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Alvin and the Chipmunks

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Alvin and the Chipmunks
OriginFresno, California, U.S.
GenresPop, dance, hip hop, country, children's music
Years active1958–1972
1979–present
LabelsLiberty, RCA, Sony Wonder, Quality, Chipmunk, Atlantic
MembersAlvin Seville
Simon Seville
Theodore Seville
Websitechipmunks.com

Alvin and the Chipmunks is an American animated music group. It was created by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. in 1958. The group is made up of three animated chipmunks who sing and talk. They are Alvin, Simon and Theodore. The trio is managed by a fictional man named Dave Seville, who adopted the chipmunks. In reality, "David Seville" was Bagdasarian's stage name, and the chipmunks themselves are named after the executives of their original record label. The characters became a success, and were recreated in animated cartoons and eventually movies.

The voices of the group were all done by Bagdasarian. He recorded his voice and then sped up the playback to create high-pitched voices. It was so unusual and well-done that it earned the record two Grammy Awards for musical engineering. Bagdasarian, performing as the Chipmunks, released a long series of albums and singles. Bagdasarian died in 1972. The characters were revived in the 1980s and 1990s, with the voices being performed by Ross Bagdasarian, Jr. and his wife Janice Karman.

A computer-animated movie based on the characters was released in 2007, called Alvin and the Chipmunks. It had three sequels: one in 2009, one in 2011 and one in 2015. The actors Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler and Jesse McCartney performed the talking voices of the Chipmunks. Bagdasarian, Jr. and Karman performed the singing voices for Alvin, Theodore and the Chipettes, but Steve Vining does Simon's singing voice. The project has earned five Grammy Awards, an American Music Award, a Golden Reel Award, and three Kids' Choice Awards, and has been nominated for three Emmy awards.

Television series

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Main characters

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  • David "Dave" Seville is the adoptive father of the Chipmunks. He is a human. He was played by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. and later Ross Bagdasarian, Jr. In the movies, he is played by Jason Lee.
  • Alvin is the lead singer of the Chipmunks. He is the middle child. He was voiced by Ross Bagdasarian Sr. and later by Ross Bagdasarian Jr. In the movies, he is voiced by Justin Long. His singing voice is done by Ross Bagdasarian Jr.
  • Simon is the oldest brother. He is a very intelligent chipmunk. He was voiced by Ross Bagdasarian Sr. and later by Ross Bagdasarian Jr. Matthew Gray Gubler voiced Simon in the movie series. His singing voice is done by Steve Vining.
  • Theodore is the youngest of his brothers. He was voiced by Ross Bagdasarian Sr. and later by Janice Karman. In the movies, he is voiced by Jesse McCartney. His singing voice is done by Janice Karman.
  • The Chipettes are a girl group of chipmunks. It is made up of Brittany (voiced by Janice Karman; Christina Applegate in the movies), Jeanette (voiced by Janice Karman; Anna Faris in the movies) and Eleanor (voiced by Janice Karman in 1983 and Vanessa Bagdasarian in 2015; Amy Poehler in the second and third films and Kaley Cuoco in a fourth film).

Animated series characters

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  • Clyde Crashcup is an inventor who would invent things that already exist. He appeared in The Alvin Show and was voiced by Shepard Menken.
  • Leonardo is Clyde Crashcup's assistant. He does not talk and always whispers to Clyde.

Movie characters

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  • Ian Hawke is the Chipmunks and Chipettes former nemesis and Dave's former arch-rival, he is played by David Cross.
  • Agent James Suggs is the Chipmunks nemesis of U.S. Air Marshal, he is played by Tony Hale.

Other characters

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Other websites

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