Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel 2009

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: Whatever slim charms there were in the nostalgic, musically cute and slapstick-friendly first film of chipmunk mania are squished right out of The Squeakquel like so much rodent roadkill. Read more

Mary F. Pols, MSN Movies: There are worse forms of torture. Read more

Neil Genzlinger, New York Times: The earlier Alvin movie made more than $217 million just in the United States. It's hard to imagine this somewhat confused sequel doing as well. Read more

Karina Longworth, Time Out: Blending CGI and live action, this "squeakquel" to the witless 2007 kids' film proves just how dangerous such technology is when placed in the wrong hands. Read more

Nathan Rabin, AV Club: Betty Thomas delivers pretty much the bare minimum: peppy, brightly colored, tune-filled nonsense sure to meet the low, low standards of its pre-kindergarten core audience. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: Whatever limited charms the first version had -- mostly David Cross' portrayal of Ian, the greedy manager who exploits the furry creatures -- have since soured. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: Little kids will love it. You'll need a hazmat suit. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: Will kids eat up this cutely fractious claptrap? Of course they will. They'll eat up whatever you put in front of them. But that doesn't make The Squeakquel good for them. Read more

Eric D. Snider, Film.com: Being aimed at children isn't a valid excuse for a movie to be simple-minded and illogical. You know that, right? Read more

Glenn Whipp, Associated Press: Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel offers exactly two big laughs for its kiddo target audience -- one involves passing gas, the other a shot to the crotch. Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: Thomas brings a light campy touch as she did in 1995's The Brady Bunch Movie. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: The slapstick required of everyone, animals or not, will exhaust even parents who remember the Chipmunks' original hits. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: It's far from the most unpleasant kiddie flick I've sat through this year, although I would be misleading you if I promised you lots of laughs. Read more

David Hiltbrand, Philadelphia Inquirer: The whole thing is rather insipid. But Thomas makes it smoother and more palatable than it deserves to be. Read more

Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle: Despite its success as a babysitter for preschoolers, it's a not a very good film. Read more

Charles Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: If the Chipmunks don't make you smile, you're nuts. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: Every time an adult ended up in traction or broke wind, the three-year-olds in the audience were freshly ecstatic. Read more

Linda Barnard, Toronto Star: It's one that will keep little moviegoers happy without driving their parents too squirrelly. Read more

Derek Adams, Time Out: What we're offered is a succession of lifeless scenes punctuated by pratfalls that only a handful of kids in the audience found funny. Next. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: It seems as if no professional actors were hired in the making of this motion picture. Read more

Joe Leydon, Variety: A frenetic but undeniably funny follow-up that offers twice the number of singing-and-dancing rodents in another seamless blend of CGI and live-action elements. Read more

Ella Taylor, Village Voice: It's not entirely Thomas's fault: What are you going to do with those fat-cheeked, helium-voiced singing critters but slap together enough "awwww" moments to make the toddlers happy and enough knowing winks to keep parental bums in the seats? Read more

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: At one point, Cross's character takes a full-frontal hit in the groin from an errant toy motorcycle. Read more