Why Backstory and Consistency are Essential (an analysis of Alvin and the Chipmunks)

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[00:00:05]Alvin [music] and the Chipmunks has been around since 1958.

[00:00:09]Although many people mistakenly [music] believe that the characters were created for the live-action movies.

[00:00:16]The characters [music] have changed many times throughout the years and the version of the characters [music] you saw on screens just a few years ago are very different from the characters from past decades.

[00:00:28]But how are these characters different and [music] why are they different?

[00:00:33]Let's see if we can answer these questions by going through every iteration [music] of the characters to see how they've changed.

[00:00:48]Before we talk about the Chipmunks, we need to talk about their creator, Ross Bagdasarian Sr.

[00:00:54]He was a pianist and a musician who decided to follow [music] his dreams of entering the music industry after struggling for several years with his vineyard. Although he produced hit songs for several artists, such as Rosemary Clooney's Come House, a song that Rosemary herself hated, and Dean Martin's Hey, Brother, Pour the Wine, his most successful and well-known work came from the 1958 songs >> [music] >> Witch Doctor and The Chipmunk Song, Christmas, Don't Be Late.

[00:01:26]One thing that I want to point out, however, is the theme of moral conflicts present in some of his songs.

[00:01:32]Specifically, Oh, Judge, Your Honor, Dear Sir, Sweetheart [music] and Scallywags and Sinners deal with morality and trying [music] to stay on the straight and narrow. In the former song, the singer pleads with the judge [music] to pardon his crimes as they were merely honest mistakes made in a confusing world.

[00:01:53]In the latter song, the singer begs [music] sinners to turn back to the straight and narrow path. These songs are delightful numbers, >> [music] >> and I feel like they make a good base for David Seville as a character.

[00:02:05]Given that this version of Dave is meant to be Ross Bagdasarian [music] Sr.

[00:02:09]himself, we can assume that these songs are also Dave's.

[00:02:14]The culture of the 1950s was [music] very different than it is today.

[00:02:18]Kids were expected to respect authority without asking questions.

[00:02:23]Obviously, a kid like Alvin that constantly questions authority figures would [music] make for a good contrast to a moral man like Dave.

[00:02:31]Granted, Alvin never wants to do anything bad or immoral. He just wants to do things his own way. The conflicts [music] between Dave and Alvin during the '50s and '60s are very simple. For example, Alvin wanting to read a comic book [music] or listen to records when they're supposed to be rehearsing or performing. Alvin often asks Dave why.

[00:02:53]It's a very simple [music] premise, but it's a simple show. It doesn't need to be complicated.

[00:02:59]Similarly, the Chipmunks aren't given a backstory, nor is Dave. There's no explanation as to how Dave took the Chipmunks [music] into his care. They've just always been there.

[00:03:10]In 1972, [music] Ross Bagdasarian Sr. passed away after suffering a heart attack.

[00:03:16]He willed [music] the rights to the Chipmunks to his family. After graduating from law school, Ross Bagdasarian Jr. and Janice Karman began working on the Chipmunks.

[00:03:27]>> [snorts] >> Unfortunately, it wasn't as easy as they thought it would be.

[00:03:31]Eventually, thanks to a disc [music] jockey playing a joke on early morning listeners, the public regained interest in the Chipmunks. This led to the album Chipmunk Punk, released in 1980. [music] And what followed was a whole new era of the franchise.

[00:04:01]>> After the success of Chipmunk Punk, several more albums were released along with a television special in 1981 called A Chipmunk Christmas. [laughter] This served as a pilot of sorts for the Saturday morning cartoon that followed after this.

[00:04:17]Unlike the '60s series [music] where the characters' backstories weren't even questioned, this show sought to provide answers to some very important questions, [music] such as how Dave took the Chipmunks into his care.

[00:04:30]In this continuity, the Chipmunks were left on Dave's doorstep by their mother, Vinnie, who couldn't care for them due to a lack of food and terrible winter weather.

