September 14, 2008

Do you ever look at or watch the cartoons that you let your kids watch and wonder what the heck happened to the fun and wholesome cartoons of your past? Instead of shows like The Jetsons, The Flintstones, and the Pound Puppies; we are presented with The Fairly Odd Parents, My Gym Partner’s a Monkey and even a talking yellow sponge in pants. While all these cartoons are okay in their own way, they just don’t stand up to the cartoons I watched as a kid.

I will admit that I am a child of the 80s, so to me Transformers, G.I. Joe, M.A.S.K and Alvin and the Chipmunks are classic quality cartoons. This brings me to the point of this review. I’m here to review Alvin and the Chipmunk Go to the Movies: Daytona Jones and the Pearl of Wisdom on DVD.

This year marks the Year of the Chipmunk, or it would if the Chinese Zodiac included a chipmunk. Fifty years ago one man created three musical chipmunks and now two major movies and a TV series later the Chipmunks are as popular as ever.

Alvin and the Chipmunk Go to the Movies: Daytona Jones and the Pearl of Wisdom features 3 of the Chipmunks most famous episodes from the show’s final season. This DVD contains, Daytona Jones and the Pearl of Wisdom, Batmunk and Robomunk.

In “Daytona Jones and the Pearl of Wisdom”, the spoof of the 1981 hit” Indiana Jones and the Raider of the Lost Ark” Alvin plays Daytona Jones who traverses a temple remarkably similar to the opening temple in the Raiders of the Lost Ark complete with a giant rolling boulder. After narrowly making it out of the temple with half of the Tasmanian Oyster, he is relieved of his find by the treasure hungry Bellyache. After being robbed, Daytona Jones seeks the help of his brother Seri-Toga (Simon) and a jack-of-all-trades guide (Theodore) to beat bellyache to the Pearl of Wisdom.

“Batmunk” the spoof of the 1989 Tim Burton hit “Batman” puts Simon Seville in the limelight as toymaker Brice Wayne and his alter ego Batmunk. A rash of crimes is committed and all the Batmunk toys are stolen from the city. Only one fiend would dare do such a thing…the Jokester played by Alvin. Brice must outsmart the Jokester and still manage to keep his identity a secret.

The third and final episode of this collection is called “Robomunk.” This obvious spoof of “Robocop” features Alvin as Officer Malone and Brittany as his partner Violet. After a life-threatening accident Officer Malone is saved thanks to Dr. Simonize and becomes half-robot and half-chipmunk. Things get out of hand as Pinkie unleashes a toxic monster on the city and only Officer Malone can stop it.

Filmmaking: 9
Alvin and the Chipmunks Go to the Movies: Daytona Jones and the Pearl of Wisdom is shown in the same quality as the show all those years ago. These three episodes hold true to the spirit of the rest of the series before them reminding me why I enjoy the simplicity of the cartoons of my childhood.

Graphics: 9
The Chipmunk Adventure having been just released in 1987, most of the animators from the movie continued to work for Ross Jr. The result was the same quality animations that the series was known for. Well that and the constant Alvin mishaps. I particularly like the movie montage during the opening credits to each episode. Here you see clips of Alvin spoofs that range from Indiana Jones to Jaws. Near the end of the opening credits you will see The Chipmunks and Chipettes going to a movie premiere at the Grumman’s Chinese Theater and the film starts with Alvin spoofing Leo the Lion, the mascot of MGM Studios.

I have always been a fan of the series and I have a feeling it’s only a matter of time before they hopefully start releasing the complete seasons. I still wonder to this day what happened to the good classic cartoons of my childhood. They just don’t get much better than this.

Sound: 8
The sounds of these episodes never fail to deliver with true chipmunk style. The most noticeable song on this three-episode disc is “Danger Zone” originally performed by Kenny Loggins. The Alvin and the Chipmunks series has always been known for its memorable tunes and this DVD presentation is no different. All the episodes are presented in Dolby Digital: English Stereo and sound pretty good to me.

Value: 7
There are no special features located on the disc so don’t be expecting any in the disc’s $12 - 14 dollar price tag. What you do get is three classic episodes from the era of some of the best cartoons to hit the TV screen. The price does seem a bit high for just three episodes, but then again the re-release of The Chipmunk Adventure, which released earlier this year, retails for around $20 bucks. On the upside this is without a doubt my favorite collection to date.

Overall: 9.0
The Chipmunks are still one of my favorite cartoon series to come out of the 1980s. The Chipmunks represent a time when animation was just there for fun and enjoyment. I was pleasantly enjoyed this DVD release which is without a doubt my favorite set to date. I highly advise this DVD for any Alvin and The Chipmunk fans out there.