We haven't seen much of The Chipmunks since their 1980's TV cartoon. And you've never seen them like this. Alvin, Simon and Theodore are on the big screen for the first time in "Alvin and the Chipmunks."

Jason Lee stars as David Seville, a songwriter who's having trouble coming-up with good songs. One night the three Chipmunks get into his house and Dave discovers that not only are they messy, but they can talk and sing. Dave figures out that if he can get the Chipmunks to sing his songs they'll all become famous!

And it works. But Dave's agent (played by David Cross) only cares about using the Chipmunks to make a lot of money. He takes them away from Dave and forces the trio to work too hard. So it's up to Dave to save them.

There are a lot of musical numbers in "Alvin and the Chipmunks", including Chipmunks classics: "The Witch Doctor" and "The Chipmunk Song" (Christmas Don't Be Late), and there's versions of new songs such as "Bad Day." All the songs are excellent. The sold-out crowd at the showing I was at cheered after "Funkytown".

"Alvin and the Chipmunks" is a lot of fun. The CGI animation is great - the Chipmunks look pretty real. Overall, the movie is very entertaining even though the plot is rather simple.

Doing the voices of The Chipmunks are Justin Long (Alvin), Mathew Grey Gubler (Simon) and Jesse McCartney (Theodore).

The film is rated PG for a little rude humor but it's appropriate for everyone. In fact, it's one of the funniest family films of the year.

"On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, "Alvin and the Chipmunks" gets a B.

And...by the way...I agree: "Please, Christmas don't be late."

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