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A ministry of the ChildCare Action Project: Christian Analysis of American Culture (CAP Ministry) A 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Christian Ministry. www.capalert.com/ Entertainment Media Analysis Report A service to His little ones through you in His name by His Word MAR27069  (2007), PG [PG*] (1hr 26min) The #1 Christian entertainment media analysis service on the Internet. We give you OBJECTIVE tools NO ONE ELSE CAN to help YOU make an informed decision for yourself whether a film is fit for your family. Over 1200 analyses for parents, grandparents, pastors, youth leaders and more. |
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(While the Scriptural references are certainly not subjective, my commentary may be and sometimes is somewhat subjective.)
 Cast/Crew Details Courtesy Internet Movie Database Production (US): Bagdasarian Productions, Fox 2000 Pictures, Regency Enterprises Distribution (US): Twentieth Century Fox Animation Director(s): Tim Hill Producer(s): Ross Bagdasarian Jr.. Michele Imperato, Janice Karman, Michele Panelli-Venetis, Karen Rosenfelt, Steve Waterman Screenplay by: Jon Vitti, Will McRobb, Chris Viscardi Story: Jon Vitti Characters: Ross Bagdasarian Cinematography/Camera: Peter Lyons Collister Music: Christopher Lennertz Film Editing: Peter E. Berger Casting: Mindy Marin Production Design: Richard Holland Art Direction: Charles Daboub Jr. Viewed At: Driftwood Theater 6 The original "David Seville" Ross Bagdasarian started the phenomenon of inhaling helium to create the Chipmunks. This time. Justin Long as Alvin, Jesse McCartney as Theodore and Matthew Gray Gubler as Simon provide the ultra-falsetto of the Chipmunks. But now I believe it is by speed of recorded voice playback that provide the screeching voices of the Chipmunks rather than helium. The story unfolds as the chipmunks, residents of the Sierra Lakes Tree Farm, get ousted from their pine home by Christmas tree harvesters. Yes, this is a Christmastime story but Christ is not to be found anywhere in it. Next the boys find themselves in the big city. Ending up in someone's basket of goodies, the boys make their unintended way to the condo of David Seville (Jason Lee). David is a struggling songwriter living by himself. David's latest project has just been trashed by his recording agent, Ian Hawke (David Cross) of Jet Records. Being not house trained the boys make a shambles of David's condo. But soon David discovers the boys can sing! Ian agrees that the boys can make a hit. Not long after their first syncopated contrapuntal composition the boys rocket into stardom. ... and into the turmoil and moral corruption Hollywood typically associates with stardom, all at the hands of Hawke's greed. Soon the boys find themselves angry, fed up and irritable, trying lip synching to substitute for lost/failing voices. Like many other "kids" films, Alvin and the Chipmunks is rife with crude, toilet humor. So much so the Impudence/Hate investigation area found the most morally challenging programming, causing the lowest investigation area score of 34. That score makes this film equivalent in magnitude to a few R-rated films in Impudence/Hate, not at all because of the intensity of the items of crude/rudeness but because of the number and frequency of them: 17 yielding a rate of 11.9 per hour. See our CAP Rule of 1000 for more information on this Hollywood loading technique. Please see the individual investigation area discussions below for a deeper discussion of the content found by the Impudence/Hate investigation area and the other five investigation areas. Wanton Violence/Crime (W) Some slapstick violence and one episode of physical abuse were the only items of violence noted. An episode of petty theft added one more scoring loss caused by the content found by Wanton Violence/Crime. Impudence/Hate (I) As noted above, this investigation area is loaded with examples of rudeness and crudeness, kiddie-style: innuendo; lies; tantrum; flatulence; manure eating; deification; deceit; coaching to cheat and more. [Eph. 5:4, 2 Tim. 2:16 - 17] Sexual Immorality (S) This film is rather lite on sexually immoral behavior and imagery, but still there is some: cartoon nudity; attention to posterior; below navel skin; a woman as a toy or possession and excessive cleavage. [Rom. 13:13] Drugs/Alcohol (D) Unfortunately, Alvin and the Chipmunks presents alcoholic beverages and drinking of them. Though the examples be, for example dinner wine, they are examples of "adult" behaviors verboten to children. This in and of itself makes them desirable to children. And if you don't believe that, argue with the American College of Physicians. A study by the American College of Physicians (ACP) revealed that adolescent exposure to drinking and smoking in and as entertainment leads to undeniable abuse of alcohol among kids. The finding entitled Relation Between Parental Restrictions on Movies and Adolescent Use of Tobacco and Alcohol reports that of 4544 youths from grades 5 through 8 of fifteen Vermont and New Hampshire middle schools (90% were under fourteen years old) only 16% were completely restricted from viewing R-rated movies. The researchers selected R-rated movies because they assumed R-rated movies typically present more drinking than movies of other classifications. This assumption is no longer true. The researchers were not aware of the matter of "R-13" proven by this ministry (see R-13) and four years after us by Harvard University scientists (see Harvard Agrees With Us). Within the ACP study population, the prevalence of having tried alcohol without parental knowledge was Rather revealing of the influences of the entertainment industry wouldn't you say? And emboldening children to sin with drink in and as entertainment screams of violating Luke 17:2. Even the University of Connecticut corroborates our finding and that of the ACP. [Eph. 5:18] The bottom line? The focus is the influence of adolescent exposure to drinking (and smoking) in and as entertainment is undeniable regardless of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) classification. [Eph. 5:18] Offense to God (O) Since there is no Christ in the Christmas of this film, it stands to reason no one involved in its making appears to have a problem with using God's name in vain. Four times though without the four letter expletive. [Duet. 5:11] Murder/Suicide (M) There were no murders or suicides noted in the entire 86 minutes of the film. SCRIPTURAL APPLICATION(S) If needed to focus or fortify, applicable text is underlined or bracketed [ ] or bold. If you wish to have full context available, the Blue Letter Bible is a convenient source. If you use the Blue Letter Bible, a new window will open. Close it to return here or use "Window" in your browser's menu bar to alternate between the CAP page and the Blue Letter Bible page. CHAPTER/VERSE ***Selected Scriptures of Armour against the influence of the entertainment industry*** As always, it is best to refer to the Findings/Scoring section -- the heart of the CAP analysis model -- for the most complete assessment possible of this movie. |
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 Wanton Violence/Crime (W) Impudence/Hate (I) Sexual Immorality (S) Drugs/Alcohol (D) Offense to God (O) Murder/Suicide (M) |
| There are some in the entertainment industry who maintain that 1) violent programming is harmless because no studies exist that prove a connection between violent entertainment and aggressive behavior in children, and 2) young people know that television, movies, and video games are simply fantasy. Unfortunately, they are wrong on both accounts." And "Viewing violence may lead to real life violence." I applaud these associations for fortifying 1 Cor. 15:33. Read the rest of the story. From our years of study, I contend that other aberrant behaviors, attitudes, and expressions can be inserted in place of "violence" in that statement. Our Director - Child Psychology Support, a licensed psychologist and certified school psychologist concurs. For example, "Viewing arrogance against fair authority may lead to your kids defying you in real life." Or "Viewing sex may lead to sex in real life." Likewise and especially with impudence, hate and foul language. I further contend that any positive behavior can be inserted in place of "violence" with the same chance or likelihood of being a behavior template for the observer; of being incorporated into the behavior mechanics and/or coping skills of the observer. In choosing your entertainment, please consider carefully the "rest of the story" and our findings. |
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