[00:04:40]Although the other forest animals were leaving to find a better place to live, the baby boys wouldn't have survived the journey, so Vinnie [music] left them with Dave, hoping that he would care for them.

[00:04:52]Although Dave took them in, the boys were left with little explanation as to why their mother abandoned them.

[00:04:59]Alvin in particular [music] is affected heavily by this lack of information.

[00:05:04]He wonders why she left them in the first place and has a difficult time accepting her as his mother when they find her in the special A Chipmunk Reunion.

[00:05:13]When the boys suggest Vinnie come live with them and Dave in the city, she declines as she doesn't know anything about modern living.

[00:05:21]She suggests the boys stay with her, but this angers Alvin, who responds with, "And leave Dave? We don't just abandon people we love. If you really loved us, you'd come home with us."

[00:05:35]He associates love [music] and care with physical presence.

[00:05:39]This fear of abandonment is why he's so eager to be surrounded by people that admire him.

[00:05:45]It's also where the motivation for a lot of his crazy schemes to boost his and his brothers popularity come from.

[00:05:52]Although it's rarely stated [music] directly in the episodes themselves.

[00:05:56]He's afraid that if people leave him, it means they don't love him.

[00:06:00]This is why he's so angry when other people steal the spotlight.

[00:06:04]>> [music] >> Such as when Brittany barely promotes the Chipmunks during the cruise in Island Fever or when Simon transforms into Mr. Heartthrob to win the Heartthrob of the Year award instead of Alvin himself.

[00:06:16]This is also why he reacts to [music] the death of his cat Cookie Chomple the Third with anger and takes all the plants out of the house. He wants nothing that can die on him again.

[00:06:28]The thought of losing anyone breaks his heart.

[00:06:31]He has similar anguish with Simon running away in Good Old Simon, Dave losing his memory in Too Hip to Be Dave, [music] and Brittany's curse in The Legend of Sleeping Brittany. The thought of losing those he loves is too hard for him to handle.

[00:06:46]Simon and Theodore get quite a bit of [music] character development as well, though it's not as clearly rooted in their backstory as [music] Alvin's is.

[00:06:54]Simon struggles with being perceived as dull and boring, specifically in episodes like Good Old Simon [music] and The Brunch Club. He wants to be seen as more than just a nerdy smart kid. In the former episode, he uses his geography skills [music] to steer the ship he stowed away on back to shore when the captain [music] gets trapped in the cabin and there's nobody steer the ship.

[00:07:17]In the latter [music] episode, Simon goes to the art studio instead of the science lab like he was supposed to in order to work on an art project. Quote, "I want the world to know I'm not [music] just a dull egghead. I'm going to uncover the new Simon Seville, the exciting, captivating, [music] artistic giant."

[00:07:37]He also uses Jell-O to make [music] an unbreakable statue to replace the one that got broken by the kids accidentally. [music] Theodore is known for his love of food and there are episodes that focus on his struggles with eating such as the aforementioned Brunch Club where the Chipettes threaten him with educational [music] health films to get him to confess to knocking over the statue and he later confesses to sneaking off to the boys locker room to make [music] a steam bath in an attempt to lose weight.

[00:08:07]However, there are also episodes that focus on [music] other aspects of his character such as his kindness towards others like in Loco [music] the Chipmunks, Theodore and Juliet, Dave's Wonderful Life, and Dr. Simon and Mr. Heartthrob, as well as his love of animals such as [music] in All Worked Up and Thinking Cap Trap.

[00:08:27]He's a lot more than just a foodie.

[00:08:28][music] He's frequently the peacemaker of the group such as in the aforementioned Brunch Club where he overrules Alvin's objection [music] stating, "I allow hugging in my court."

[00:08:43]Moving on to the Chipettes, they have quite a tragic backstory.

[00:08:48]Back in Australia, the girls were originally taken care of as babies by an orphan girl named Olivia. [music] When the orphanage matron discovered their singing abilities, she kidnapped them and told Olivia they had run away.

[00:09:01]Inspired by Olivia's tales of freedom, Brittany decides they should go to America.

[00:09:07]The girls escape the orphanage and stowaway on a cargo ship to New York.

[00:09:11]Unfortunately, America isn't quite what the girls expected and they struggle to find work eventually landing a job at a restaurant.

[00:09:20]The girls stay there for several years still homeless until Brittany spots an ad in the news looking for singers to perform at a hotel in California.

[00:09:30]The girls travel across the country on the luggage rack of a crowded bus with only $4 in order to get there.

[00:09:37]They are only able to land the job as performers after they chase down the hotel manager when he initially rejects them and leaves [music] the building, leading to them performing on top of his car when he's stalled in traffic.

[00:09:50]This hotel gig leads to them meeting the Chipmunks as that's the name the girls took on when they began their professional [music] careers.

[00:09:58]Obviously, this caused confusion for both the real Chipmunks and the audience, but it was eventually worked out and the girls were given their new official stage name, the Chipettes.

[00:10:09]Having lived on their own for most of their lives, the girls struggle to adapt to living with the [music] parent when they are adopted by Miss Miller in the season 4 premiere episode, Help Wanted Mommy.

[00:10:21]Brittany takes this the hardest as she's not used to taking orders from others outside of working at a restaurant, I guess.

[00:10:29]This is most notable in Cinderella Cinderella where she is forced by Miss Miller to stay home and clean the kitchen [music] like she was asked instead of going dress shopping with her sisters.

[00:10:40]She struggles with accepting other people's advice and guidance such as in a Chipmunk Reunion, The Chipmunk Adventure, Quarterback in Curlers, and the aforementioned The Legend of Sleeping Brittany.

[00:10:52]To her credit though, if I'd had to rely on my own judgment and work a menial job for most of my babyhood, toddlerhood, and early childhood, I probably wouldn't believe in curses either.

[00:11:05]The only curse she probably believes in is the curse of poverty.

[00:11:10]Jeanette and Eleanor have a much easier time adjusting to normal life, but they still find it frustrating when Miss Miller unintentionally prevents them from doing things they want to do.

[00:11:21]Going back to Help Wanted Mommy, Miss Miller is ridiculously overprotective of the girls despite the fact that they've been cooking food and giving it to paying customers no less since they were toddlers.

[00:11:33]Episodes like Hearts and Flowers [music] show the differences the girls and Miss Miller have and how they spend their time.

[00:11:40]It's clear, however, that they truly care for Miss Miller despite their differences. Although Jeanette and Eleanor don't get as much [music] character development as Brittany on an individual level, they still have their own moments to shine, such as in [music] My Fair Chipette when Jeanette confesses in front of a whole audience and panel of [music] judges that she's not beauty queen material, which to her surprise earns her the title of Miss Wonderful and learns to be herself.

[00:12:07]Jeanette probably gets the least character development of the kids, unfortunately, but it's a nice moment.

[00:12:14]Eleanor enjoys sports despite her heavier physique and challenges Alvin when he threatens to quit his soccer team once Dave allows Eleanor to join.

[00:12:23]Eleanor reasons with Alvin and the two compete to see whether Alvin will stay on the team or Eleanor will leave.

[00:12:30]Eleanor is also quite motherly, tending to the baby [music] penguin in The Chipmunk Adventure, and level-headed.

[00:12:37]Although kind, she does get frustrated by Brittany's actions on occasion, such as in Sisters and Going [music] Down to Dixie.

[00:12:49]Miss Miller, as mentioned previously, gets some interesting developments. She struggles with feeling worthless or unsuccessful, especially since [music] she used to be a famous vaudeville performer.

