Alvin and the Chipmunks
Soundtrack and Plot Requests!
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Author's Note:
Alrighty, since I've been hearing these rumours of Bagdasarian Productions thinking about creating another instalment of Fanfiction's all-time favourite four legged friends, I've decided to whip up some ideas for soundtracks, plot and new appearances for the Chipmunks and the Chipettes.
I've just recently checked out some of "Chipwrecked" reviews, and many of them scream out, "TOO clichéd!", or "Additional characters too uninteresting!"
Man, have they got their chipmunks crossed!
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APPEARANCES
Now I've heard how A LOT of Chipmunk fans are still wondering why, in any of the three instalments, Alvin doesn't wear his signature red DC cap (NOT a baseball cap, a DC cap!). High School goes through constant waves of "What's 'HOT' and what's 'NOT'", and throughout the "Squeakquel", both groups (the Chipmunks and the Chipettes) experienced a common animation shortcut; "wearing-the-same-everyday-clothes" syndrome (I'm not meaning costumes or formal, I mean "casual"). My idea on the next film instalment is to avoid that shortcut and get creative, because this particular franchise can last for decades (and it already has) and, in my opinion, creating extra outfits for both the Chipmunks and the Chipettes would make each and every future instalment much more memorable.
ALVIN SEVILLE:
As I was saying earlier, Alvin's signature red DC cap, I think, would really fulfil many watchers' expectations. We all see him posing on the front cover of his DVD's showing off his cap but we never see him in the film wearing it, and that really makes me quite flustered. I really don't know what it is, but it's on the top of this little creature's head and I'm keen to see him wearing it!
Now, enough with the cap, and let's move on to his facial appearance.
He was about ten in the first instalment, yes? Add six years to that age and what do you get? That's right, sixteen. I'm not saying that he would be sixteen in the film but there is at least a two year gap between each instalment. And it is evident in the "Squeakquel", in the description it says, "Enrolled into a school with kids their own age". The school the Chipmunks enrolled at was an American High School, and they would at least have to be thirteen starting high school, right? So slap two years after the third instalment (Chipwrecked) and you get 15-16-years-old.
Alright, as I was saying, the facial and physical appearance for Alvin would look pretty well built (C'mon, the kid plays Football). His face and tuff of hair on his head would stay fairly the same, but each of the Chipmunks would have hit a growth spurt by now (Except Theodore. Poor Teddy…), and Alvin would be about as tall as Simon, and Simon would have only grown the slightest bit. Alvin's arms and abs would have grown muscle due to his strenuous exercises, and he now either wears a red T-shirt (Please, NO collar, NO buttons!) or his signature hoodie with his sleeves pulled up to show off his new physique.
Alvin's voice also would have deepened a little (not a lot, because he's a chipmunk) over time, you know, 'cos he's a teenager. Justin Long did an exceptional job as Alvin's voice, and I doubt you'd change his character voice now since Justin Long has been voicing since the first CGI film, but if you decide to, PLEASE don't! Justin's voice, in my opinion, suits Alvin. (lol, I remember watching Justin Long in "Afterlife" the other week and I'm like, "Oh god, he's in a porn movie!" ) I'm just too used to hearing Justin on this film, it's weird.
Now with our red-clad critter up and looking and sounding like the adolescent juvenile he is, the third thing that arrives during this time is of course, temper (and Alvin has A LOT of it!). Even in the past, Alvin has been the sharpest of the bunch, the bad boy, whatever you want to call him. He's the cunning, charming, mischievous one, with enough animal-magnetism to captivate all females in the school (Including Alvin's counterpart, Brittany, although she's too stubborn to admit it to herself.).
His relationship with his foster-father, Dave Seville ([Jason Lee] the Chipmunks and Chipette's manager) is quite rocky much of the time, which is a typical thing; however the both of them care deeply for each other in the end. It's like when your mother is in a relationship with a man who's not your father and you feel intimidated by him, but expect a lot from him. That's kind of what I feel is going on between Dave and Alvin, and it will probably get much worse once Alvin hits his adolescent years. Alvin will get more moody, and will try to seek more independence (not like he gets any anyway). He will also rebel against Dave a lot more just to have a day out with his friends, so there will undoubtedly be more tension hanging around in the next instalment if the film industry decided to make his age and body catch up with his attitude.
And finally, what I would really love to see in the next instalment is Alvin playing a little more football and a little less talking about football. Most of the scenes in the "Squeakquel" began to scream, "We're sitting in the cafeteria eating and talking about how awesome football is." It's like someone saying, "I go to stock-car shows to watch people take left turns all day." If the next instalment is aimed mostly on school-life, can it not just be shot at lunch bar and the jocks packing on 3kilos a day? (And I'm not meaning muscle either!) Yes, they're chatting up girls while they're doing it, but I'd like to see a lot more action in this film. Like I said, less talkie and more playie!
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BRITTANY SEVILLE (Or is it Miller?)
This sassy, pink-clad chipette is undoubtedly my favourite character out of the two groups (besides Jeanette), just saying
Anyways, there are a few things that I'd like to suggest with mainly the appearance of Brittany. Ever since the beginning of the "Squeakquel", I've always wanted to know what Brittany would look like with her hair down? I, like a lot of other Chipmunk/Chipette fans, edit photos, and I take a picture of the chipettes and create my own character and I'll always be like, "Hey, if this is what Brittany would look like with her hair down, why didn't they draft her in the movie with it down? I mean, it actually looks really pretty!"
