- Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
- Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
- Resolution: 1080p/24 (23.976Hz)
- Audio Codec: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz/24-bit), English Audio Descriptive Services Dolby Digital 5.1, French, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
- Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
- Region: A (Region-Locked)
- Rating: G
- Run Time: 87 Mins.
- Discs: 2 (1 x Blu-ray + 1 x DVD + Digital Copy)
- Studio: 20th Century Fox
- Blu-ray Release Date: March 27, 2012
- List Price: $39.99
[amazon-product]B004EPZ03E[/amazon-product]
Purchase Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:3.5/5]
The Film
[Rating:2/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:4/5]
Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures
(All TheaterByte screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG at 100% quality setting and are meant as a general representation of the content. They do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)
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The Film
[Rating:2/5]
I’ll admit upfront that Alvin and the Chipmunks movies do not and never have appealed to me. Firstly, I find these animated rodents downright creepy. It’s not that chipmunks, mice, squirrels and what have you creep me out in general, I quite enjoyed Pixar’s Ratatouille, but I just never thought the animators did a good job of making these things look really lovable. Secondly, the sped-up, high-pitched voices become very annoying in very short order.
For the third installment in this perennial holiday franchise, writers Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, responsible for the quite strong DreamWorks screenplays for Kung Fu Panda 1 and 2 give us here a below average, paint-by-numbers romp directed by Mike Mitchell, the same man responsible for the last Shrek atrocity, Shrek Forever After.
The Chipmunks and their female counterparts, previously introduced in 2009’s Squeakquel, the Chipettes, are now fully integrated into the life of their chaperone/manager Dave (Jason Lee). On a big “family” outing to an award show, the boys and girls get into the usual troubles, led, of course, by the misbehaving Alvin (Justin Long). On a cruise in the tropics, the Munks are lost at sea and end up on a not so deserted island. Dave and their former manager (David Cross) must save them from potential threats on what turns out to be a not so deserted, deserted island inhabited by at least one whacky castaway (Jenny Slate).
After the first twenty-minutes or so, the hijinks wear thin and it becomes increasingly obvious that this franchise has run out of steam. It exists for no other reason than to be the very cash cow that its animated protagonists are in their fictional world.
Video Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
There’s nothing to complain about at all in Chipwrecked. Even with the production for this being done on 35mm versus what we are used to seeing for films that contain so much CG animation, that is to say a fully digital production. Colors are vibrant and detail in the chipmunks are quite strong. The image is clean and contrast is wide.
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Chipwrecked‘s DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz/24-bit) soundtrack sounds big and dynamic with deep low frequencies, natural highs and clean dialogue. It’s a mix that you’d expect from a film like this, if perhaps not quite as aggressive as some other films in the genre. The musical segments open up the soundfield the most, showing off tight, musical lows, good ambience and wide stereo panning.
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:4/5]
Chipwrecked has been loaded with high definition, 1080p video extras of behind the scenes featurettes, sing-alongs and more.
The supplements:
- Munk Music & Dance Machine
- Going Overboard with the Chipmunks (1.78:1; 1080p/24; 00:07:50)
- Munking Movies in Paradise (1.78:1; 1080p/24; 00:06:43)
- Everybody Munk Now! (1.78:1; 1080p/24; 00:07:39)
- Alan Tudyk, Chipmunk Apprentice (1.78:1; 1080p/24; 00:06:39)
- Music Videos with optional sing-along:
- Vacation
- Survivor
- Bad Romance
- FOX Movie Channel Presents Growing Up Alvin (1.33:1; SD; 00:10:12)
- FOX Movie Channel Presents In Character with Jason Lee (1.33:1; SD; 00:05:12)
- Extended Scenes (1.78:1; 1080p/24):
- Walk the Plank
- Brittany’s What If…
- Ian’s Hungry
- Stop Being Paranoid
- I Don’t Spank Them
- No, No, No…
- Zoe’s Map
- Nowhere Else to Go
- Promotional Fun:
- Survival Tips
- Rules
- Jingle Bells Music Video
- Teaser Trailer
- Theatrical Trailer 1
- Theatrical Trailer 2
- Live Extras:
- Exclusive: Hand and Pawprint Ceremony
- Live Lookup
The Definitive Word
Overall:
[Rating:3.5/5]
While less discerning younger children will certainly enjoy the antics, high voices and vivid color palette of Chipwrecked, there is really no good story here for parents or guardians to enjoy and it becomes very dull very quickly. The Chipmunks look and sound great on Blu-ray, but I can’t recommend this film at all.
Additional Screen Captures
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[amazon-product]B004EPZ03E[/amazon-product]
Purchase Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:3.5/5]
The Film
[Rating:2/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:4/5]
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