Once You're Used to it, Brilliant

emily-engels

*review contains mild spoilers*

I've been a fan of the Chipmunks for six years, so when they announced a new TV series, I was really looking forward to it. Same actors from the 80's? That was probably my favorite piece of news - Ross and Janice make the Live-Action Chipmunk actor's seem pitchy and out-of- character. In short, the voice acting is incredible and I love that every voice you hear are one of the four Bagdasarian's (Ross, Janice, Vanessa and Michael)

The design took me a good week or two to get used to, but once I moved past that, I found that the show was just as infectious as the 80's was. (Also, the animation gets better as the show progresses, especially in Alvin's face).

I'm definitely not pretending that it's better than the 80's, because some episodes really do fall short for me, personally. Kickin' it Old School had too much crude humor, and some really do seem just pointless, such as House Guests, Mancave and Dragon Dad. The other episodes are riddled with good morals or simply effectively funny plot lines (My Sister the Weirdo immediately comes to mind). Considering this show is just getting into its second season, I feel like the content of the episodes are already very successful compared to those in the first few of the 80's series.

Also, the fact that there are over 104 original songs planned for the entire show is cause alone for respect. It's a huge workload and one that most other cartoons aren't dealing with. Not to mention all of the songs are wonderful, and the genres they've covered make the "band" extremely unique and a good source of Music education for young viewers, who should be exposed to more than just typical Pop music.

I think the show is great. And where it has flaws, there are few. I hope that the show will eventually turn its episodes (as it did in the 80's) from 11 to 22 minutes long, because some of them already can feel rushed, or are just begging to be expanded on.

Would absolutely recommend.

score 10/10

emily-engels 15 May 2016

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw3470030/