It has been over 50 years since the furry, little creatures made their singing debut but since then they have become a $1 billion industry with 45 million records, TV shows and action movies.
The latest movie, “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel,” hits stores tomorrow and is packed with songs, behind the scenes features and interviews.
The Chipmunks consist of Alvin, Simon and Theodore who have human parents. They are not just your ordinary chipmunks though. These chipmunks are not only cute but they have emotions such as hurt, sadness, jealousy and happiness.
The Chipmunks first came on the scene in 1958 with a song called “The Chipmunk Song.” And they took off from there with their own TV show, several music albums, a live stage show and in 1987, they hit the big screen with their first feature film.
The Chipmunks get their voices by having the actors record their voice in a slower tone that normal and then speeding up the tapes after. The Squeakquel was released in movie theaters in December of 2009 and took in $440 million worldwide. Their 2007 movie, “Alvin and the Chipmunks” brought in $360 million worldwide.