Alvin And The Chipmunks (2022 animated remake)

Alvin and the Chipmunks is a 2022 American computer-animated musical comedy film based on the musical group of the same name by Ross Bagdasarian Sr. Produced by 20th Century Animation, Regency Enterprises, Bagdasarian Productions and Walt Disney Pictures and it was distributed by 20th Century Studios. It is a remake of Alvin And The Chipmunks (2007). The film is written by John Whittingon and directed by Josh Cooley. The film stars Tom Holland, Dylan O'Brien, Daniel Radcliffe, Ryan Reynolds, David Cross, Cameron Richardson, Kristen Wiig, Robert Downey Jr., Michael B. Jordan, Kristen Schaal, Danai Gurira and Tom Kenny along with Imagine Dragons and Coldplay.

The film was theatrically released in movie theaters on August 19, 2022 in the United States and Canada, by 20th Century Studios. The film received critical acclaim with critics praising its animation, voice acting, soundtrack and humor and was a box-office success, grossing over $999 million worldwide against a $9999 million budget.

Plot
The tree that Alvin, Simon, and Theodore live in is cut down and driven to Los Angeles to become a Christmas tree in the JETT Records office building. Here, Dave Seville is trying to have his song produced, but is brutally denied by the CEO of JETT Records and his longtime arch-rival, "best friend", and former college roommate Ian Hawke. As a rejected Dave leaves the office building, the Chipmunks quickly escape (after being scared by a barking German Shepherd at one point) by jumping into a basket, which Dave is carrying.

Dave unknowingly takes the Chipmunks home with him, where he throws it into the trash, which prompts a confused Theodore to claim, "Gross! Is this his house?," followed by Simon stating, "No. It's his garbage can." and Theodore replies, "Oh."

While Dave is quietly watching TV, the Chipmunks proceed to freely explore Dave's kitchen and eat a portion of his food, but are discovered by Dave in the process; this prompts a humorous game of hide-and-seek, with Dave as the unwilling participant. However, the game is abruptly ended when an escaping Alvin manages to drop and break a jar on Dave's head and knock him unconscious.

When Dave awakens, he is promptly greeted by Alvin, Simon, and Theodore. Dave is initially shocked, but calms down long enough for the Chipmunks to formally introduce themselves. However, he still finds the notion of talking animals "creepy" and "somewhat evil." Quickly, Dave betrays the Chipmunks by trapping and then tossing them outside in the rain.

However, in an attempt to win him over, the Chipmunks sing "Funkytown," much to Dave's surprise. They succeed and a deal is struck, where the Chipmunks can live in his house, as long as they sing his songs. However, Dave quickly finds himself annoyed by the Chipmunks as he isn't used to the erratic behavior that comes from their young age and, upon questioning, learns that their parents were hippies and abandoned them early in order to join a commune (if this is true or not is yet to be revealed).

The same night, after tucking the Chipmunks into bed, Dave is unable to sleep. After hearing the Chipmunks snoring, he finally comes up with "The Chipmunk Song" after thinking up some lyrics for the song.

The next morning, Dave tries to show the Chipmunks to an incredulous Ian, assuring him they will be JETT record's next big hit. However, the Chipmunks experience stage fright, which prevents them for singing his song and ends up having Dave ridiculed by Ian. Angry at the failure, Dave drives to his other job (which he is late for) and the Chipmunks ask if they can go with him. Worried they will also mess up his day at work, Dave refuses and takes them home. Upon arriving at his meeting with his boss Gail, Dave discovers that the Chipmunks have written all over his presentation boards (one showing "the size of Theodore's butt", "how smart Simon thinks he is", and "why Alvin stinks"), and this gets him fired as a result. Dave arrives home and yells at the Chipmunks for ruining his presentation boards and getting him fired, then Theodore accidentally pushes a button on the voice messenger.

Later that night, Claire is invited to Dave's house for dinner and the Chipmunks are forced to stay in another room. However, Alvin, thinking Dave needs his help to win Claire over, unintentionally sabotages the date. Dave tries to tell a frustrated Claire the reason for his strange behavior, but instead, he further alienates her by saying his "life was being sabotaged by talking chipmunks". In her anger, Claire storms out, stating that Dave never changed at all as Dave becomes heartbroken. The Chipmunks feel guilty for Alvin's unintentional sabotage. In order to make it up to Dave, they quickly leave to Ian's house that night to show him that Dave was right about their amazing talent.

