By Ned Jordan
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel begins with the trio rocking out on a
world tour, but it's only a matter of time before Alvin's antics accidently put
their guardian Dave (Jason Lee) in a hospital. He sends them home to be
cared for by his aunt while he recuperates, and even goes so far as to enroll
them in high school to make their childhood more normal. Although the
three are initially bullied, Alvin manages to work his way into the cool crowd
which puts a wedge between him and his chipmunk brothers. Things are
further complicated by the arrival of the Chippettes, female versions of the
three chipmunks who sing as well. Will they all learn that it's family and
the music that matter most?
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel is strictly for kids, and
specifically for those that enjoyed the first film. There's not much here
for adults, as the chipmunk voices quickly grow annoying and the thin plot
merely serves to barely tie together one chipmunk escapade after another that
struggles to fill out its 80 minute running time. It would be nice if a
little more effort went into the story, but smaller kids won't notice that older
folks have seen it all before. My four year old niece likes it, but one
viewing is more than enough for me.
The Blu-ray version of the film includes separate DVD and digital copy discs,
so you can keep on in the car and transfer one to your PC and leave the HiDef
Blu-ray disc at home. The picture and sound are definitely well done on
the Blu-ray, so you can crank up those falsetto covers of pop hits if that's
your thing. There's a good collection of special features on the disc that
will appeal to Chipmunks fans, and not just those of the movies but those that
grew up watching the cartoon in the 80s as well. It all basically comes
down to this: if you have kids that liked the first movie they'll enjoy seeing
more of the same, but adults should steer clear.
Final Rating:
