The chipmunk adventure movie#
The chipmunk adventure series#

We had made a lot of money the last few years, but like idiots and put it back into the show in the hopes of improving it. I told Janice that we should make the film even if we had to finance it ourselves. Unfortunately, they would only give us enough to build a really nice doghouse. Because of the chipmunks television success Saturday morning, several studios were interested in financing a chipmunk movie.

Janice and I had spent three years building successful dog houses and now wanted to build some thing special. Now, the difference between Saturday morning animation and an animated feature is like the difference between a doghouse and the Taj Mahal.

The chipmunk adventure movie#

We decided to make an animated movie вЂ“ chipmunk adventure. We worked seven days a week but limited time and more limited money made it impossible to create the show you envision. My wife Janice Karman and I wrote most of the shows, performed all the major voices and wrote many of the songs. Permits first week and never lost its timeslot and had audiences of more than 10 million per week.

The chipmunk adventure series#

The TV series Alvin and the Chipmunks debuted on NBC in September 1983. If youвЂ™d like to learn more about the 1980s aniamtion scene (it has a lot of drama and changes), check these documentaries out: And thereвЂ™s this one song thatвЂ™s a real tear-jerker. ItвЂ™s a really great movie, youвЂ™ll see why if you watch it. As a parent, the movie still keeps my attention and I love it just as much as when I was little. She was addicted to watching The Chipmunk Adventure for a couple months this past summer. Is The Movie Even Good?ДЄnd IвЂ™m happy to say that our 2 year old daughter loves it. This was a great example of how life is so much dependant on chance. I would later find out that the same DVD is being sold on eBay for $100. And then, like deux ex machina, the DVD shown itself amongst the other DVDs. I wasnвЂ™t even looking for the movie.I just happen to be skimming through the ChildrenвЂ™s section for a DVD or two for our daughter. So it did okay, but it did not remotely get us our money back until many DVD sales later.вЂќДЇrustratingly the 1980s tv series is also unavailable for digital streaming and download), butВ I was lucky to find a 1998 issue of the original movie soundtrack on eBay for only $31, as well as the movie in mint DVD packaging for like $15 at Half Price Books in Orland Park. They spent less than $900,000 marketing the movie and including the prints and advertising. вЂњIt did well, but we didnвЂ™t, at least in that initial time, we didnвЂ™t get our money back in those days, вЂ™cause unfortunately we had signed on with a distributor that was going to put вЂXвЂ™ number of dollars into marketing and distribution. They wouldnвЂ™t start making money back until years later. By late 1986, production had fallen far behind schedule, and a shortage of time and money resulted in major cuts being made to the film. Their decision to work with several overseas studios led to major production delays. Here are the facts that I found-Janice and Ross decided to finance the project themselves, having generated so much revenue from the Alvin and the Chipmunks TV series.

The blog is long gone, but I stumbled upon it on YouTube, archived in video form by a fan: The Making Of The Chipmunk Adventure (30th Anniversary Special): The Agony And The Agony. (son of the creator of The Chipmunks) blogged about the nightmare he and his wife Janice Karman (the movieвЂ™s director) went through to get 1987вЂ™s The Chipmunk Adventure made. ThatвЂ™s because they have reached collectorвЂ™s item level. If the estimated ROI isnвЂ™t there, then youвЂ™ll only be able to find what your looking for on sites like eBay, but because of their sarcity youвЂ™ll see that those hard-to-ger movies will be priced quite high. ItвЂ™s very costly to have your movie available digitally and physically on DVD. They may revisit releasing the 1987 movie, but for now they are focused on the now. They either have or have not done tests with focus groups to measure interest in making it available on iTunes or reprinting DVDs of it, but suffice it to say, they want to focus on the present and future of The Chipmunks and Chipettes.

The filmmakers went through hell getting it made.