I noticed, from the "Squeakquel" to "Chipwrecked", Brittany had grown from matured to a total drama-queen/fashion freak in less than I could fully establish what the heck was going on. I was like, "whoa, um, where's the fire?" But yes, I can fully understand why this whole great big modification happened, but honestly I feel a little intimidated by Brittany now. Yes, it's kinda, sorta… not really, but probably the way I imagined the real Brittany to be like, but I think that her personality in the "Squeakquel" and "Chipwrecked" mixed together would actually be the real Brittany, so we could all get the best of both worlds here. When I first saw and heard Brittany in Chipwrecked I instantly thought of "White Chicks", and I began to feel like I've mistaken Brittany as one of the Wilson sisters. Not a very good thing here. I mean, the poor child probably must have barely entered her teens yet. So please, just soften her up a little bit, not much but just a little?
I mean, Brittany is fun and is always my top character, but ever since "Chipwrecked" I've kind of sided away from her. I just didn't expect that much of a change in her.
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SIMON SEVILLE
Oh, Simon, how I love this character. I have a tank top of him spray-painted on at Summernats last year, and I haven't ever gotten over this munk. He might not think so, but he definitely has a lot of whit, even though it's almost always tinged with sarcasm. I used to think of Alvin being the most attractive and eldest of the group, but until I gave it a real once-over, I realised that I'm more into nerds than pretty, bad boys.
Ahem… well, where was I? Okay, well, I think the character himself has almost reached his high mark from the previous instalments, but there could be some more room for improvement here and there. I think the one reason I fell for the character was when he finally began to warm up to Jeanette (and that doesn't include when his brain was all screwed up and he felt like another person/munk) This was kind of the same feeling when Brittany changed completely, however I was reassured when he went back to his normal self and, despite his fear of heights (which apparently didn't seem to worry him when he was "Simone"), overcame it and saved his counterpart. But to be honest, I think Bagdasarian Productions could consider the same with what I suggested for Brittany, bring both personalities together instead of singling them out throughout each instalment, because it kind of complicates everything for me and I'm guessing for a lot of fans as well.
I'd really like to see Simon and Jeanette enrol in an activity at school, such as Chess or a Maths team, since you know, they're both nerds.
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SONG SUGGESTIONS
The Chipettes featuring The Chipmunks – "Somebody to Love" by "QUEEN"
The Chipmunks/Chipettes – "Love Shack" by "B-52's"
The Chipettes – "Kiss" by "Prince"
The Chipettes– "Diamonds" by "RIHANNA"
The Chipmunks – "Dynamite" by "Taio Cruz"
The Chipmunks/Chipettes - "Witch Doctor"
The Chipettes/Chipmunks – "Boogie Wonderland" by "EARTH, WIND AND FIRE"
The Chipettes – "Run the World (Girls)" by "Beyoncé"
The Chipmunks/Chipettes – "Fly" by "Nicki Minaj ft. Rihanna"
The Chipmunks/Chipettes – "Good Feeling" by "Flo Rida"
The Chipmunks – "Can't Hold Us" by "Macklemore ft. Ryan Lewis"
The Chipmunks/Chipettes – "Let it roll" by "Flo Rida ft. Lil Wayne"
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PROS AND CONS
Action-wise, this franchise is a little on the disappointing side. Sure, there were damsels in distress and a moment of fear evident in the characters' eyes, however, none that would compel you to want to talk about it over and over. These are children's films, I get that, but there are a fair few of individuals older than a child whom are fans as well, and would like to be really up on the edge of that seat.
Franchises like "Ice Age" or "Shrek" are rated PG, they make you wonder what's going to happen next, surprise you when a character is faced with life-threatening situations, but then still gives you that good old happy ending, and you leave the theatre feeling pleasantly satisfied. The "Alvin and the Chipmunks" franchise has a lot of potential, however it hasn't exactly met its mark just yet, action-wise.
Also, I saw an extreme alteration in the character Ian Hawke's personality. I enjoyed him on screen during the first instalment of "Alvin and the Chipmunks," however, when he just so "happened" to be working as entertainment (Chipwrecked) on the exact same cruise Dave and the chipmunks and the chipettes were on, acting like he had truly lost his marbles and felt a little out of place gave me a bit of a bad impression on the film. To add to this, it felt as though all Dave and Ian were doing throughout the ENTIRE duration of Chipwrecked was arguing and looking for the chipmunks and the chipettes. They didn't really play a very significant role in the third instalment at all.
This other character didn't seem very special either; Zoe, the strange yet quirky castaway (or as we find out towards the end, a "Pirate") the chipmunks and the chipettes ran into on the island. She seemed as though she was just created to 'be there', all happy and lively, and then go nuts when suddenly finding out (by 'Simone') there really was gold on the island, that she'd been looking for for nine, or it could be eight years. She didn't really have a back story, besides the fact that she so happened to come across a real treasure map and was more determined than ever to find it when "they" told her she was crazy and said the map was fake.
There also was no story behind the treasure map or how the gold was embedded there; did it just happen to be there?
This franchise has such huge potential, and it was upsetting to see that they just haven't pushed the envelope far enough. However, I am certain that "Alvin and the Chipmunks 4" will come back swinging and surprise us all, so let's root them on.
Thanks.
~Hannah