Alvin and the Chipmunks: Road Chip is just the latest horrid entry into a series that could’ve stopped after the first, which was the only tolerable one. That said, as bad as it is for adults to watch, and certainly there are far better options out there, young kids will probably me mesmerized by the colors and low key humor.
Alvin and the Chipmunks: Road Chip
(2015)
REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall
Genre(s): Family, Comedy
Fox | PG – 92 min. – $39.99 | March 15, 2016
Date Published: 04/08/2016 | Author: The Movieman
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THE MOVIE – 0.5/5 |
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Oh my god, just stop already. Alvin and the Chipmunks might be cute furry creatures and as a kid, I enjoyed listening to them but they’re only fun in spurts so these feature films where we get to travel with them for 90-minutes, it’s taxing on the ears and this latest addition to the, sigh, franchise is just as “good” as the previous incarnations… Alvin and the Chipmunks: Road Chip is a thankfully simple enough premise finding Alvin (JUSTIN LONG), Simon (MATTHEW GRAY GUBLER) and Theodore (JESSE MCCARTNEY) taking a road trip to Miami to stop manager Dave (JASON LEE whose soul dies with each one of these) from proposing marriage to his latest girlfriend (KIMBERLY WILLIAMS-PASLEY), whom the ‘munks like but with her comes her brat and abusive teenage son, Miles (JOSH GREEN), who helps them on their quest as he supposedly wants nothing to with them either.
Quick Hit Review: “Hilarity” ensues. Dave screams “ALVIN” a few times. And Tony Hale replaces David Cross as the B-plot antagonist, playing an airline marshal who hates the Chipmunks, as their Christmas album was playing when his girlfriend broke up with him. And we get ‘munk renditions of a variety of hit songs. It’s at best a thin plot, not that the previous movies were any better, that for sure will entertain little kids but for the adults, it’s a chore of a film to sit through. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.0/5 |
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This release comes with a semi-reflective slip cover. Inside is a DVD Copy and the redemption code for the Digital HD copy. Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Story So Far (4:57; HD) is a collection of scenes from the previous movies. Cue the Chipmunks: The Great Big Chipmunks Music Finale (5:46; HD) takes viewers behind the scenes to the big final scene with interviews by the cast (Bella Thorne, Jason Lee). Our Furry Planet (4:35; HD) is an educational featurette on real-life chipmunks. Alvinisms (2:50; HD) are merely scenes featuring the mischievous Alvin. WETA and the Chipmunks: Animators’ Reference Reel (1:47; HD) – Here you can watch the animators perform as “your favorite chipmunks”. Under Ultimate Playlist is Music Machine which takes all the music from the movie and puts it together; Music Videos (12:13; HD) for ‘Shake Your Groove Thing’, ‘Vacation’, ‘Bad Romance’ all with a sing-along option; Lyric Videos (5:26; HD) for some of your favorite songs from the movie. Munk Rock (1:48; HD) is a promotional featurette. Redfoo “Squeky Wiggle” Dance Instruction (1:44; HD) – In case you want to learn any of the moves. After the Party: A Munkumentary (1:29; HD) is mock interview with one of the music artists. Theatrical Trailers (3:27; HD) |
VIDEO – 4.5/5 |
| Fox releases Alvin and the Chipmunks: Road Chip onto Blu-ray presented in its original 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer. Given it is a light, bright and fluffy family comedy, it comes to no surprise that the picture looks pretty darn good. Detail is well defined throughout and colors, as mentioned, are bright and generally cheerful. There were no noticeable flaws like banding, artifacts or aliasing making for a by and large pleasing looking video transfer. |
AUDIO – 4.5/5 |
| The movie comes with a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track which is a bit too much for a film like this but it does offer clear dialogue levels and the ear-ringing, nausea-endusing music, pours out of each channel rather well. The movie does have a couple action-esque sequence which does help give the track some nice depth. |
OVERALL – 2.0/5 |
| Overall, Alvin and the Chipmunks: Road Chip is just the latest horrid entry into a series that could’ve stopped after the first, which was the only tolerable one. That said, as bad as it is for adults to watch, and certainly there are far better options out there, young kids will probably me mesmerized by the colors and low key humor. The Blu-ray released by Fox offers great video/audio transfers but the features have much to be desired. |
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.
