Dave
David "Dave"
Seville is a quick-tempered yet kind and somewhat insecure songwriter for the
musical trio and Chipmunks' adoptive father and confidant. While Dave struggles
to remain calm and objective, Alvin often irritates him, causing Dave to yell
"Alvin!", to which Alvin responds with "Okay!" Dave plays
piano and the guitar. He has short black hair and brown eyes. In the 1983
animated series, it is revealed that Dave first found the Chipmunks as infants
abandoned on the door step of his old cottage.
At first he grows to
like them but had trouble keeping them from misbehaving as he had important
songs to write or else he'd lose his job. On top of that, Dave's landlord is a
nasty man who even tries to kill the Chipmunks. However Dave eventually hears
their amazing singing voices and records them, making their song a hit and with
the money they earn they manage to move into a large house, which Dave owns and
live happily together as one big family.
In the 2007 film he is
played by Jason Lee. In the film, he first discovers the boys eating food in
his cabinets and he panics and throws them out. He later changes his mind and
allows them into his home upon them showing their singing talent. he however
gets fed up with them and sends them to live with Ian Harke, he begins to miss
the boys and free from Ian. He welcomes the Chipmunks into his home and
eventually he starts to love them like his own children. However, in the 2009
sequel Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, Dave plays a minor role in the
film, mainly due to him being in the hospital in Paris. This happened due to
Alvin causing a billboard to crash into him and he is sent flying across the
room and is severely injured, so he is placed in intensive care. He is rarely
seen in the film. His cousin Toby acts as both a main character and the
Chipmunks' temporary guardian.
Dave appears at the
end of the film watching his boys and the Chipettes perform together who Dave
allows to live with him and the Chipmunks. Dave appears for a third time in
Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, where he, the Chipmunks and Chipettes
board a cruise ship heading to the International Music Awards. He gets mad at
Alvin, Simon and the Chipettes for leaving their cabin room for their own
reasons. Later, he team up with his old enemy, Ian to find his children when
the six get blown away with a kite. He finds them and leaves the island with
them. He later watches his family perform at the International Music Awards, he
is last seen on an airplane with them heading for home.
The Chipmunks
Alvin
Alvin is the lead
vocalist of Alvin and the Chipmunks as well as the oldest of his brothers (as
revealed in the episode "Grounded Chipmunk" when he made the
statement "I've never been alone, except those five minutes before Simon
was born"), he wears red and in the live-action/CGI films his eyes are
brown. His enthusiasm is boundless and his despair bottomless. The term look
before you leap does not usually apply to Alvin, who is impulsive, charming,
and musical.
The character always
seems to make up hare-brained schemes to get what his goal is at the time,
whether it be trying to help his brothers, keeping Dave from figuring something
out, or getting out of a sticky situation. However, Alvin seems to refer to his
often illogical or crazy plans as "challenging the ordinary". On July
30, 2002, Alvin was No. 44 on TV Guide's list of top 50 best cartoon characters
of all time. He is mostly shown to be infatuated with Brittany, although they
often annoy each other, but they look at for each other when things look bad.
Like his brothers, he
was originally voiced by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. In the animated series and film,
he was voiced by Ross Bagdasarian, Jr. Justin Long voiced Alvin in the
live-action/animated film series.
Simon
In addition to having an
IQ just north of Einstein, Simon possesses a dry sense of humor as well as a
keen wit. He takes charge when Alvin goes too far with his hair brained
schemes. Simon loves Alvin, although he secretly worries that they share the
same gene pool. He wears glasses and blue attire, and has blue eyes in the
live-action/CGI films. He plays the bass, bass clarinet, saxophone, bagpipes,
tuba, and drums, among others. He is shown playing the keyboard in the original
open for the 1980s series.[citation needed] He was also shown playing guitar in
a 1980s Hardee's commercial.
He appears to be
interested in Jeanette, who has some things in common with him. However she is
more timid than Simon. Like his brothers, he was
originally voiced by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. In the animated series and film, he
was voiced by Ross Bagdasarian, Jr. Matthew Gray Gubler voiced Simon in the
live-action/animated film series.
Theodore Carl Seville
Theodore is the child
of innocence and the youngest. He is shy, loving, sensitive, chubby, gullible,
trusting, and naïve. In short, he is an easy target for Alvin's manipulations,
he wears green and the films show him with green eyes. Theodore often holds the
swing vote between his two brothers' choices of action. Simon appeals to
Theodore's better nature while Alvin goes straight to bribery. He is constantly
craving snacks and in one episode, Theodore tried to eat Alvin's hand because
of his hunger.
He plays the drums,
the guitar, and others. He is the baby of the group. He is fragile yet
unpredictable. At times, he is childish and Alvin's follower. He is the glue
that binds his brothers despite Alvin and Simon's differences and regular
disagreements.
He seams to have
affections for Eleanor who shares physical traits with him, but she is,
smarter, braver and more athletic. Like his brothers, he was originally voiced
by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. In the animated series and film, his voice was
provided by Janice Karman, Ross Bagdasarian Jr.'s wife and the voice of all
three Chipettes. Jesse McCartney voiced Theodore in the live-action/animated
film series.