[00:13:02]This is shown in episodes like Miss Miller's Big Gamble and Queen of the High School Ballroom.

[00:13:08]She never married or had kids of her own, so she's frequently lonely.

[00:13:13]This is why she longs to spend the whole summer with the Chipettes in Hearts and Flowers, much to the girls' chagrin.

[00:13:20]As for Dave, this version of him is much more fatherly than the '60s version. He frequently talks to the [music] boys about their problems, especially in season 7, my personal favorite season.

[00:13:32]He still gets angry and yells at Alvin like in the '60s, but it decreases in [music] frequency as the show goes on.

[00:13:39]Dave feels much more like an equal to the boys in later seasons as well, and struggles to be the best father that he can be.

[00:13:48]That seems to be his strongest desire in the later episodes.

[00:13:51]For example, in The Phantom, he realizes how much his boys [music] miss him when he's too tired to be a major part of their lives, which leads to him quitting his secret job as a heavy metal musician.

[00:14:03]In Dave's Wonderful Life, he worries about how he's disappointed the [music] boys and ruined their summer, feeling that he's failed them as a father.

[00:14:12]We learn how Dave decided to become a songwriter in the 1994 special A Chipmunk Celebration, where he struggled to remember the words of a song he was performing as a child, [music] and made up some new words on the spot instead. Dave encourages the Chipmunks to give a chance to their new roles that have been given to them in the school play, which are out of their comfort zone, before they reject them outright.

[00:14:35]This is yet another example [music] of Dave trying to help the boys be the best that they can be.

[00:14:51]In the live-action films, the characters are completely reworked for a new era.

[00:14:57]According to Simon, when you're a chipmunk, your parents take care of you for a week, then take off.

[00:15:04]The Chipmunks' parents, according to Alvin, were hippies. They left early to join a commune.

[00:15:11]>> [music] >> The boys seem more bothered by their struggles to survive and collect food for the winter than their parents' absence.

[00:15:18]This begs the question, if [music] they could care less about their own parents, why do they care so much about Dave, whom they clearly want to befriend and [music] treat as a father figure?

[00:15:30]Dave is not accepting of them at first, and it [music] isn't until they are off with Ian that he realizes he misses them.

[00:15:38]Speaking of [music] Dave, he's characterized in this series, at least the first movie, [music] as a former goofball that wants to turn his life around and believes the Chipmunks [music] are preventing that from happening.

[00:15:51]A series of deleted scenes show that he works at an advertising [music] company, but dreams of being a songwriter.

[00:15:58]The concept of Dave [music] wanting to follow his dreams seems to have been inspired by Ross Bagdasarian Sr.'s real life, although Ross grew [music] grapes instead of working in advertising.

[00:16:09]Although I like the idea, [music] I don't think it was executed as well as it could have been.

[00:16:14]The absence of these deleted scenes [music] make the final movie feel confusing. A lot of people believe that Dave's job is as a songwriter, when in reality, it's just the job he wants, not the job he has at the beginning of the film. It also makes the meeting at the advertising firm, not to mention the poop joke later in the film, feel totally random and unnecessary [music] because we don't have the context needed for the story to make sense.

[00:16:43]The scenes were probably [music] deleted because it was too much time away from the Chipmunks, but they really would have cleared a lot of things up.

[00:16:52]Moving on to the Chipettes, their backstory [music] is also rewritten.

[00:16:56]They apparently lived in some sort of small town.

[00:17:00]Whether it was a town of Chipmunks [music] or a town of humans is unclear, as Ian cuts them off when they try to tell him [music] their backstory.

[00:17:08]In any case, they mailed themselves to Ian in the hopes that he would make them stars just like the Chipmunks.

[00:17:14]Unlike the '80s series, they obviously know about [music] the boys' existence.

[00:17:19]As a result, they are called the Chipettes from the very beginning.

[00:17:23]It's still not explained where the [music] name came from, though.

