Alvin and the Chipmunks | |
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Background information | |
Origin | Los Angeles, California, United States |
Genres | |
Years active | 1958–1972 1979–present |
Labels | Liberty, London, Capitol, RCA, Sony, Quality, Atlantic, Rhino, Republic, Geffen, Columbia, Chipmunk |
Associated acts | The Chipettes |
Website | Official website |
Members | Alvin Seville Simon Seville Theodore Seville |
Alvin and the Chipmunks | |
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Alvin and The Chipmunks (2015–present) The film series (2007–present) Alvin and the Chipmunks (1983–1990) The Alvin Show (1961–1962) character |
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First appearance | 1958–present |
Created by | Ross Bagdasarian Sr. |
Portrayed by | Jason Lee (Film Series) |
Voiced by | Ross Bagdasarian Jr. (2015) |
Present Episode(s) | ALVINNN!!! and the Chipmunks |
Information | |
Aliases | Alvin, Simon & Theodore |
Species | Chipmunks |
Gender | males |
Occupation | Singers |
Family |
Dave Seville The Chipettes |
Relatives | Dave Seville (2015 Series) |
Nationality | American |
Alvin and the Chipmunks, originally David Seville and the Chipmunks or simply The Chipmunks, is an American animated music group created by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr., for a novelty record in 1958. The group consists of three singing animated anthropomorphic chipmunks: Alvin, the mischievous troublemaker, who quickly became the star of the group; Simon, the tall, bespectacled intellectual; and Theodore, the chubby, impressionable one. The trio is managed by their human adoptive father, David (Dave) Seville. In reality, "David Seville" was Bagdasarian's stage name, and the Chipmunks themselves are named after the executives of their original record label. The characters became a success, and the singing Chipmunks and their manager were given life in several animated cartoon productions, using redrawn, anthropomorphic chipmunks, and eventually films.
The voices of the group were all performed by Bagdasarian, who sped up the playback to create high-pitched voices. This oft-used process was not entirely new to Bagdasarian, who had also used it for two previous novelty songs, including "Witch Doctor", but it was so unusual and well-executed it earned the record two Grammy Awards for engineering. Bagdasarian, performing as the Chipmunks, released a long line of albums and singles, with "The Chipmunk Song" becoming a number-one single in the United States. After the death of Bagdasarian in 1972, the characters' voices were performed by his son Ross Bagdasarian, Jr. and the latter's wife Janice Karman in the subsequent incarnations of the 1980s and 1990s.
In the 2007 CGI/live-action film adaptation and its 2009 sequel, they were voiced in dialogue by Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler and Jesse McCartney. Bagdasarian, Jr. and Karman continue to perform the singing voices for Alvin, Theodore and the Chipettes, but Steve Vining does Simon's singing voice. The project has earned five Grammy awards, an American Music Award, a Golden Reel Award, and three Kids' Choice Awards, and has been nominated for three Emmy awards.