''Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein'' is a 1999 American

animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...

dark comedy Black comedy, also known as black humor, bleak comedy, dark comedy, dark humor, gallows humor or morbid humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally ...

horror film produced by Bagdasarian Productions, LLC. and

Universal Cartoon Studios Universal Animation Studios LLC, formerly known as Universal Cartoon Studios, is an American animation studio and a division of Universal 1440 Entertainment, an home entertainment division of Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, which in tur ...

and distributed by

Universal Studios Home Video Universal Pictures Home Entertainment LLC (UPHE) is the home video distribution division of Universal Pictures, an American film studio owned by NBCUniversal, the entertainment unit of Comcast. UPHE is the home video distributor for all of the ...

. It is directed by Kathi Castillo, written by John Loy and based on characters from ''

Alvin and the Chipmunks Alvin and the Chipmunks, originally David Seville and the Chipmunks and billed for their first two decades as the Chipmunks, are an American animated virtual band and media franchise first created by Ross Bagdasarian for Novelty records in ...

'' and

Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ( , ; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of science fiction# ...

's 1818 novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''. This is the first of two ''Alvin and the Chipmunks''

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, television series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strat ...

films, and the first of three Universal Cartoon Studios productions to be animated overseas by Tama Production in

Tokyo, Japan Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. This is the only animated ''Alvin and the Chipmunks'' film where the

Chipettes The Chipettes are a fictional girl group from the ''Alvin and the Chipmunks'' franchise consisting of three female anthropomorphic chipmunk singers: Brittany, Jeanette, and Eleanor, alongside their adoptive human mother, Beatrice Miller. They f ...

do not appear. It was followed up a year later by a standalone sequel, titled '' Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman''.

Plot

The Chipmunks are performing at a theme park called Majestic Movie Studios. While taking a break from their concert, the Chipmunks get lost, and eventually get locked inside the park. They find their way to the "Frankenstein's Castle" attraction, where a real Dr. Victor Frankenstein is working on his

monster A monster is a type of imaginary or fictional creature found in literature, folklore, mythology, fiction and religion. They are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive, with a strange or grotesque appearance that causes Anxiety, terror ...

. The monster is brought to life, and the doctor sends it in pursuit of the Chipmunks. In their escape, the monster retrieves Theodore's dropped

teddy bear A teddy bear, or simply a teddy, is a stuffed toy in the form of a bear. The teddy bear was named by Morris Michtom after the 26th president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt; it was developed apparently simultaneously in the first deca ...

. The monster follows the Chipmunks home and returns the bear to Theodore, who quickly befriends him. The Chipmunks teach the monster (whom Theodore has nicknamed "Frankie") how to be nicer and make friends. Dave goes to the park to book a concert that night to celebrate the premiere of an anticipated film. Dr. Frankenstein tracks Frankie to the Chipmunks' home, and, angered at the monster's benevolence, kidnaps Alvin. Simon, Theodore, and Frankie hurry back to the park to rescue him. Dr. Frankenstein force-feeds Alvin a potion and induces a powerful electrical shock. Alvin is released by Frankie, and after Simon swipes the doctor's potions book, the four of them escape back into the park. Shortly after, the process Alvin underwent takes effect, transforming him into a zany cartoon monster. Alvin escapes to the premiere, causing chaos and havoc in his path. Using the potions book, Simon and Theodore mix an

antidote An antidote is a substance that can counteract a form of poisoning. The term ultimately derives from the Greek term φάρμακον ἀντίδοτον ''(pharmakon antidoton)'', "(medicine) given as a remedy". An older term in English which is ...

using various food items from a buffet and feed it to Alvin during his rampage. Alvin returns to normal, and the Chipmunks go to perform their concert. Before the concert begins, Dr. Frankenstein attempts to transform Alvin back to his monster self, but is thwarted by Frankie, which leads to an explosion. After the smoke clears, Theodore introduces Frankie to the public, promising that Frankie will bring no harm if treated nicely. Meanwhile, Dr. Frankenstein is revealed to have been given the job of being the studio's mascot, Sammy Squirrel, much to his dissatisfaction, as he is trying to get the mascot's head off in a last-ditch effort to kidnap Alvin.

