Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel

Alvin, Simon and Theodore are chart-topping pop stars, but when their guardian Dave is hospitalized, the three chipmunks come under the care of his young adult nephew Toby. Their career takes a back seat when they are enrolled in school, where they must fit in with ordinary students and, more urgently, win a battle of the bands whose prize money could keep the school's music program alive. Their biggest obstacle turns out to be a rival group of singing chipmunks, the Chipettes, and the competition between the two trios soon takes on a personal dimension.

Betty Thomas directed the film, the seventh in the sequence of features she made, following The Brady Bunch Movie, Private Parts, Doctor Dolittle, 28 Days, I Spy and John Tucker Must Die. The screenplay is by Jon Vitti, Glenn Berger and Jonathan Aibel, with Ross Bagdasarian Jr. and Janice Karman producing. Zachary Levi plays Toby, David Cross returns as the manager Ian, and Jason Lee appears as Dave, while Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler and Jesse McCartney voice Alvin, Simon and Theodore.

Released in December 2009, the film was made for about 75 million dollars and took in roughly 443 million dollars worldwide, a strong return on its budget. Audience response has been modest: it holds 4.6 out of 10 on IMDb across some 60,000 votes and 5.7 out of 10 on TMDB from a smaller pool of voters, while the critics' rating stands at 4 out of 10 from 84 reviews, slightly below the IMDb figure.