I may have missed the boat on seeing this earlier, no pun intended, but we went to go see Alvin & The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked last night with my three children. I must say, surprisingly, it was really entertaining, funny, and a lot more creative than the other previous Chipmunks movies, which I still have yet to see in their entirety.

As we searched for movie times, I was praying for ways to get out of watching it. I almost told them we had a flat tire, that’s how bad I did not want to see it! And besides, it has never been a secret with my children, Shep, Carsen, and Ewan, that I dislike this franchise. I cannot bare to hear Top 20 hits sung in nails-against-a-chalkboard, screeching voices, I have better things to do with my time. And, besides, I am a huge fan, giving 100% of my attention, to any Disney Pixar movie that rolls out. I am most likely the first one in line to see their next best thing!

However, the character development was spot on. Alvin, was annoying as usual, but this time very coy, and a lot more grown up. My favourite scene was him actually flying off the ship on a kite with the others in tow! Who’d a thunk the risk of their demise would actually be funny! I almost peed in my pants! Once on the island, the fat one, Theodore, like any little child after watching a scary TV programme that Alvin insisted he watch as a big boy, was forced to face his fears of the scary big monster from Jungle Monster 4. But my all time favourite scene was Simon, or Simone, auspiciously becoming a French Chipmunk after a suspicious spider bite. Think of Rambo meets Pepe Le Pew heavy french accent et al! Fearless, brave, and very romantic…..hilarious! My kids loved him too!

We meet someone new, a woman named Zoe, a.k.a. as the Crazy Lady on the island, was priceless when she introduced everyone to her gang of balls. Obviously a take on Tom Hanks’ movie Cast Away, but this time the gang included a Golf Ball, a Basketball, a Football, I mean any ball you can think of, it was there.

The Chipettes in the Dance-Off

I must say the biggest disappointment were The Chipettes. I hated the dance off in the Club, it was stupid and cheap and it’s been done too many times. I wished there was something like a Dancing With The Stars moment, maybe a cameo with a former contestant like Donny Osmund – that would have been hysterical and unpredictable!

Predictably like every children’s movie, there is a base story, an adventure of sorts, a hero, a villain and a feel-good group in between. One of the main characters, Dave, the owner or father of the Chipmunks, has remained unappealing, tactile, and resistible. His former manager, Ian, remains the same, hateful, spiteful, revengeful, no real development there. Overall, it was all about the Chipmunks this time.

I know that most of the critics panned Chipwrecked and any child across the world eating at McDonald’s has received their own little minuscule pest by now. However, it was fun. All in all, I loved it and so did my kids! See it or don’t see this movie. I thought it was wonderful evening out with my family.