Meanwhile, Dave decides to return the Chipmunks to their original home and goes as far as writing the note before being overcome by his affection for them and decides against it. At Ian's house, upon seeing their performance, Ian welcomes the Chipmunks to JETT Records and proceeds to quickly circulate the song and make it a big hit in just a few hours, much to Dave's surprise.

Soon, the Chipmunks' career skyrockets and by being managed and promoted by Ian, the Chipmunks continue to be wildly popular. Also, during this time, Dave sews the Chipmunks their sweaters and the Chipmunks like them.

Christmas quickly comes and in his excitement, Theodore calls Dave "Dad," which prompts a nervous Dave to dissuade the notion of him being their father, which hurts the Chipmunks.

After showing them their presents (which are savings bonds), Ian arrives and proceeds to shower the Chipmunks with many toys and an invitation to a Christmas night party.

During the party, Dave reconciles with Claire, who apologizes for leaving the dinner and not believing him. Ian also tries to convince Dave to let him work with the Chipmunks, but he refuses. In spite, an angry Ian proceeds to plant false lies to the Chipmunks about Dave.

The following day, Dave arrives home to find the Chipmunks being once again showered by various gifts from JETT Records and Dave asks the Chipmunks where did they get all of this stuff. Irritated by their behavior, Dave quickly converses with the Chipmunks, telling them that even with their new-found stardom, they do not have the right to be selfish and greedy and do what they want. Equally irritated by Dave, the Chipmunks quickly point out that Ian said they should always be happy while Alvin asks if he thinks of them as his kids or rats, much to Dave's confusion (who doesn't know about the untrue things that Ian has told the Chipmunks). Finally, at the height of his anger, Dave tells them to go live with "Uncle Ian" if they like him so much and not to think he is currently looking out for their best interests, which hurt and surprise the Chipmunks.

That same night, Theodore tries to apologize to Dave and asking if he is still mad at them, but discovers that he is sleeping. Theodore manages to see the letter that Dave wrote and shows it to Alvin and Simon. Not knowing that Dave has already decided against returning them home, the Chipmunks interpret that Dave wants them gone, and heartbroken, they contact Ian to see if they could live with him from now on.

At first, life with Ian is grand for the Chipmunks as he supplies them with many toys and allows them to do whatever they want in a rule-free environment. However, things begin to turn when Ian starts to overwork them to the point of exhaustion and also reworks their image. Dave contacts Ian to see how the boys are doing, but is purposely blocked out by Ian, who fears that upon knowing that Dave misses them, the Chipmunks will want to return to him and abandon Ian.

As the coast-to-coast tour ends, Ian brings the Chipmunks back to Los Angeles in order to perform their kickoff performance for their highly anticipated world tour. However, due to their exhaustion, the Chipmunks' voices have given out and as a result, they cannot perform their song. Not wanting to postpone the tour and give-out refunds, Ian decides to have the Chipmunks lip sync the song. Simon considers this cheating, but is convinced by Alvin that they have no choice.

Meanwhile, Dave learns that Ian still plans to proceed with the world tour, despite the Chipmunks' exhaustion. Angered, he proceeds to the theater to get his boys back, though is blocked by security. He is able to sneak in, with the help of Claire (who claims that he is her assistant). He then proceeds to the performance area, but is once again caught by security, who have been ordered by Ian to keep Dave away from the Chipmunks. However, as he is being escorted away, Dave manages to yell Alvin's name loud enough that he hears. Upon seeing Dave, the three quickly realize that Ian has lied to them and proceeds to reveal they are lip syncing and begin to run amok. After a brief chase (with the Chipmunks teasing the security guards), Ian manages to capture the Chipmunks and quickly whisks them away, despite pleas from Dave to let them free.

As Ian is being chauffeured toward the airport, Dave quickly takes chase. As he furiously pursues Ian, the Chipmunks reveal themselves to Dave in his car.

Surprised to see them, Dave questions them on their escape, to which Simon replies that breaking out of a cat cage wasn't difficult in the first place and the Chipmunks reconcile with Dave. On the other hand, Ian (who was unaware of the Chipmunks' escape) discovers that the Chipmunks have escaped and he proceeds to yell a long "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" in defeat.

A few days later, Claire once again visits Dave house for dinner. However, the dinner once again proceeds disastrously when Alvin accidentally spills champagne, which shorts out the electricity, and prompts an irritated Dave to yell Alvin's name while Alvin replies, "Okay!".

