Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman

Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman (2000)

** (out of 4)

Alvin and the chipmunks are putting on a production of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde at their school but poor Alvin keeps having dreams about a werewolf. He thinks that this might be due to the mysterious Mr. Talbot who has moved in next door so he gets a monster kit and starts to investigate. Universal produced this animated feature so naturally one should expect to see some homages to their classic horror films from the 30s and 40s. The film starts off on a pretty good note as we're introduced to all the main characters but sadly the writing pretty much goes downhill after that. I must admit that I was pretty disappointed in several ways because not only does the film not really deliver to the studios previous movies but it's also a letdown from the animated TV show. Those who grew up watching the TV show will probably be disappointment because a lot of the innocence and charm is missing here. There's really not too much heart or soul to any of the three chipmunks and Dave as well for that matter. I think the writing just didn't bring any of the characters to life as there was just something missing that kept them from being more enduring. If you're familiar with Universal's horror movies then you're going to know the name Talbot but sadly very little is done with it. One wishes that the studio and writers would have done more homages to the previous films or at least make this more entertaining for the adults watching.