The Chipmunks' Triumphant Return

[frogboy4]

Either way, this year's Horton looks promising. The animation style compliments the source material. It seems sweet and thoughful, but there is the Jim Carrey thing still...I just don't like him much.

 

[Teheheman]

He's ok, but I'm more interested in Steve Carell and Carol Burnett. There's no beating a legend like Carol Burnett(If you wanna see a true TV legend, watch the Carol Burnett Show sometime) and putting Jim Carrey and Steve Carell(sp?) in there? Should be very good. Although the CGI-thing, I dunno. Although, CGI could be the only way to do something like Horton Hears a Who since 2D animation is on it's last legs.

Daniel

 

[frogboy4]

He's ok, but I'm more interested in Steve Carell and Carol Burnett. There's no beating a legend like Carol Burnett(If you wanna see a true TV legend, watch the Carol Burnett Show sometime) and putting Jim Carrey and Steve Carell(sp?) in there? Should be very good. Although the CGI-thing, I dunno. Although, CGI could be the only way to do something like Horton Hears a Who since 2D animation is on it's last legs.

Daniel

I felt the same way about the CG until seeing stills and footage from the previews. And I didn't know Carol Burnett was in it! I'm glad. After her embarrassing suit against the Family Guy spoof that she lost (and justifiably so) it's good to see her in a big money, name project with modern relevant people. She deserves that. I like to see stars acting and creating rather than some TMZ tabloid trash that is hard to avoid seeing.

 

[Drtooth]

I have just come back from breaking down and seeing this film (I wish it started 15 minutes or more after National Treasure.. that way I woulda snuck into it, just to catch the Goofy Cartoon). And I will say this. It wasn't a great film, but a pretty good film. Definitely leaps and bounds over my low expectations.

Whoever made the trailer for it (other than the original teaser with the Beatlemania parody at the beginning) should either be fired, or look for another line of work. He really neglected to show the film actually had heart. I mean, Dave was a lot sweeter in the film than the trailer let on. The whole scene in which Dave said they can stay if they sang for them (as well as a lot of other things) was taken out of context to me in the previews.

But I will say, the true star of the show...eh..film was David Cross's disgustingly phony sincere "Uncle" Ian. I almost wish they called him Uncle Harry in a nod to the theiving conartist that promised them fame and fortune in the 80's series. He seemed like that sort of character who actually made it to becoming a full fledged executive con-artist. Man, I wanted to reach into the screen and punch him. That's good acting.

I will say, Earl..err jason Lee was alright, but I still think Bob Sagat would have been perfect (but I guess they wanted someone a bit younger).

But I will say, unlike the trailer, poopy and farty jokes only occurred like 3 times. I have no problem with that sort of thing, but I find it just lazy to put in that sort of thing instead of coming up with real jokes.

Of course, nothing really had me rolling in the aisle laughing. Except the helium joke. But enjoyable none the less.

I wonder if they planned on selling the film to Paramount at one point, explaining the Spongebob bits (unless they were trying to parellel the gimickiness of the Chipmunks to the Gimickiness of Spongey-which is what I took away from it). You know, sort of like how in Christmas Story, they have Mickey and Snow White in the background because they intened to sell the film to Disney.

So, I can't say I'd give it a C, but I don't want to give it a B- either. Somewhere between C+ and B- is what I felt about the movie. Much, much better than I thought it would be, but not as great as it could have been. But still, a very enjoyable film nonetheless. I'm glad I saw it, and I indeed would see a sequal.

I mean, there were 2 Garfield films by the same company and director, and the first one didn't do quite as well as this one. Though, the sequal was big in China (or Hong Kong... I forget, and since China's in charge of Hong Kong now, it could very well be either). i'd love to see the Chipettes in it, myself. They did NOT appear in the film at all, and clearly they were referring to the fact that

SPOILER​

The end of the film featured David Cross trying to get actual Chipmunks to sing.

End Spoiler​

BTW, if anyone wants to know, the Japanese Theodore and Alvin dolls said something roughly like "I am Theodore (Alvin)." I'm not that good at the language, but I picked a little up. As in I can understand it a little.