In mid-credit scene, Ian is also shown trying to get three clueless squirrels to sing and, of course, fails at doing so. He eventually breaks down and sobs at his failure.

In post-credit scene, Lena, Emily and Josephine brings the clothes to the box belonging to the Chipettes.

Cast

 * Tom Holland as Alvin
 * Dylan O'Brien as Simon
 * Daniel Radcliffe as Theodore
 * Ryan Reynolds as Dave Seville
 * David Cross as Ian Hawke
 * Cameron Richardson as Claire Wilson
 * Kristen Wiig as Gail
 * Robert Downey Jr. as Ted
 * Michael B. Jordan as Barry
 * Kristen Schaal as Amy
 * Danai Gurira as Vet
 * Imagine Dragons as themselves
 * Coldplay as themselves
 * Tom Kenny as Digger (cameo)

Soundtrack
Mark Mothersbaugh, who composed the last two films Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip, would return to compose the score for the remake with Imagine Dragons and Coldplay as a collaborator.

Track Listing
All scores are composed by Mark Mothersbaugh including Imagine Dragons and Coldplay. All songs performed by The Chipmunks except as noted.

Score Album
The film's original score was composed and conducted by Mark Mothersbaugh.


 * 1) Main Title (2022 version) (1:07)
 * 2) I'm Late (2022 version) (0:40)
 * 3) Ever? (2022 version) (2:07)
 * 4) Dave's Theme (2022 version) (0:48)
 * 5) No More Nuts/Storing Food for the Winter (2022 version) (4:43)
 * 6) Rescue the Gear/Toaster Waffles (2022 version) (1:44)
 * 7) Leave Me Alone (2022 version) (2:17)
 * 8) I'll Clean Out My Office (2022 version) (1:35)
 * 9) Are You Awake? (2022 version) (1:13)
 * 10) Christmas Morning (2022 version) (4:09)
 * 11) Live with Uncle Ian (2022 version) (2:36)
 * 12) Dinner! (2022 version) (2:07)
 * 13) Dave Remembers/Missing the Boys (2022 version) (1:08)
 * 14) Get Them! (2022 version) (1:03)
 * 15) Dave's Phone Call (2022 version) (1:06)
 * 16) Theodore's Nightmare (2022 version) (1:05)
 * 17) I Want to Go Home (2022 version) (1:28)
 * 18) Alvin!!!/You'll Never Take Us Alive (2022 version) (4:09)
 * 19) The Chipettes's debut (0:28)

Theatrical Release
The film was theatrically released in movie theaters on August 19, 2022 in the United States and Canada, by 20th Century Studios. The film was presented in a 1.85:1 format.

Marketing
The teaser trailer was released on May 14, 2022, posted on the 20th Century Studios YouTube channels, Funko, Moose Toys & Mattel are making a toy line. A second teaser trailer was released on June 4, 2022. McDonalds released Happy Meal toys to promote the film. On June 8, 2022, promotional tie-ins on every channel consist of bumpers.

Home Media
The film was released on Digital on August 11 and Blu-Ray and DVD on August 29, 2022 by 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment. It contains the deleted scenes, the 12-minute featurette, behind-the-scenes of Alvin And The Chipmunks, featuring interviews with most of the principal cast and crew, animatics, the pilot episode, the audio commentaries and a teaser for a sequel.

Critical Response
Review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 100% approval rating based on the 240 positive reviews, and its average rating is 10/10. The critical consensus reads, "Alvin And The Chipmunks is a great masterpiece in this studio." Metacritic, assigns the film a score of 100 out of 100, based on 69 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". CinemaScore gives the film a "A+" on its A+ to F scale.

Box Office
Alvin And The Chipmunks grossed $58500 million in the United States and Canada, and $7000 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $999 million, making the first Alvin And The Chipmunks remake to have a major box-office success.

Sequels
A sequel, titled Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Second Part, was released on May 9, 2024. Grant Gustin joined the cast to replace Ryan Reynolds due to his small role. The main cast members reprised their roles for the sequel and the film also re-introduced the Chipettes. A third film, titled Alvin and the Chipmunks: Stranded Island, was released on December 1, 2026. A fourth film, titled Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Final Adventure was released on December 26, 2028.

Trivia
The Chipmunks looks more traditional design than movie and outfit looks 1980s and 1960s and other and fixed the Chipmunks look in Alvinnn! and the Chipmunks

This film is closer source material with ton of references and callbacks.