[00:17:26]The girls are written to be a bit more naive than in the 80s. Brittany's characterization in particular [music] gets watered down, to put it lightly.

[00:17:35]She has no hint [music] of bitterness and is far less self-absorbed.

[00:17:40]Eleanor also gets this [music] treatment, having less of a serious and no-nonsense demeanor. And the result feels more like Theodore, but less naive.

[00:17:50]The little giggle that Amy Poehler gives her is cute, but it doesn't really feel like Eleanor so much as it does girl Theodore.

[00:18:07]The CG animated series didn't [music] really improve in the backstory category. The only hints we get at the characters' backstories [music] are verbal statements that have little to no impact on the episodes they appear in, let alone the series in general.

[00:18:23]>> [snorts] >> Now, just because a show doesn't have continuity, [music] doesn't mean it's bad.

[00:18:28]However, when I watched the show, I felt that many of the episodes left me asking, "What was the point of this?"

[00:18:36]Not in the sense of what morals are being taught, but rather why the morals were taught with [music] these specific stories. Or, to be more accurate, generic stories. [music] Any show can tell a story about a nerdy kid being bullied.

[00:18:51]Any show can tell a story about being environmentally [music] friendly.

[00:18:56]But the problem here is that the writers didn't do a good job at showing why these things matter [music] to the characters outside of a given episode.

[00:19:06]See, the lack of backstory and its effect [music] on the characters in the show makes the show feel less personal.

[00:19:14]We don't understand why [music] the characters want what they want on an individual level. For example, >> [music] >> in one episode, Alvin states, "I just want to be loved by everyone."

[00:19:25]But we never get a long-term answer as to why Alvin wants to be loved [music] by people.

[00:19:31]The '80s series, on the other hand, gave us an answer for that, [music] and they showed Alvin's desire through his actions, not his words, which I personally believe is more powerful and impactful.

[00:19:45]Another problem is the lack of consistency.

[00:19:48]>> [music] >> The best way for me to explain this is with an analogy.

[00:19:52]Imagine this.

[00:19:54]>> [music] >> You buy a brand new shirt online and are super excited for it to arrive.

[00:19:59]You can't wait to try it on in person and show it off to your family and friends. It's going to be your new favorite shirt. It's going to fit perfectly. It's going to be comfortable and look really cool. Your shirt finally arrives in the mail, and it's the wrong size. So, what do you do?

[00:20:18]Well, you could return the shirt and exchange [music] it for the correct size.

[00:20:23]Or, if you can't return it, you could get a refund on your order and buy a new one that is the [music] correct size and give the first shirt to someone it will fit.

[00:20:33]You could even have the shirt altered to fit you [music] if you or anyone you know can sew, like me.

[00:20:40]You know what you probably wouldn't do, however? Try to gain or lose a bunch of weight to fit into it.

[00:20:46]Then you wouldn't be able to fit into any of your other clothes.

[00:20:50]It would be a waste of [music] time.

[00:20:52]It'd be much easier and make a lot more sense to get the correct size [music] shirt and give the shirt that doesn't fit to someone who can fit into it. The reason why I bring this up is because [music] this is how I view many of the stories in this show. Instead of writing stories that fit [music] the characters' specific likes, dislikes, beliefs, or actions, >> [music] >> the writers of the show will often write the characters to fit whatever moral or story they're trying [music] to tell.

[00:21:21]I'm glad the writers want to tell stories with inspirational and good morals for children, but writing the characters [music] to fit the plot of individual episodes doesn't work very well for [music] a series in the long run.

[00:21:35]It makes it difficult to define the characters >> [music] >> when you keep tweaking little details here and there to fit whatever story you're trying [music] to tell. I know it feels like I'm shaming this show, but I want to like it. It's just hard for me to like a show when the characters [music] feel inconsistent and well, too basic.

[00:21:56]Anyone could tell the stories [music] in this show, but I didn't just come here for anyone.

