On DVD: Alvin and the Chipmunks Go to the Movies Funny We Shrunk the Adults

Alvin and the Chipmunks is one of those 80's cartoons that to me felt retro when it was new.  You've got three furry animals that live with an adult and get into adventures,  Oh yeah, the three brothers are also singers!

The Series

Like so many other animated series from the 80's there were different variants of the series with the same characters in different settings or different themes.  This variant of Alvin and the Chipmunks was a series of episodes with the furry brothers spoofing popular movies while also referencing tons of pop culture.

There are three episodes of the series on this disc that spoof Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Big, and Back to the Future.  This brings me to the reason I mentioned earlier that I felt like this series was retro when it was knew.  Add to that feeling watching this now that the series and all of its spoofs and references are truly retro.  I can see how this variant of the characters was supposed to be more modern and hip for the kids and I believe it must have worked when it came out.  Now, that doesn't mean the series or the episodes are bad, they just feel out of time.  It's all cute and harmless and the stories are built on morality plays that are typical to 80's animated shows.  As heavy handed as the moral to the story may feel here and there I mostly, with only a few exceptions, feel like 80's shows were a lot less heavy handed and ham fisted than those coming out today.

The three episodes on the disc are called Funny We Shrunk the Adults, Bigger, and Back to Our Future.  In Funny We Shrunk the Kids the brothers accidentally shrink Dave when they are goofing around with some hi-tech equipment.  In Bigger Alvin wishes to be an adult and he gets his wish.  He eventually becomes the director of music videos for a female chipmunk singing group.  Finally, in Back to Our Future the brothers go back in time to see the 50's versions of themselves and they have to convince the 50's Alvin to continue with his music career.

The chipmunks are still cute and much of the series is still amusing.  I personally am not a big fan of the musical interludes in animated shows and movies but if you are a fan then you'll probably enjoy the breaks in these episodes.  Very young kids will still enjoy this series for its high energy and vivid colors.  This is really a buy for nostalgic fans of the series or parents who have very young children.  Fans of modern animated series that are more adult themed won't dig this one.  It's cute but almost too cute and the pop culture references just aren't relevant these days with some older kids possibly having not even seen the films that are being spoofed.

6/10

The Video

The vibrant colors on the front of the DVD box may lead you to believe that the episodes on the disc will be gorgeously restored, well not so unfortunately.  The colors do often look great but not consistently.  The colors can often look washed out and mixed with a good bit of print damage the episodes can look a bit rough in places.  It's watchable but there's no work been done as far as restoring the episodes, they've just been copied to DVD.

4/10

The Audio

The audio here is also not up to par featuring some scratches and distortion throughout the episodes. It never gets so bad you can't hear t but it's nowhere near as good as it should be.

5/10

The Packaging and Bonus Features

The cover art is vibrant and fun and it does a good job of selling the series.  The bonus features, oh wait, there aren't any bonus features...

1/10

This series really needs to simply come out in box set form with some restoration work done on the audio and video.  Also, bonus features are a must for the nostalgia fans.

Overall (Not an Average) 5/10

The Review

The Series 6/10

The Video 4/10

The Audio 5/10

The Packaging and Bonus Features 1/10

Overall (Not an Average) 5/10

-Stephen Lackey