The Chipmunks

[D'Snowth]

I don't remember if I ever mentioned this in this particular thread or not, but I can't help but wonder if "The Girls of Rock n Roll" was the original song from "Bigger", or if it's a song replacement... it's really hard to tell because those DiC episodes were rather poorly animated compared to the Ruby-Spears episodes: the animation timing and everything matches the song, but the mouth animation doesn't necessarily, which is why it's so hard to tell.

 

[Drtooth]

I wouldn't be able to tell. I don't know if they did song replacements for the Buena Vista releases (though I think they had some song replacement on Robomunk).

And there's really no where to check if there was.

I've been looking for a list of songs used on Super Mario Brothers Super Show before they got replaced, but have never found one.

 

[D'Snowth]

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Alvin-Chipmunks-Batmunk/16801

Wooo, somebody pinch me...

 

[Drtooth]

(in best Columbo) Ehhh, just one question their, sir...

How the heck hard is it for them to release all 13 of those things in one affordable set instead of 15 bucks for 3 lousy episodes like its 2001 again? I understand problems with the original series on DVD, but there were only 13 episodes of Chipmunks go to the movies. Even a set of 6 and a set of 7 episodes. Just PLEASE. I'm sick of waiting for bigger releases than aren't happening. I'm going to have to buy this to replace a VHS tape I got for 2 bucks.

 

[TheWoodringman]

(in best Columbo) Ehhh, just one question their, sir...

How the heck hard is it for them to release all 13 of those things in one affordable set instead of 15 bucks for 3 lousy episodes like its 2001 again? I understand problems with the original series on DVD, but there were only 13 episodes of Chipmunks go to the movies. Even a set of 6 and a set of 7 episodes. Just PLEASE. I'm sick of waiting for bigger releases than aren't happening. I'm going to have to buy this to replace a VHS tape I got for 2 bucks.

Yeah! You've got a point there!
Now, after seeing "Chipwrecked." recently on DVD I say STOP IT WITH THE LIVE-ACTION MOVIES! I want more animated ones like the 80's series! But if you must do live-action, REBOOT the series to stay CLOSER to the source material as I mentioned in another thread.

 

[Drtooth]

Yeah! You've got a point there!
Now, after seeing "Chipwrecked." recently on DVD I say STOP IT WITH THE LIVE-ACTION MOVIES! I want more animated ones like the 80's series! But if you must do live-action, REBOOT the series to stay CLOSER to the source material as I mentioned in another thread.

Here's the hard thing.

These movies are pretty accurate to the source material, considering the entire franchise is based on recordings being sped up. They just happened to make 2 cartoon series based on the concept of 3 large singing rodents going to school and doing stuff that humans do. Other than a woefully miscast Dave, there really isn't all that much to screw up since, let's face it... it's pretty simple and they stuck to the point. Even the fact that they're tiny... well, look at the original album art.

Even had tails back then.

I mean, closer to the source material... they actually had an episode of the 80's series where they were stranded on an island, same exact way.

This isn't like Inspector Gadget where they remembered that he was a robotic cop with a niece and a dog, and threw everything else out the window, or even worse... Dragon Ball Evolution, that got some character names right and basically nothing else. Same with Underdog. Even the personalities of the Chipmunks are there, though Alvin's a bit more Bart-like (Simpsons writer Jon Vitti wrote the first one after all). Heck, even the Smurfs got ONE thing right where the HB cartoon series got wrong. That is, Greedy Smurf was never the cook. And that movie was much more screwed up (Hank Azaria has more fun than humanly possible with that script).

Look... there are SOOOO many cartoon movies where they screw up every single concept possible. Other than the Chippettes being the only characters from the 1980's series (the second movie blew its chance to have Mrs. Miller to have Dave's imbecile nephew), there's nothing they really screwed up, other than the scripts.

That said, if we want them to stop making Chipmunk movies, we have to stop seeing Chipmunk movies. I skipped out on the third, being disappointed by the second (the first was a pleasant surprise).

 

[D'Snowth]

Again, really my main problem with the movies is the "need" to change the characters' personalities so they'll appeal to today's audiences, which kind of ruins what made the characters so special to begin with, particular with the 80s/90s series, the cartoon was really well-written, and the characters had rather believable and relatable personalities for all kinds of kids and people. Granted, I haven't actually seen either the Squeakquel, or Chipwrecked, but based on what others have been saying about them, plus actually seeing the first one, it seems to me that: Dave isn't quite the stern yet loving father figure he was (more like a more insincere version of Ross Bagdasarian, Sr's Dave); Alvin and Theodore do seem to be about the same; Simon lost major points with fans over growling at the maid; Brittany isn't as sassy and diva-like as she used to be (which to me may not actually be a bad thing); Jeanette apparently just takes up space; no one's really said anything about Eleanor (though her "MY PRECIOUS! MY PRECIOUS!" moment is hilarious).

But aside from all that, someone tell me, what's wrong with this picture:
http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Alvin-Chipmunks-Batmunk/16810

But anyway, not just with "Go to the Movies", but I think all but the first two DiC seasons were 13 episodes as well (I think the first two DiC seasons were twice as long, if I'm not mistaken).

 

[Drtooth]

Again, really my main problem with the movies is the "need" to change the characters' personalities so they'll appeal to today's audiences, which kind of ruins what made the characters so special to begin with, particular with the 80s/90s series, the cartoon was really well-written, and the characters had rather believable and relatable personalities for all kinds of kids and people. Granted, I haven't actually seen either the Squeakquel, or Chipwrecked, but based on what others have been saying about them, plus actually seeing the first one, it seems to me that: Dave isn't quite the stern yet loving father figure he was (more like a more insincere version of Ross Bagdasarian, Sr's Dave); Alvin and Theodore do seem to be about the same; Simon lost major points with fans over growling at the maid; Brittany isn't as sassy and diva-like as she used to be (which to me may not actually be a bad thing); Jeanette apparently just takes up space; no one's really said anything about Eleanor (though her "MY PRECIOUS! MY PRECIOUS!" moment is hilarious).

