From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alvin and the Chipmunks
|
---|
Origin
| Fresno, California
, U.S.
|
---|
Genres
| Pop
,
dance
,
hip hop
,
country
,
children's music
|
---|
Years active
| 1958?1972
1979?present
|
---|
Labels
| Liberty
,
RCA
,
Sony Wonder
,
Quality
,
Chipmunk
,
Atlantic
|
---|
|
Members
| Alvin Seville
Simon Seville
Theodore Seville
|
---|
Website
| chipmunks.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.
- 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
.
- Ian Hawke
is the Chipmunks and Chipettes former nemesis and Dave's former arch-rival, he is played by
David Cross
.
- 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 is a
girl group
of chipmunks. It is made up of
Brittany
(voiced by
Christina Applegate
in the movies),
Jeanette
(voiced by
Anna Faris
) and
Eleanor
(voiced by
Amy Poehler
in the second and third films and
Kaley Cuoco
in a fourth film).
- Agent James Suggs
is the Chipmunks nemesis of U.S. Air Marshal, he is played by
Tony Hale
.