Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Second Part

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Second Part (also commonly referred to as Alvin and the Chipmunks 2) is a 2022 American computer-animated musical action-comedy film produced by Janice Karman and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Bagdasarian_Jr. Ross Bagdasarian Jr.] and is based on the musical characters created by Ross Bagdasarian. Produced by 20th Century Animation, Regency Enterprises, Bagdasarian Productions and Buddy Studios (through Buddy Animation, with animation supervised by Rhythm & Hues Entertainment) and distributed by 20th Century Studios and Buddy Studios, it is the 2nd film in the Alvin and the Chipmunks film series and it is a remake of Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (2009).

Based on the original Alvin and the Chipmunks film series, the film is directed by Tim Hill and written by Jon Vitti. The film stars Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler, Jesse McCartney, Christina Applegate, Anna Faris, Kaley Cuoco, Patton Oswalt, David Cross and Jason Lee.

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Second Part premiered at the Regency Village Theater on April 15, 2022 and was theatrically released in the United States on May 9, and internationally on May 16. The film received mostly positive reviews, with critics praising its hyper-realistic CG animation, humor, voice cast (particularly Long, Gubler, McCartney, Applegate, Faris, Cuoco, Oswalt, Cross and Lee), its soundtrack and its plot. The film was also a box office success, grossing $1.823 billion worldwide against a $300 million budget, becoming the highest-grossing film of 2022 (in front of Top Gun: Maverick) and the highest-grossing animated film of 2022. Buddy Studios, the co-producer and co-distributor of the film, declared the film as one of its highest-grossing films from the studio itself, and said it's one of their highest-grossing films of 2022.

Plot
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Voice cast

 * Justin Long as Alvin Seville (voice)
 * Ross Bagdasarian Jr. as Alvin Seville (singing voice)
 * Christina Applegate as Brittany (voice)
 * Janice Karman as Brittany (singing voice)
 * Matthew Gray Gubler as Simon Seville (voice)
 * Steve Vining as Simon Seville (singing voice)
 * Anna Faris as Jeanette (voice)
 * Janice Karman as Jeanette (singing voice)
 * Jesse McCartney as Theodore Seville (voice)
 * Janice Karman as Theodore Seville (singing voice)
 * Kaley Cuoco as Eleanor (voice)
 * Janice Karman as Eleanor (singing voice)
 * Patton Oswalt as Toby Seville
 * David Cross as Ian Hawke
 * Jason Lee as Dave Seville
 * Rachel Bloom as Dr. Rubin
 * Justina Machado as Julie Ortega
 * Utkarsh Ambudkar as Nick Richards
 * Ed O'Neill as Victor Moore
 * Sarah Silverman as Paul Johnston
 * Rachael Harris as Jennifer Musker
 * Jane Lynch as Emliy Buck
 * Jason Bateman as Jared Sanders
 * Joan Cusack as Aunt Jackie Seville

Cameos

 * Chris Pratt as himself
 * Tom Holland as himself
 * One Direction as themselves
 * Andy Samberg as Dale (voice)
 * Bill Hader as Flint Lockwood (voice/archived footage)
 * Will Arnett as Surly (voice/archived footage)

Differences from Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (2009)

 * Difference 1: Unlike the original 2009 sequel, The Squeakquel, which was a combination of live action and computer animation, The Second Part was animated entirely in hyper-realistic computer animation by Rhythm & Hues.
 * Difference 2: Instead of being directed by Betty Thomas, the film was directed by Tim Hill.
 * Difference 3: Multiple plot changes were implemented while writing the new plot for The Second Part, including consistency.
 * Difference 4: It was not monitored by American Humane, unlike the 2009 film.
 * Difference 5: The JETT Records headquarters is in the same location, being in Los Angeles, though the headquarters is modified.
 * Difference 6: Instead of the high school being West Eastman like in the 2009 film, it is instead the Burbank High School in Burbank, California.
 * Difference 7: Noticeable character development is seen in many scenes.

Development
Director Tim Hill announced in April 2019 that a sequel was in the works. Writer Jon Vitti and producers Janice Karman and Ross Bagdasarian Jr. began writing the plot. The writing of the storyboard for the plot took multiple weeks to come up with a consistent storyline, until eventually, Vitti, Karman and Bagdasarian Jr. settled on a plot for the film.

Casting
Casting for the sequel went underway at Abbey Road Studios in London, England. Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler and Jesse McCartney reprise their roles as the musical trio Alvin (Long), Simon (Gubler) and Theodore (McCartney). Jason Lee and David Cross also reprise their roles as David "Dave" Seville (Lee) and Ian Hawke (Cross).

Animation
The animation was produced at 20th Century Animation and Buddy Animation, with animation produced originally by Rhythm & Hues Studios, until its operations were ceased in November 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in February 2021, Buddy Studios acquired Rhythm & Hues Studios for AU$25 billion and rebranded the company to Rhythm & Hues, now operating as Rhythm & Hues Entertainment.

The animation and visual effects were produced by R&H Entertainment, which uses hyper-realistic computer-animated imagery. The animation process took over 6,400+ hours with its 600 employees. Complex shots took longer other than normal CG shots. Normal terrain and casual shots took 90 hours to animate, while complex shots, e.g. explosions or dust flying around, took over 145 hours to animate.

Music
Mark Mothersbaugh composed the music for the film, as he did for Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (2011), Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip (2015) and Alvin and the Chipmunks (2018), with additional music by Imagine Dragons and Coldplay.

Soundtrack
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Track listing
(*) - denotes original song

Theatrical release
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Second Part premiered at the Regency Village Theater on April 15, 2022 and was theatrically released on May 9 in the United States by 20th Century Studios and his co-distributor, Buddy Studios. The film was presented in a 1.85:1 format. The film was rated PG by the Motion Picture Association for mild violence and rude humor.

Marketing
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Home media
The film will release on Digital on July 8 and Blu-Ray and DVD on July 16, 2022 by 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment and Buddy Home Entertainment. The DVD and Blu-Ray will contain the deleted scenes, the 14-minute featurette, the behind-the-scenes of Alvin And The Chipmunks: The Second Part, featuring interviews with most of the principal cast and crew, animatics, a pilot episode, the audio commentaries and a teaser for the sequel Alvin and the Chipmunks: Stranded Island (2024).

Box office
As of July 5, 2022, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Second Part has grossed $718.9 million in the United States and Canada and $1.115 billion in other territories for a worldwide total of $1.823 billion, making it the current highest-grossing film of 2022 and the highest-grossing animated film of 2022. The film topped the box office charts as the #1 film of 2022.

Critical response
The film was opened to critical acclaim. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reports an approval rating of 98% based on 108 critic reviews, with an average rating of 7.6 out of 10. Its critical consensus reads "Charming, ethnic and breathtakingly amusing, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Second Part proves its creativity and breathtaking animation from 20th Century Studios and shows that the team has learnt from the mistakes and delivers what is considered to be a cinematic masterpiece." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, reports a rating of 81 out of 100, indicating universal acclaim. Audiences polled by CinemaScore assigned the film a rare grade of "A+", on its A+ to F scale.

Main Transcript
Main article: Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Second Part/Transcript

Trailer Transcripts
Main article: Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Second Part/Trailer transcripts

Credits
Main article: Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Second Part/Credits

Sequels
Main article: Alvin And The Chipmunks (franchise)

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Trivia
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