You've Got Your "Ooo"; You've Got Your "Eee," You've Got Your "Ooo Ah Ah Ting Tang" and You've Got your "Walla Walla" and Your "Bing Bang"

Had this one about ready to go last Tuesday, and for some reason didn't finish it...I'm telling ya...over the last month or so my attention span has been akin to a hyperactive fruit fly's....

Went to see Alvin and the Chipmunks last weekend, and I'll be the first to tell you I had almost no interest at all in doing so--was practically antagonistic about it. I stopped short of antagonism because 1. it's a kid's movie fer cryin' out loud, not some Michael Moore or Oliver Stone dreck; 2. The TLomL and Offspring were bored out of their minds and this would serve to alleviate that for a while (I was pretty bored, too, but had a couple of unread novels on my library stack, so...); 3. I was trying to be a good sport things that didn't involve me sitting around sipping some sort of beverage and reading/watching TV. So with only a little expressed reluctance, I throw in the towel and go.

All the Offspring were excited about this movie--Arnold, in particular, was excited to go see "the 'real' Chipmunks" (as opposed to the cartoon snippets he'd seen on youtube). The rest of them kept singing "The Chipmunk Song" (a cute enough song in December...but in January?). This was going to be a long afternoon.

And then in the opening shot of the three computer generatedly furry critters doing a bucket brigade with nuts while singing "Bad Day", I look over at Arnold--literally sitting on the edge of his seat, his back as straight as possible, and eyes wide and filled with wonder. So much for my bad attitude.

Just as well that I dropped the attitude then, it was a cute flick. Not up to Enchanted or your typical Pixar level, but it was a good kid's movie. Was everything you could hope for in a Chipmunks film. Jason Lee was great as Dave--I couldn't help but think repeatedly that Lee was doing this film just like Chevy Chase would've in the mid-80's. Just something about the way he carried himself. (if Lee was mid-80's Chase, I think that makes David Cross Dan Akroyd).

Was the movie predictable? I should hope so--the target audience is in elementary school, fer cryin out loud. Were some of the jokes dumb? I should hope so--the target audience is in elementary school, fer cryin out loud. Was it fun? Was the music catchy? See above. Will I stop writing these questions?

BTW, if someone had just told be before I went to the movie that Justin Long was Alvin's voice--I would've gladly gone. Something about that guy...

Anyway, there is one big warning I have to give: you will get "Witch Doctor" stuck in your head. Period. No question about it. The movie's hip-hop-ish version has been stuck in my head since [note: in the week since I first wrote this post, that song has become unstuck, but it took time, a very long iTunes play list, and a lot of effort]. The the Classic Chipmunk version is infectious enough, but this new one is audio-MRSA.