Voice cast

* Ross Bagdasarian Jr. as Alvin Seville / Simon Seville / David "Dave" Seville *

Janice Karman Janice Karman Bagdasarian is an American filmmaker, designer, actress, and singer. She is the co-owner of Bagdasarian Productions with her husband Ross Bagdasarian Jr. Early life Karman was born in Los Angeles, California. Her father was ps ...

as Theodore Seville * Michael Bell as Doctor Victor Frankenstein, Person in Mob and Delivery Man *

Frank Welker Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American actor who specializes in voice acting. He began his career in the 1960s, and held around 850 film, television, and video game credits as of 2020, making him one of the most prolific v ...

as Frankie, the Frankenstein's monster, Man dressed up as Frankenstein, Sammy Squirrel, and Movie Director *

Jim Meskimen James Ross ”Jim” Meskimen (born September 10, 1959) is an American actor, comedian and impressionist. He has appeared in films for director Ron Howard, as well as films by Paul Thomas Anderson and Garry Marshall. He has also been the voice ...

as Mr. Yesman, Person in Mob, Boy #2 and Police Officer #2 *

Dee Bradley Baker Dee Bradley Baker (born August 31, 1962) is an American voice actor. Much of his work has consisted of vocalizations of animals and monsters. Baker's roles include animated series such as '' Adventure Time'', ''American Dad!'', '' Avatar: The Las ...

as Tour Guide Phil and Person in Mob *

Mary Kay Bergman Mary Kay Bergman (June 5, 1961 – November 11, 1999), also briefly credited as Shannen Cassidy, was an American voice actress and voice-over teacher. She was the official voice of the Disney character Snow White from 1989 to 1999 and the lead fem ...

as Miss Miller, Mother at the theme park, Little Boy, Boy #1, Female Bouncer *

Kevin Michael Richardson Kevin Michael Richardson (born October 25, 1964) is an American actor. Known for his distinctively deep voice, he has mostly voiced villainous characters in animation and video games. In film, Richardson voiced Goro in ''Mortal Kombat'' (1995) ...

as Bud Wiley, Man with Camera, Male Bouncer and Security Guard * Susan Boyd as Police Officer #1, Mother at the playground and Olivia D’Handlotion

Production

The film was in production around 1998 alongside direct-to-video sequels to ''An American Tail''. Universal Home Entertainment acquired the home video rights for ''

The Chipmunk Adventure ''The Chipmunk Adventure'' is a 1987 American animated musical-adventure comedy film based on the Saturday-morning cartoon series ''Alvin and the Chipmunks'' and the Alvin and the Chipmunks virtual band and media franchise created by Ross Bagdas ...

'' in the hopes of creating long lasting direct-to-video film series matching the success of ''The Land Before Time''.

Songs

All original songs written by

Michele Brourman Michele Brourman (born April 12, 1947) is an American composer and songwriter who is known for writing the songs to most of the films in '' Land Before Time'' series (with Amanda McBroom), as well as the accompanying television series (with For ...

and

Amanda McBroom Amanda McBroom (born August 9, 1947) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Notable among the songs she has written is " The Rose", which Bette Midler sang in the film of the same name, and which has been sung by many other recording art ...

. Soundtrack available on

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...

. # "Things Out There" # "If a Monster Came in Our Room" # "If You Wanna Have Friends" # "

Dem Bones "Dem Bones" (also called "Dry Bones" and "Dem Dry Bones") is a spiritual (music), spiritual song. The melody was composed by author and songwriter James Weldon Johnson (1871–1938) and his brother, J. Rosamond Johnson. It was first recorded by ...

" # "Sammy Squirrel's Theme Song"

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alvin And The Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein 1999 American animated direct-to-video films 1999 comedy horror films Alvin and the Chipmunks films 1990s monster movies Universal Animation Studios animated films Universal Pictures direct-to-video animated films American children's animated comedy films American children's comedy films Animated crossover films Animated films based on animated series American comedy horror films American animated horror films American direct-to-video films Universal Pictures direct-to-video films Films scored by Mark Watters American supernatural horror films Children's horror films 1999 children's films 1999 horror films Animated films set in amusement parks 1999 films 1990s children's animated films 1990s children's comedy films 1990s English-language films 1999 science fiction films English-language comedy horror films English-language science fiction horror films