Review-Chipmunks-Palooza (”Alvin’s Thanksgiving Celebration,” “The ALVINNN!!! Edition,” and “Classic Holiday Gift Set”)

• Release Date: September 23, 2008
• Publisher: Paramount
• Price: $9.99 on Amazon.com (Buy It)
• Rating: Not Rated (it would almost certainly be G if it was rated)
• Run Time: 89 minutes
• Bonus Features: None
  
• Genre: Children’s, Animation

Episodes:

• “A Chipmunk Celebration”-The chipmunks try out for a Thanksgiving play but don’t get the parts they want. Even though Dave pushes them to take a risk, all are scared and they do everything they can to avoid it.
• “Food for Thought”-Alvin and Simon teach Theodore the tale of Thanksgiving and the American Revolution.
• “Cookie Chomper III”-The chipmunks adopt a stray kitten and have a tough experience.
• “Dave’s Getting Married”-When Dave meets a woman and the chipmunks have trouble assimilating with her and her own three boys.

• Release Date: September 23, 2008
• Publisher: Paramount
• Price: $29.99 on Amazon.com (Buy It)
• Rating: Not Rated (it would almost certainly be G if it was rated)
• Run Time: 221 minutes
• Bonus Features: None
  
• Genre: Children’s, Animation

Episodes:

• The four “Alvin’s Thanksgiving Celebration” episodes listed above.
• “Trick or Treason”-Alvin wants to join a gang of pranksters for Halloween. Theodore befriends one of the planned targets who has a deformed face.
• “Babysitter Fright Night”-Dave works late and has to hire a babysitter to watch the chipmunks. After he watches a detective movie, Alvin thinks the babysitter is the killer.
• “Theodore’s Life as a Dog”-Alvin pulls a prank on Theodore and he gets even with the help of Simon. The two make Alvin think he is turning into a were-dog.
• “Nightmare on Seville Street”-The chipmunks disobey Dave and watch a horror movie. They regret it when they are scared out of their minds and think the monster from the film is after them.
• “No Chipmunk is an Island”-The chipmunks get into numerous fights.
• “A Chipmunk Christmas”-The very first Chipmunks Christmas special. Alvin gives his special harmonica to a sick boy. This special also contains Chipmunk performances of “Jingle Bells,” “Deck the Halls,” and the famous “The Chipmunks Song.”
• “Merry Christmas Mr. Carroll”-Alvin is greedy as usual and the three spirits of Christmas (Dave, Theodore, and Simon) have to visit him to show him the error of his ways.
• “Dave’s Wonderful Life”-Dave becomes depressed and thinks the Chipmunks would be better off without him.

• Release Date: September 16, 2008
• Publisher: Paramount
• Price: $17.99 on Amazon.com (Buy It)
• Rating: Not Rated (it would almost certainly be G if it was rated)
• Run Time: 173 minutes
• Bonus Features: None
  
• Genre: Children’s, Animation

Episodes:

• “The Curse of Lontiki”-The Chipmunks go to Hawaii and Alvin finds a medallion on the beach that is supposed to bring bad luck. He quickly becomes convinced that he is cursed.
• “Mr. Fabulous”-Alvin and Simon get Theodore to enter a wrestling match against a huge opponent.
• “Unidentified Flying Chipmunk”-Alvin convinces Theodore to dress like an alien to get more fans but he doesn’t attract just fans. Some government investigators kidnap Theodore and perform experiments on him.
• “A Horse of Course”-The Chipmunks enter an old horse in a race.
• “New Improved Simon”-Simon has a crush on a girl so Alvin helps him change his image to impress her.
• “Snow Job”-Alvin wants to participate in a skiing tournament but doesn’t know how to ski.
• “Maids in Japan”-The Chipmunks sign up to be in the Kabuki theater.
• “Every Chipmunk Tells a Story”-Dave’s piano is destroyed while he is away. All of the Chipmunks have a different story of what happened.
• “Romancing Miss Stone”-Alvin has a crush on his teacher and becomes jealous when Dave starts dating her.
• “3 Alarm Alvin”-The Chipmunks start their own fire department to gain publicity.
• “Alvin’s Oldest Fan”-Alvin sets up a contest where one of his fans can win a date with him. Unfortunately, the winner isn’t really what he was hoping for.
• “Chip Off the Old Tooth”-Theodore loses a tooth and Alvin dresses as the Tooth Fairy to try to earn a few extra bucks.
• “Whatever Happened to Dave Seville?”-Dave wins an award and a wax figure of him is delivered to the home. After watching a soap opera, the Chipmunks think Dave has become infected with a strange disease.
• “Cadet’s Regrets”-Alvin and his brothers enter a cadet camp.

Review: I don’t normally combine releases into one review but in this case it made a lot of sense. Obviously if you like one of the releases, you have a very good chance of liking the rest. All of the releases are similar in quality and the episodes all rate nearly the same.

“Alvin’s Thanksgiving Celebration” is included in the “Classic Holiday Gift Set” so if you are planning on getting the latter release, there is absolutely no reason to get the former. I just had to mention it because it is another option if you only want a sampling of “Alvin and the Chipmunks” or if you have the Halloween and Christmas sets already and have no need for the gift set. The “Classic Holiday Gift Set” has twelve episodes while “The ALVINNN!!! Edition” has fourteen. None of the episodes appear on both sets so you can get a total of 26 of the 106 total “Chipmunks” episodes produced. Since both releases are relatively cheap ($29.99 for the holiday set and $17.99 for the other), if you are a fan of “Alvin and the Chipmunks” you should probably pick both up.

For those who don’t know anything about “Alvin and the Chipmunks,” it is your basic children’s cartoon. Three chipmunks become music superstars and must face fame while dealing with growing up. Nothing in any of the episodes is inappropriate for even the youngest children. However, “Cookie Chomper III” deals with death and if your child is really sensitive they might not take it well.

The animation is a bit dated since the show aired from 1983-1994. Some of the later episodes do look pretty good but the animation clearly isn’t up to today’s standards. Since the release is obviously aimed at children, it probably doesn’t matter but it is something that had to be brought up. On the other hand, audio is pretty good. The Chipmunks’ famous squeaky voices sound just as good as they did in the old days. I also am a fan of “The Chipmunks” trademark singing style and was happy that most of the episodes contain at least one song.

If you are a “Chipmunks” fan, you’ll obviously want to pick up both big sets (skip “Alvin’s Thanksgiving Celebration” since it is contained in the “Classic Holiday Gift Set”). The sets are also good for families with young children. The stories hold up pretty well and kids should still enjoy the series despited the dated animation. If you don’t like cartoons, none of the releases will change your mind. Overall, I would recommend both big sets.