I don't think it was changing the personalities so much as not quite grasping the subtleties. Alvin was sort of Bart Simpson like (again, Simpsons writer), Simon didn't quite have the same level of nerdy shyness... but I think Theodore was pretty well written, especially in the second film (one of the only things good about it)... especially when he was starting to freak out about the family dynamic falling apart.

Dave was wrong, not because he was written wrong, but rather cast wrong. I did like the twist were he just got angry and abandoned them until he felt horribly guilty, but that's the only thing I'd think was written out of character. Jason just couldn't get that blend of stern and loving right, and he basically didn't like being in the film, and it showed. Meanwhile, in the Yogi Bear movie, they screwed up Ranger Smith and made him too lovable and almost EXACTLY like Dave should have been to the Chipmunks to Yogi. HE should have been Dave. He had the right looks and the right tone that was completely wrong for the constantly angry, stick up his butt, but does care Ranger Smith.

But I wonder... were they even trying for 1980's cartoon Alvin and the Chipmunks? The 1960's characters (except Alvin, of course) were subtly different. I'd say their personalities in the first movie are almost more akin to the 1960's series. The one where Dave wasn't quite as emotionally layered, but rather he YELLED quite a bit.

But I'll take slight change/not so fluent grasp of the characters over completely tossing them out and reinventing them to be something they're not.

The Garfield movie will always have a special place in my hatred for screwing up Jon Arbuckle. I can go into long pages about how Jon's supposed to be a loser you pitty until he does something so incredibly dumb or wacky, you laugh at him instead. Like he goes to the beach and everything attacks him and he spends the entire time screaming. he's not mellow! He swings his head back and screams in horror quite a lot.

Sort of like This artist rendering

I'm starting to love Jon over Garfield. And they just turned him into a lovable lug.

Same thing with Inspector Gadget. Where was his inflated sense of ego, like he actually does things correctly? And I get that you can't make Roshi a pervert in the US for some reason, but Chow Yun Fat refused to be wacky or even resemble him. In Dudley Do-Right, only Alfred Molina actually knew what they were supposed to do.

But then there are rare times they get it perfect. Ape named Ape and George in George of the Jungle... Robin Williams in Popeye. He was more Popeye than himself in that movie. Too bad we didn't get a Dave who could get lost in the role. But that's my only major complaint.

 

[D'Snowth]

Dave was wrong, not because he was written wrong, but rather cast wrong. I did like the twist were he just got angry and abandoned them until he felt horribly guilty, but that's the only thing I'd think was written out of character. Jason just couldn't get that blend of stern and loving right, and he basically didn't like being in the film, and it showed.

You have to remember too, he only took the role for one reason, and one reason only: because he had heard that among others who were offered the part was his idol Bill Murray. In fact, that right there kind of proves that Twentieth Century Fox didn't want a "younger" actor to play Dave, just someone with a more marketable name, because I'm sure Bill Murray is around the same age, if not maybe even a little older than Ross Jr. There were some other "older" actors offered the role as well, but I just can't remember any of them off the top of my head; but yeah, that's the only reason Jason accepted the role.

Meanwhile, in the Yogi Bear movie, they screwed up Ranger Smith and made him too lovable and almost EXACTLY like Dave should have been to the Chipmunks to Yogi. HE should have been Dave. He had the right looks and the right tone that was completely wrong for the constantly angry, stick up his butt, but does care Ranger Smith.

The casting for the Yogi Bear movie in general left me scratching my head... y'know, I love Dan Aykroyd as much the next person, but I found it odd that he was cast as Yogi, considering they generally gives those voice jobs to big-named A-lists, and you have to admit Aykroyd has been a bit of a has-been for quite some time. Justin Timberlake as Boo Boo made more since, considering he is a younger A-lister, I just found Aykroyd as Yogi an unusual choice.

But I wonder... were they even trying for 1980's cartoon Alvin and the Chipmunks? The 1960's characters (except Alvin, of course) were subtly different. I'd say their personalities in the first movie are almost more akin to the 1960's series. The one where Dave wasn't quite as emotionally layered, but rather he YELLED quite a bit.

I get the feeling that 60s Dave was more-or-less Ross Sr. as himself, I've read and heard different interviews with Ross Jr. describing him as seemingly strict and domineering kind of father, talking about how much he and his siblings rooted for Alvin for talking back to him because they were never allowed to talk to him that way, or how he'd play tricks on his brother by yelling up at him making him think he's in trouble and being like, "Wh-what is it Pop?" I think Jr. said it was based on that recurring prank of his that made him finally decide to voice Dave himself, since Janice tried to talk him into doing it saying he sounds a lot like his father, and apparently neither of them were satisfied with the auditions that were being held to find someone to voice him for the 80s cartoons. Makes me wonder though if perhaps Thom Huge could have pulled it off, he sounds a little like Sr to me.

 

[Drtooth]

If you haven't seen it...

The Sandy Bottomfeeder character is a dead on spoof of the changes the 80's cartoon had over the 60's cartoon. His overwrought pathos is basically how John K felt about the 80's series, after saying how funny the 60's series was. I wish someone posted this with commentary, otherwise, you're going to have to buy the DVD. It's well worth it for the commentary of that episode alone.