The Chipettes
Brittany
Brittany is the lead singer and the oldest
sister of the Chipettes. She has a pleasing facial and physical appearance, but
at times can be vain and self-serving with the extreme desire to have whatever
she wants, but is still very caring . Often Brittany is happy to outdo others
she dislikes; which often establishes the plot of the episode. She has auburn
brown hair which is seen in a stylized ponytail.
Jeanette
Jeanette is the middle
sister and smartest of the Chipettes, even though she is the tallest. Like
Simon, she wears glasses. She has brown hair in a bun in the '80s show and a
short ponytail in the recent films. Her eyes are green in her TV appearances
and The Chipmunk Adventure but were changed to purple in the live-action/CGI
films. She cares about Simon and gets along with him very well.
Eleanor
Eleanor is the youngest
of the Chipettes. She has a lot in common with Theodore (who likes her) in
terms of body shape and color of attire, but she is braver, more fit and
remembers stuff better. She is blonde with pigtails and has brown eyes in the
80`s show, which changed to green in the more recent appearances of Eleanor.
Ian Hawke
Ian is played by comedian David Cross,
and serves as the main antagonist in the first two films. He is Dave's
friend-turned rival and former college roommate, and serves as the CEO of JETT
Records in the first film. One day, the Chipmunks sneak off to his home to
audition, whereupon he automatically signs them on to the label. He rockets
them to the top of music business but after seeing how much they're truly
worth, he attempts to lure them away from Dave for his own profit. His plan
ultimately fails, as the Chipmunks have learned of it and escaped from his
grasp, thus leaving him to be ousted from his job as CEO of Jett Records.
In the second film, Ian is now
unemployable and in debt, and lives in the basement of Jett Records. However,
he happens upon The Chipettes, who want to be famous like the Chipmunks, and
cannot wait to make them famous, so he takes them in, in hopes of getting his
sworn revenge on the Chipmunks. He enrolls the Chipettes into the same school
as the Chipmunks, and after showing Dr. Rubin (Wendie Malick) their talent, she
agrees to let them battle the Chipmunks for the right to represent the school
for the district's music competition. However, in the climax, Ian decides to
blow off the competition to have the Chipettes to perform at a Britney Spears
concert, and takes them by force, threatening to take them to a barbecue
restaurant if they will not comply.
Alvin saves the Chipettes from Ian, who
then tries to imitate them at the Britney Spears concert, only to get thrown
into a dumpster by security guards. In the third film, Ian appears to have
mellowed down and now works on the Carnival Dream cruise ship, dressed in a
pelican suit. As a well-respected mascot, he takes his job very seriously and
threatens to have Dave and the Chipmunks removed from the ship if they continue
to act up. However, he becomes Dave's friend again while helping him find the
Chipmunks after they were left being marooned in the island. In the end, he
gets his wealth back by starting a career as a screenwriter, having sold a
screenplay about Zoe's story to Hollywood.
Claire
Wilson
Claire is Dave's
ex-girlfriend who adores the Chipmunks after she finally gets to meet them. She
becomes good friends with Dave again by the end of the movie. She is played by
Cameron Richardson.
Toby
Seville
Dave's immature cousin
who appeared in the second film. Toby is a slacker who loves to play video
games and still lives with his grandmother and Dave's aunt, Jackie Seville,
until he figures out what he wants to do with his life. Toby's immaturity keeps
him from acting like an adult (although he seems to take on some responsibility
in the middle of the movie), and he has a crush on the Chipmunks' homeroom and
music teacher, Julie Ortega (Anjelah Johnson), ever since he went to the same
school as the Chipmunks. He is played by Chuck star Zachary Levi.
Zoe
Zoe is a deluded
castaway who was found by the Chipmunks when they end up being marooned on an
island that she took refuge. She claims to be on the island for eight to nine
years. At first, she was believed to be crash-landed into the island, but it
turns out that she intentionally came here to look for treasure after learning
of the Chipmunks finding some treasure behind a waterfall. Taking the
opportunity, Zoe kidnaps Jeanette and forces her to get all the treasure, since
she is small enough to reach it. Eventually, Alvin and Dave come to the rescue,
causing Zoe to lose hold of Jeanette and the treasure.
While Alvin leads
Jeanette out of harm's way, Dave trips over a log bridge due to an imminent
volcanic explosion, hanging for dear life. It was then an infuriated Zoe,
determined to get revenge on him for losing the treasure, forces him to let go,
but luckily, Ian comes to the rescue, explaining her of his rivalry with Dave
and the Chipmunks that cost him his career and that getting back at Dave will
not get her what she wants. He convinces her to do the right thing, which Zoe
finally does. She eventually escapes the island along with Dave, Ian, and the
Chipmunks on raft as the volcano starts to erupt. As the survivors are safely
ahead from the eruption, Zoe apologizes to Jeanette for kidnapping her, and in
return, Jeanette hands her the gold tiara that Simon found in the waterfall.
She is played by former SNL actress Jenny Slate.
