I thought I was tripping, that I’d at some point eaten a shroom mixed amongst the Cheetohs in the bowl in front of me. But no. I was clear-minded and the spectacle I was witnessing entirely real: the chipmunks were dressed like Star Trek characters and singing a rendition of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Bad Moon Rising”. Now, when I first saw this on television maybe 18 years ago I’m not sure I was struck by the sheer insanity of that moment. I see it now, though, and the mindscrew that was Alvin and the Chipmunks.
Many cartoons vied for the attention of kids back in the golden age of Saturday morning that was the 90s. Some of them appealed to the fascination with superheroes while others touched on the zany creativity of youth. A few just slipped between the cracks of classification and became genre-crossing chimeras that just had no rhyme or reason.
Alvin and the Chipmunks would attempt to teach children a lesson one moment and then trumpet the humor of Alvin’s nigh sociopathic tendencies to get what he wants. It just never made sense. What makes the “Star Wreck” DVD collection coherent is its steadfast intention of doing nothing more than retelling a famous tale in a slightly altered fashion.
“Star Wreck (The Absolutely Final Frontier)”
Taken from the eighth season of Alvin and the Chipmunks, when literally each and every episode was nothing but a parody of a popular film, the episode takes a familiar Trek-episode premise and simply inserts the Chipmunks as Kirk, Spock and McCoy. It preaches the value of individuality and yet that moral doesn’t really take front seat. Instead the episode focuses quite aptly on the relationships that exist between the real characters and then adds the satirical element. As a parody it actually stands up decently. As a children’s cartoon it’s just mindblowingly “out there”.
“Chip Tracy”
Also taken from the parody-heavy eighth season, “Chip Tracy” does a similarly excellent job in lampooning the source material which was ironically already lampooning its own source material. At some point the concept is bound to go meta, but as is it’s just another faithful retelling of the Dick Tracy film with the three rodents standing in for Warren Beatty and the rest. It’s surprising that for a show aimed at kids, it’s take on the Dick Tracy film is astonishingly well-played. Maybe the writers actually sat down, watched it and wrote down everywhere the film went wrong. That’s how it feels. If that’s the case, then maybe they were trying to create a new form of film criticism: via animated chipmunk parodies.
“Elementary, My Dear Simon”
Easily the best and funniest of the collection, this episode gives the reins to Theodore who takes on the Sherlock Holmes persona with Simon as his Watson. If you ever thought Watson was a chump for taking all of Holmes’ condescending jibes in stride, so did the writers of this episode. Again the parody points out everything that maybe shouldn’t have been glazed over in Doyle’s stories and takes a moment to correct some of those things in a childishly cartoonish way.
DVD Bonus Features
None.
The collection is remarkably decent considering the series from which it comes. It may only be 66 minutes in length (which makes sense as it’s three 22-minute episodes) but considering how smart it is in comparison to a few of the cartoons that are floating around right now you could do worse by your child. And, like and good parody, this disc might just awaken the desire within your child to see the real movies or read the real story. I’m almost left wondering if they’ve released the eighth season on DVD, and in which case maybe you ought to consider that instead? You could use it as a primer to get your children interested in some of the great popular movies of the last few decades.
Oh, and as always, the incomparable Frank Welker lends his voice for yet another animated series.
"Alvin and the Chipmunks: Star Wreck" is on sale September 15, 2009 and is rated NR. Animation, Children & Family, Comedy. Directed by Don Spencer, Richard Merwin. Written by Ross Bagdasarian, Ralph Sanchez, Richard Merwin. Starring Frank Welker, Janice Karman, Ross Bagdasarian Jr, Tress MacNeille.
