Music has always been a very important part of The Chipmunks history, which is way throughout this series, you'd often hear the Chipmunks singing their own rendition of a popular song...
...a major feature in the 80's revival of a cartoon dating back to the late 1950s.
Alvin and the Chipmunks is not only an extension of a famous cartoon into the next generation, but generally a showcase of what life was like back in the 1980's. Back then, rock n' roll (as it was often called) served as the backbone of the American music industry. Usually, Alvin, with the help of Simon and Theodore, would take advantage of any given opportunity to get their 15 minutes of fame.
Of course, they sometimes find themselves competing with the Chipettes. These girl 'munks are the friends/rivals of the boy 'munks, and are a little more than a manifestation of politically-correct casting that was prominent during the 1980's.
When these six characters weren't caught up in get-rich-quick schemes, or jumping the popular bandwagon, they went thru what most middle-schoolers have trouble with; homework, peer pressure, crushes, family issues, friends, and so on.
I really enjoyed watching this show during the 1990's, because it gave me a clue as to what life was like during the 1980's. This was before HDTV, DVD's, and the Internet, and just when CD's, skateboards, and cellphones were introduced. Back then, they had Rubix Cubes, boom boxes, and hackeysacks, and stuff like Michael Jackson, the Care Bears, and Pac-Man were totally popular. Not all of these are seen in the show, but there are underlying messages of what was big at the time, and most of it brings back a lot of memories.
The spin-off movie was beautiful. All I'm waiting for now is for both the series and the movie to come out on DVD.
