CinemaNow - Alvin and the Chipmunks

You can almost hear Ross Bagdasarian's chastising "Oh, Alvin!" in the tone of the reviews for Ross Jr.'s Alvin and the Chipmunks. In USA Today Claudia Puig writes, "Sure, rodents are hot this year. But unlike Ratatouille's chef prodigy Remy, these mischief makers bring nothing new to the table." Lou Lumenick in the New York Post acknowledges that he has been a longtime fan of Alvin, "but this partially animated, charm-free atrocity is awful enough to instantly cure any remaining nostalgia for the rodent trio." Andy Webster in New York Times describes the film as another example of Hollywood milking old television properties for nostalgia, and concludes: "Despite its shout-outs to the holiday season, this is essentially airplane fodder, not a perennial." But Stephen Cole in the Toronto Globe and Mail remarks that he watched both The Golden Compass and Alvin in theaters packed with 4-12-year-olds, and, he adds, "This reviewer is honor-bound to report that Alvin wins the kids' vote, paws down."