmus but are hardly one trick ponies. Each has their own identity and their antics supply plenty of unique humor on their own. Chipwrecked may be the movie critics love to hate, but the rest of us could do a lot worse.
Chipwrecked begins abruptly. There's no semblance of a back story or attempt at character introduction. Critics may see this as a cinematic faux pas, but these are established characters and if you can't deduce that they must board a ship in order to eventually be "Chipwrecked", maybe something a little less plot-centric would be a better choice for you. A Chipette rendition of the Go-Go's "Vacation" sets the scene and is the first of a fast and furious onslaught of songs. Musical numbers are better integrated in Chipwrecked than its predecessor The Squeakuel. Chipwrecked spares us from characters bursting into song or brief snippets of tracks squeezed in merely to secure a place on the movie's soundtrack.
The story moves quickly. After their unintentional departure from the ship, the result of one of Alvin's hair-brained schemes, we begin to see different sides of the Chipmunks' personalities as their relationships are put to the test. Alvin emerges as an unlikely worry-wart, taking on the task of keeping morale up and organizing the group's efforts to stay fed and sheltered. Simon undergoes a Peter Parker-like transformation when he suffers a venomous spider bite and transmogrifies into a free- spirited playboy with a French accent. His charms coax Jeanette out of her shell, leaving Brittany incensed that her sister is getting so much attention. The usually bashful Theodore is also encouraged by Simon (who now refers to himself as "Simone") to try bungee jumping and later invite Eleanor to dance. The previously ignorable Eleanor spends much of Chipwrecked on the sidelines, having suffered a sprained ankle, until she emerges as a heroine at the film's climax, leading the group to Jeanette, who has been 'munk-napped by Zoe.
Ahh, yes. Zoe. The real wild card of the movie is the new human character whose origin is somewhat mysterious. She claims to have been stranded when her UPS cargo plane crashed (a spoof of the Tom Hanks film Castaway) but emerges as a potential villain when it is revealed she came to the island seeking a lost treasure. She is neither a help nor a hindrance for much of the story but makes for better laughs than the bumbling Toby in Squeakuel. As original characters go, she's probably the best yet, aside perhaps from Claire Wilson in 2007's Alvin and the Chipmunks.
Critics have raked Chipwrecked over the coals while fans graded it an A- on the site Yahoo! Movies. It still holds the #3 spot at the box office and has grossed almost $100 million. I think the question to ask yourself before seeing this movie is "am I a fan or am I a critic?"
Chipwrecked is funny. Most of its laughs are references to pop-culture, including viral internet videos, one-liners from other movies (Castaway, James Bond), and even a Sarah Palin joke. The Chipmunks ARE a pop- culture reference and always have been. But the characters play on each other as well, and the scenarios themselves are funny on their own. One of my favorite laughs is when, after starting a fire, The Chipmunks wonder what to do next. Alvin shrugs and proceeds to lead the gang in a round of "Kumbaya". The 2007 Chipmunk movie was full or subtle humor and a little of that has been revived in Chipwrecked.
The entire pace of the movie feels just a little too fast. Songs, although well integrated, do come quickly at first. There are no less than three full-blown musical numbers in the first ten minutes, plus another song from the soundtrack playing as background music. Character development feels rushed at times too, such as when Simon is compelled to rescue Jeanette but simply declares he "can't do it". Moments later he swings to the rescue on a vine. Ian Hawke's redemption of sorts is also awkward and somewhat inexplicable after being a villain for so long, and Zoe is quickly forgiven for 'munk-napping Jeanette. Chipwrecked squeezes a lot of story and action in to 87 minutes and it's definitely a tight fit.
I found two other things strange about the movie. One is that there is almost no implication of peril at being dumped into the middle of the ocean. I also found the movie somewhat insensitive to heavyset people. At one point, Alvin trades a plateful of donuts to a husky boy in exchange for his toy. Ian also refers to Theodore and Eleanor as the "chubby one" and "girl chubby one" and implies that they are uninteresting.
Chipwrecked works because it doesn't try to be a bigger movie than it is. It's a "threequel", and a kid's movie. It manages to be endearing without being sickly-sweet. The animation looks great. At times I thought the Chipmunks' movements were a little too jerky and quick, but it still looks better than the first two films. The characters are expressive and interact seamlessly with their environment. There are plenty of laughs. More sophisticated humor wouldn't appeal to the younger crowd, and would probably seem out of place to the adults in the room. The Chipmunks are a pop-culture litmus but are hardly one trick ponies. Each has their own identity and their antics supply plenty of unique humor on their own. Chipwrecked may be the movie critics love to hate, but the rest of us could do a lot worse.