 

[frogboy4]

I have just come back from breaking down and seeing this film...

I wonder if they planned on selling the film to Paramount at one point, explaining the Spongebob bits...

I'm so glad you liked it and it seems you got out of it the same sort of feeling I did - not perfect, but fun.

You know, I think the opening of the film in the woods could have been set-up to contain a Paramount mountain logo - to real mountain matching the logo - fade. I too noticed the Spongebob bits.

 

[Teheheman]

I felt the same way about the CG until seeing stills and footage from the previews. And I didn't know Carol Burnett was in it! I'm glad. After her embarrassing suit against the Family Guy spoof that she lost (and justifiably so) it's good to see her in a big money, name project with modern relevant people. She deserves that. I like to see stars acting and creating rather than some TMZ tabloid trash that is hard to avoid seeing.

Yeah, that was kinda bull because that was a shout-out to the old Carol Burnett show. I don't think that any of the younger viewers even GOT the reference. Although, I'm sure that she had a lot of new younger people asking if she got the day off from cleaning a porn shop and asking what she did when she said goodbye to her dad. I can KINDA see where she was coming from, but I didn't see it as slander or whatever she was suing for. Carol Burnett actually wants to play Michael Scotts mom on the Office, and it seems that fans want her, but she's too big of a star to be on the show(according to Greg Daniels). Anyways, back to the original topic, yes, I now am looking forward to seeing this on DVD. Maybe they'll do for the DVD like they did for Underdog and include a cartoon or something.

Daniel

 

[CensoredAlso]

Whoever made the trailer for it (other than the original teaser with the Beatlemania parody at the beginning) should either be fired, or look for another line of work. He really neglected to show the film actually had heart.

Actually many (if not most) movie trailers have very little to do with the film itself and can't really be relied upon when judging a movie's quality. They simply serve to appeal to a certain audience.

 

[frogboy4]

Actually many (if not most) movie trailers have very little to do with the film itself and can't really be relied upon when judging a movie's quality. They simply serve to appeal to a certain audience.

The ads aren't great, but they have seemed to do the job.

On another note, I just visited Rotten Tomatoes and read the updated critical consensus on Chipmunks and it's rather brutal. It's almost like some of these people didn't even see the movie, just the trailer, from what they cited. Others don't like the Chipmunks to begin with.

I honestly expected to be under whelmed and fairly bored with the film, but was pleasantly surprised and giggling throughout. I thought there would be a few cute scenes, but that's it. I found it more heart felt than anticipated. It's still kind of a C or C+ in my book, but man, some critics are simply opposed to anything fun.


This film was never touted as groundbreaking cinema or having state of the art effects (which are still very impressive especially in getting the CG characters to emote); it was marketed as a fun family film. Glad there weren't as many poop jokes as the ads made it appear.

I can’t wait for my partner to get it on blu-ray. Glad it wasn’t Paramount that released this or it would only be available on HDDVD and that is probably going to die out this year due to a lack of entertainment company support (and rightly so with its inherent lossy sound quality). Anyway, can’t wait to own it! I really want a Theodore plush too. And maybe a hula-hoop! He he.

 

[unclematt]

Well I wouldn't consider Lola a real Looney Tune either; she was probably just there to provide gender equality. And so very often when they stick a female in comedies, they have nothing to do. They are not funny; they contribute nothing. As Nichelle Nicols from Star Trek once said, "Televison doesn't know how to use women. We're just fill ins." Sadly, that is still true today.

Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett, Mary Tyler Moore, Candace Bergan, Betty White, Bea Arthur, Miss Piggy. Try telling me again that television doesnt know how to use woman.

 

[CensoredAlso]

Hehe, all true. However, those women are hailed because they are the shining, rebellious exceptions, not the rule. They all broke new ground; they were not instantly accepted because it was not the norm. Lucille Ball for instance, according to some sources, developed her character and humor from older classic male comedies, because there were few women for her to go by. And I have to say, there are still very few to go by compared to men, in my opinion.

I always say, as long as we still celebrate "the first woman so and so", we are proving that we are still not an equal society. When it's completely normal for a women to hold any sort of high position in entertainment or social issues, then we will have gotten somewhere.