CUT TO THE CHASE: See it with your kids in the theater and buy the DVD.

Yes, this movie has been eviscerated on rottentomatoes.com (my go to source for movie reviews since I have never found a single reviewer who matches my tastes across all genres), but if you go into it with the idea that you’re not going to see something insanely clever like The Incredibles or Shrek (the first one), you will enjoy yourself. However, be prepared to check your disbelief at the door. The story makes no sense–it is never explained how the chipmunks have learned to read and speak, or how they have learned to sing despite the fact they did not have access to a radio in the forest where they initially resided. In reality, it is an animated movie in the guise of a live-action movie. It is a movie made for kids, and kids will love it. To be snarky, I could complain about how stiff Jason Lee’s performance is, how improbable the romantic sub-plot is (it makes the romantic sub-plot of Garfield the Movie look plausible by comparison), or the dozens of implausible impossibilities (e.g. the glasses taken from a Santa figurine just happen to be the correct prescription for Simon), but none of that matters. If you have kids, go see it. It’s worth a few hours of your time.