Alvin and the Chipmunks (film series)

Alvin and the Chipmunks
Film logo 2007–Present
Directed by	Tim Hill (1) Betty Thomas (2) Mike Mitchell (3) Walt Becker (4)
Produced by	Janice Karman Ross Bagdasarian
Written by	Will McRobb Chris Viscardi (1) Jon Vitti (1-2) Jonathan Aibel Glenn Berger (2-3) Randi Mayem Singer (4) Adam Sztykiel (4)
Based on	Alvin and the Chipmunks by Ross Bagdasarian Sr.
Starring	Jason Lee David Cross (1-3) Justin Long Matthew Gray Gubler Jesse McCartney Christina Applegate (2-4) Anna Faris (2-4) Amy Poehler (2-3) Kaley Cuoco (4) Cameron Richardson (1) Jane Lynch (1) Zachary Levi (2) Jenny Slate (3) Tony Hale (4) Kimberly Williams-Paisley (4) Josh Green (4) Bella Thorne (4)
Music by	Christopher Lennertz (1) David Newman (2) Mark Mothersbaugh (3-4)
Cinematography	Peter Lyons Collister (1 & 4) Anthony B. Richmond (2) Thomas Ackerman (3)
Edited by	Peter Berger (1) Matthew Friedman (2) Peter Amundson (3) Ryan Folsey (4)
Production company	Fox 2000 Pictures Regency Enterprises Bagdasarian Company Dune Entertainment (1–3) TSG Entertainment (4)
Distributed by	20th Century Fox (since 2007)
Release date	2007 – Present
Running time	268+ minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$300 million (4 films)
Box office	$1,284,604,782 (4 films)

Alvin and the Chipmunks is a live-action film series, based on the characters of the same name created by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. The films are produced by Janice Karman and Ross Bagdasarian and released by 20th Century Fox. Live-action roles include Jason Lee (all four films) and David Cross (the first three films); voice roles for the CGI chipmunk characters are provided by Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler, and Jesse McCartney in all four films, Christina Applegate and Anna Faris in the three sequels, Amy Poehler in the second and third films, and Kaley Cuoco in the fourth film.

In a tree farm, three musically inclined chipmunks, Alvin (Justin Long), Simon (Matthew Gray Gubler) and Theodore (Jesse McCartney), find their tree cut down and sent to Los Angeles. Once there, they meet the frustrated songwriter David Seville (Jason Lee), and despite a poor house-wrecking first impression, they impress him with their singing talent. Seeing the opportunity for success, both human and chipmunks make a pact for them to sing his songs. While that ambition proves a frustrating struggle with the difficult trio, the dream does come true after all. However, that success presents its own trials as their unscrupulous record executive, Ian Hawke (David Cross), plans to break up this family to exploit the boys. Can Dave and the Chipmunks discover what they really value amid the superficial glamour around them?