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SCMP Reporter

Three singing chipmunks provide  festive fun for the whole family
Almost  50 years ago, three singing chipmunks  changed the fortunes of a family. And they will be back this Christmas, bringing music, joy and humour  to the viewers during the festive season.
A part live action and part computer-animated film, Alvin and the Chipmunks will open on December 13.
It all started in the 1950s when Ross Bagdasarian, Sr, an American songwriter/actor, made  some recordings titled  David Seville and the Chipmunks.
He provided all the voices by speeding up the playback to create a squeaky voice. It became so popular, he decided to give the fictional characters life in an animated show in 1958.
'Before the Chipmunks, we had just US$200 to our name. And when I say our name, I mean my dad, my mum and the three children with a mortgage to pay,' says Ross Bagdasarian, Jr.
Bagdasarian, along with his wife Janice Karman, has been providing the voices for the Chipmunks since his father passed away aged 52 in 1972.
'My dad, being an incredibly crazy, funny, 'take-a-chance' kind of guy, took US$190 of the US$200 and spent it on the latest state-of-the-art tape recorder that allowed him to switch speeds. And it turned out to be a great investment,' he says.
The new movie begins with David Seville (Bagdasarian's stage name), an aspiring  singer-songwriter who hates his marketing job,  meeting the Chipmunks - Alvin, Simon and Theodore. They achieve stardom  after the man and the cheeky animals  form a music group.
So why did Bagdasarian's dad choose chipmunks instead of another animal?
One day, a tiny chipmunk had jumped in front of his dad's car while he was driving through Yosemite National Park, Bagdasarian says.
'He was amused by the audacity of that  tiny thing standing in the way [trying] to block him and his huge vehicle from moving along the road,' he says.
'My dad  practically fell out of the car howling with laughter and then he knew, 'Okay, they're going to be chipmunks'.'
Bagdasarian,  who provides the voice for Alvin in the movie, says he hopes the fun and music of the Chipmunks will be passed on for generations.
'Of course the Chipmunks changed our lives because we suddenly had money and got a swimming pool which was great because it was really hot where we lived,' he says.
'So, I loved the Chipmunks for that swimming pool - apart from everything else.'
When he was a kid, Bagdasarian says, he would listen to the songs created by his father.
'My brother, sister and I were huge fans. When my dad died, I didn't want the Chipmunks to pass away prematurely as my dad had,' he says.



Cheeky route to success