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Alvin and the Chipettes in Cinderella, Cinderella DVD Review
Alvin and the Chipmunks have truly been given a new lease on life. Two weekends ago, the big screen outing Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel passed the final domestic gross of its hit 2007 predecessor. Likewise, who can blame Paramount for doing the best equivalent they can: exploiting the franchise's renewed popularity with yet another basic DVD release of the 1980s' "Alvin and the Chipmunks" animated TV series. The studio began releasing cartoon compilations back in 2005 and have turned up the volume since the 2007 movie created a whole new generation of Chipmunk fans. On the same day that The Squeakquel comes to DVD and Blu-ray, Paramount gives us Alvin and the Chipettes: Cinderella, Cinderella, with the girl characters "introduced" in Squeakquel prominently featuring on the cover art and in the selected episodes.
The titular Season 4 episode, actually called "Cinderella? Cinderella!" according to online episode guides, is one of three supplied seemingly at random. The other two, taken from the sixth season -- which retitled the show simply "The Chipmunks" -- seem almost shrewd in their timeliness. "Alvie's Angels" spoofs the '70s female cop show "Charlie's Angels." "The Brunch Club" tackles The Breakfast Club. Both targets seem unusually topical following last week's Oscar ceremony, which paid tribute to late Breakfast director John Hughes but not deceased "Angels" star Farrah Fawcett. The atypical memorial given (an Estevez shy of a full Club reunion) and the inexcusable one denied (which the Academy was foolish enough to defend) both received a fair amount of media coverage.
Admittedly, that doesn't really have much to do with the DVD at hand, but then it's a bit of a challenge to discuss these straightforward 70-minute discs without repeating myself.
By now, you really should know if the '80s Chipmunks cartoon works for you or not. The second series born out of Ross Bagdasarian's chart-topping 1950s novelty hit songs, "Alvin" centers on adopted brothers Alvin (the mischievous one), Simon (the brainy one), and Theodore (the fat one). To call the chipmunks anthropomorphic is to understate things. They're just like human kids in size, personality, and interests. And they're treated as such by their peers and elders, including their "father" Dave Seville.
Slightly more in the foreground here are the Chipettes, who were actually invented in the first season of "Alvin" back in 1983. They're quite simply the female versions of the Chipmunks, each countering one of the boys in personality, physique, and color preference. Vain, fashionable Brittany wears pink to Alvin's red, bespectacled Jeanette mirrors Simon in blue, and rotund Eleanor opts for green just like portly snacker Theodore. The three episodes of Cinderella, Cinderella do not emphasize either the boys or girls' penchant for pop singing, although four songs are heard here in addition to the catchy theme tune.
Illustrating how sloppy this release appears to be, no title cards are provided on the episodes and one of the Season 6 installments has the old "Alvin and the Chipmunks" opening precede it. I guess that's better than having episode openings and end credits cut off, as they occasionally have been in the past.
Without further ado, I give you synopses...
"Cinderella? Cinderella!" (22:05) (Originally aired October 11, 1986)
"Alvie's Angels" (22:34) (Originally aired December 7, 1988)
"The Brunch Club" (23:20) (Originally aired October 1, 1988)
VIDEO and AUDIO
The DVD has the look of VHS, although it's closer to a lightly-played official studio VHS than something you'd have recorded yourself 20-some years ago. The picture is always soft and slightly fuzzy. "The Brunch Club" is a bit cleaner than the other two. The 2.0 stereo soundtrack is adequate, although it also shows signs of age.
The disc is watchable and the unimpressive presentation is redeemed by two things: a fair amount of viewers won't mind and, like other 1980s TV cartoons, even at their best, these episodes no doubt had some shortcomings.
BONUS FEATURES, MENUS and PACKAGING
Expectedly, there are no bonus features found here. The DVD opens with a promo for animated Chipmunks DVDs that must be close to two years old now. It's accessible from the menu's "Previews" listing.
As always, Paramount offers a simple, streamlined presentation. The one static, silent menu offers individual episode and collective playback. There are no inserts inside the plastic-skimping black Eco-Box keepcase.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Though many viewers, especially those who grew up in the '80s, will find this "Chipmunks" cartoon more agreeable than today's new live-action films, another lackluster presentation from Paramount makes the latter much more apt to claim a spot in your DVD collection. While diverting, these three episodes are pretty unremarkable and don't demonstrate how much fun this series often is. To add insult to injury, the price is almost twice what it should be for three episodes effortlessly slapped on a disc. Those wanting to own a taste of this show on DVD would do better with one of the earlier compilations.
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Reviewed March 17, 2010.
Text copyright 2010 DVDizzy.com. Images copyright 1986-88 Bagdasarian Productions and 2010 Paramount Home Entertainment. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.