Product Description

Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 02/10/2009 Run time: 66 minutes Rating: Nr

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #60641 in DVD
• Brand: PARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO
• Released on: 2009-02-10
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 30 minutes

Customer Reviews

Not as good as my childhood memories let me believe
Nostalgic confrontation is a double-edged sword. While I never considered the Alvin and the Chipmunks as one of the top cartoons of my childhood it certainly ranked as one of the more memorable. Or so I'd thought. Oddly enough, I now know how little of the actual cartoon I remembered. The five classic episodes found on Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Mystery of the Easter Chipmunk each returned instantly to memory once they first few scenes played. But what I didn't expect was how radically different the characters and moral lessons of the show came through.

My god, Alvin's a bastard. That chipmunk has some serious ego problems. I present to you the following 5 exhibits as proof.

"The Easter Chipmunk"

Upon learning that his grandfather could have been the inspiration for the Easter Bunny, Alvin sets out to debunk the Easter Bunny's fame and bring a class action law suit against him. Yeah, the episode turns into a court drama at some point just so Alvin can possibly inherit the family business and fame from the senile grandfather.

"Snow Wrong"

The Chipmunks and the Chipettes join the production of Snow White only to have the Director's bratty daughter replace the Alvin's Chipette interest as the lead. Now you can imagine what that would inspire the 6 rodents to do. Granted the girl's a brat but the revenge is just a few stops short of "Carrie".

"Special Kind of Champion"

Perhaps the most straightforward and morally-centered episode of the entire series, Alvin agrees to coach an athlete to make up for his near failing grades in gym class. Little does Alvin know the athlete he's now mentoring isn't the "Olympic hopeful" he thought he was getting - but a "Special Olympics" athlete whose attitude is just what Alvin needs to repair his own bruised ego.

"Thinking Cap Trap"

When Simon grows frustrated with the incompetence of Theodore, Alvin and even human caretaker Dave he decides to create a hat that will give them intelligence equal to his own for an extended peiod of time. Seeing such great results, he applies for his family to appear as contestants on an IQ-based television game show. In the end we all learn something about what it means to be intelligent.

"Luck O' the Chipmunks"

Just wow. There's a painful bit of Irish stereotyping going on here but what the hell right? Why not? When the new Irish student befriends Theodore, he feels the need to convince the chipmunks that he has a Leprechaun that appears and grants wishes for him. Learning of this well of possible fortune, Alvin sets up a business. The catch: there's no Leprechaun, it's just the Irish boy running himself ragged to please everyone.

Each episode has a definite lesson it sets out to teach, but the ultimate question you have to ask has little to do with moral behavior but rather behavior at a basic level. Alvin acts like such a demonic little monster that you have to wonder why Dave doesn't keep him chained up in the basement. We all despised the Jason Lee remake that came out a year ago - but I have to say that in retrospect maybe we were wrong to go after the adaptation with such a bloodlust.

Granted Alvin learns a lesson with each episode, the other two get theirs on occasion as well, making the cartoon an interesting fare to consider against today's current deluge of Japanese-derived content that really comes with no message besides "crazy fighting monsters are wicked awesome cool!" It's a mixed bag but well worth the nostalgic journey.

The DVD offers little in the way of Extra Features besides an additional trailer here or there.

Moral ambiguity plus classic cartoon animation makes Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Mystery of the Easter Chipmunk an interesting choice for your average parent. What do you value in a cartoon? Moral lessons? Entertainment? Behavioral role models?

Think of it this way - this is what my generation watched growing up. We're not too messed up. Heck, we're downright above average! The animation is just as you remember it and the voices are as ear-piercingly present as ever. Fun fact did you know that Nancy Cartwright, the voice of Bart Simpson, and Futurama's Tress MacNeille do some of the voices for the cartoon? That's just awesome.