[Movie Review] Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip (2015)

Posted on December 18, 2015 by thegrandshuckett in Movie Reviews // 0 Comments

Official Website

Director: Walt Becker

Writers: Ross Bagdasarian, Janice Karman

Runtime: 1 hr 26 min

Main Cast:

Jason Lee as Dave
Justin Long as Alvin (voice)
Matthew Gray Grubler as Simon (voice)
Jesse McCartney as Theodore (voice)
Kaley Cuoco as Eleanor (voice)
Anna Farris as Jeanette (voice)
Christina Applegate as Brittany (voice)

Review: by Faith & Marie

The Chipmunks are back for another fun filled family adventure.

This fourth installment in the series finds the Chipmunks (Alvin, Simon, and Theodore) heading on a cross-country road trip, in an attempt to stop their father (Dave Seville) from proposing to his girlfriend (Samantha), in order to not only keep from “loosing Dave”, but also prevent Samantha’s son (Miles) from becoming their brother. They are joined by Miles, who also has no wish for Dave’s proposal to his mother. Along the way, the four are being trailed by a deranged “sky cop” who wants revenge on the Chipmunks.

It may have been four long years since the last Chipmunks movie outing, but the arrival of Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip makes it feel like they’ve never been gone. No less noisy, obnoxious or just plain groan-inducing than the previous installments, this new adventure for the garish CG renderings of the amusing characters originally created by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. for a 1958 novelty record unsurprisingly tosses out more of the same. The only key difference is, unlike those three predecessors (which collectively grossed over a billion dollars worldwide, by the way), this time around the ‘Chipmunks will be facing off against none other than The Force — and in a bit of irony, it’s the first time a Star Wars movie is being released by a studio other than Fox.

What We Liked:

The movie was absolutely adorable and the greatest thing about it in our opinion was the multiple music and dance numbers performed by the chipmunks and others. The music and dance routines are sure to keep any child or adults attention.

What We Didn’t Like:

This movie definitely does not do the previous Chipmunk movies justice. The antagonist is not as intelligent as the ones from the previous films, and his reasoning behind trying to capture the Chipmunks is somewhat dimwitted.

Also, the Chipettes, only have a minor role in the movie, as opposed to the last two films, which was disappointing.

Summary

All in all the movie was a delightful treat and will hold both children and adult’s attention. We believe it is a terrific family movie for all to see. A wonderful addition to the Chipmunk Movie’s. We sincerely hope they don’t stop here and continue to make more Alvin and The Chipmunk movies. At the risk of praising the film with faint damnation, nothing here is any better than it has to be, but it’s rarely anywhere near as bad as it could be. The gags come and go painlessly, instances of chipmunk poop are fleeting, and from the acting to the animation to the choreography, every production element here sets a precariously low bar and then clears it well enough.

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