[00:22:02]I came here [music] for Alvin and the Chipmunks.

[00:22:05]So, why aren't we getting stories that are tailored to their individual [music] lives?

[00:22:10]Giving the characters backstories that matter and stay consistent makes them feel more real.

[00:22:17]But, because this show [music] treats its cast like stock characters, whether intentionally or not, [music] it makes them much harder to relate to.

[00:22:26]Why does Brittany like fashion?

[00:22:29]Why does Simon like creating different inventions and doing experiments?

[00:22:33]Why does Theodore like food?

[00:22:36]We don't get strong, rooted answers to these questions. [music] Even when we do, the writers will often just go back on that answer later.

[00:22:46]Think of the characters like a tree. The backstories are the roots that grew from the seeds, and the actions in the main show are the branches.

[00:22:56]We can't always see the roots, but they're there.

[00:22:59]The '80s series established strong, [music] firm roots for their characters that explained where each and every choice in life comes from. [music] The live-action films and CG animated series either didn't bother to establish those foundational [music] roots or didn't make them strong enough.

[00:23:19]As a result, the characters don't have deep [music] personal traits that make them feel real.

[00:23:26]I strongly believe that this is one of the biggest reasons why these modern pieces of media have failed to resonate with a good chunk of people, especially outside of the fandom.

[00:23:39]And thus lead a lot of people to treat the franchise more like a joke.

[00:23:52]Although there's no telling what the future holds, although there's a chance it could be another movie if the rumors are true.

[00:23:59]I know that if this franchise [music] wants to be the best it can possibly be, it needs to plant [music] the seeds of backstory firmly and establish those [music] roots deeply enough to support the stories the writers want to tell.

[00:24:15]They also need to make sure that the characters' actions stay consistent throughout the series.

[00:24:21]It doesn't make sense for [music] a branch of an apple tree to grow from the roots of an oak tree.

[00:24:27]Similarly, the characters' actions should be kept with the roots that have been established.

[00:24:34]Now, although I prefer the backstories and characterization of the 1980s, especially in regards to Alvin and Brittany, I'd be open to trying something new as long as it keeps the integrity of the characters, makes sense, and is established firmly through showing us >> [music] >> how the characters feel and how their past affects their present day actions instead of simply [music] telling us through brief and inconsequential dialogue.

[00:25:04]Going back to the '80s series, there are still several questions that were unanswered. Granted, they didn't need to tell us [music] everything, but it would have been nice to take a deeper, more introspective dive into their backstories.

[00:25:18]For example, where did the Chipettes [music] treehouse come from?

[00:25:22]Did they build it themselves? Are they embarrassed to live in a tree instead of a real house?

[00:25:27]>> [music] >> Do the girls resent things like little kids playing make-believe when they had to do things like work a 9-to-5 [music] job in order to survive at such a young age?

[00:25:37]Or how about Dave?

[00:25:39]I'd personally [music] like a deeper dive into Dave's struggles to raise his boys to be good people or Chipmunks and the worries that he has about them.

[00:25:48]These and many other questions are things that I'd like to see the next adaptation of this franchise [music] dive into.

[00:25:56]These are just some of the thoughts that I've had. If you couldn't tell, I like exploring [music] the deeper meaning behind things.

[00:26:03]I don't want to just settle for answers like, "That's just the way insert character here is."

[00:26:09]That doesn't tell me anything.

[00:26:11]Let me know what you think in the comments below.

[00:26:15]Thank you for watching this video. I apologize if I hurt [music] anyone's feelings. I know the modern pieces of media have a lot of fans and I want to like these [music] pieces of media, but it's really hard for me to get invested in the stories of these characters [music] when the writing is so surface-level.

[00:26:33]I want something deeper, but I know not everyone does. This is just my opinion.

[00:26:39]Speaking of [music] opinions, feel free to share yours.

[00:26:42]Have a great day.