50 Fun Facts About Alvin and the Chipmunks

Simon Seville and his brothers Alvin and Theodore were named in 1958 after three real men in which line of work?

Label executives lent the trio their first names as an inside joke: president Al Bennett, founder Si Waronker and chief engineer Ted Keep, at the company that released the discs.

Chipmunks creator Ross Bagdasarian took his stage surname from a Spanish city where he was stationed during which war?

World War II took the Army Air Forces control tower operator to England, France and Spain, and he liked the city of Seville enough to perform as David Seville.

Chipmunks creator Ross Bagdasarian appears as the lonely composer at the piano in which Alfred Hitchcock thriller?

Rear Window came in 1954, during an acting career that began on Broadway in 1939 in a play by his cousin, the novelist William Saroyan.

In The Chipmunk Song, which hot new toy of 1958 does Alvin wish for as his Christmas present?

A hula hoop was that year's craze, and Alvin's wish for one helped the novelty record sell 4.5 million copies in seven weeks.

How did Ross Bagdasarian turn his own singing into the squeaky voices of Alvin and the Chipmunks in 1958?

Speeding up the tape was the whole trick: he sang slowly while recording at half the normal rate, so ordinary playback lifted his voice a full octave.

The Chipmunk Song was the only Christmas record to top the Hot 100 until which singer matched it in 2019?

Mariah Carey ended a 61-year wait when All I Want for Christmas Is You reached number one, long after the Chipmunks' four-week stay at the top.

In Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, what makes Simon Seville believe he is a French adventurer named Simone?

A spider bite on a castaway's island does it, and Simone, voiced by Alan Tudyk, lasts until a knock on the head brings the real Simon back.

At the height of the British Invasion, Alvin and the Chipmunks released a 1964 album covering the hits of which band?

The Beatles covers climbed to number 14 on the Billboard album chart in October 1964 and stayed on the chart for more than five months.

Alvin and the Chipmunks joined Bugs Bunny and Garfield in a 1990 TV special made to warn children against what?

Drug abuse prevention was the aim of Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue, which also put Daffy Duck and the Ninja Turtle Michelangelo beside the trio.

Chipmunk soul, a hip-hop style named after the Chipmunks' squeaky voices, was popularised by which rapper-producer?

Kanye West built the beats of his debut album The College Dropout on vocal samples from classic soul records pitched far above normal.

Alvin's signature colour is red and Theodore's is green, so which colour belongs to their brother Simon Seville?

Blue also became the colour of his glasses from the second season of the 1983 cartoon, after a first season in black frames.

Which actor plays struggling songwriter Dave Seville in all four live-action Alvin and the Chipmunks films?

Jason Lee joined the first film in March 2007, after names from Tim Allen to Jim Carrey had been considered for the part.

In The Chipmunk Adventure, how do the Chipmunks and the Chipettes travel on their race around the world?

Hot air balloon is the transport for both teams, who follow different routes and must swap dolls at every stop to prove they were there.

In the 1981 special A Chipmunk Christmas, which prized instrument does Alvin give away to a sick boy named Tommy?

A harmonica named the Golden Echo is his gift to Tommy, and the stranger who later buys him a replacement turns out to be Santa's wife.

Brittany, Jeanette and Eleanor, the Chipettes, share which surname with their absent-minded human guardian Beatrice?

Miller is the name of all three sisters and of Miss Beatrice, who joined the 1980s cartoon in 1986; Brittany is the oldest sister and Eleanor the youngest.

Which Criminal Minds star voices Simon Seville in the live-action Alvin and the Chipmunks films?

Matthew Gray Gubler shares the role with Steve Vining, who sings the brainy brother's parts, and he returned for all three sequels.

Which 1958 number one, credited to David Seville alone, featured a squeaky voice months before the Chipmunks existed?

Witch Doctor held number one for three weeks, and the idea for it came from a book on its writer's shelf titled Duel with a Witch Doctor.

The Chipmunk Song won three prizes in 1959 at the very first ceremony of which music honours?

Grammy Awards for children's recording, comedy performance and engineering all went to the single, which was also up for Record of the Year.

In Chipwrecked, what is Alvin parasailing on when strong winds carry the Chipmunks away from their cruise ship?

A kite drags them out over the Pacific, and Dave's attempt to follow by hang-glider leaves him stranded at sea as well.

In The Road Chip, the Chipmunks race to which city to stop what they think is Dave's marriage proposal?

Miami is where Dave is producing a record for a rising pop singer, and the ring the Chipmunks fear turns out to belong to his friend Barry.

In The Squeakquel, where are Alvin, Simon and Theodore sent each day while Dave recovers in a Paris hospital?

High school brings bullies, a place on the football team for Alvin and a contest to save the music programme.

In the 2007 film Alvin and the Chipmunks, the brothers fend for themselves because their parents left to join what?

A hippie commune lured the parents away, leaving the three in a fir tree that is later felled and trucked to Los Angeles with them inside.

Chipmunks in Low Places, the group's first platinum album, was a 1992 collection in which music genre?

Country suited them: the album reached number 6 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart, the best result the Chipmunks ever managed there.

Which US channel bought the CGI series ALVINNN!!! and the Chipmunks months after its 2015 debut in France?

Nickelodeon acquired the US rights in August 2015 to a series animated in France, with its voices and music recorded in the United States.

Which honour did Alvin, Simon and Theodore receive in 2019, six decades after their first hit single?

A Walk of Fame star in Hollywood came in 2019, adding to a tally that already included two number-one singles and three platinum albums.

Which Arrested Development comedian plays scheming music boss Ian Hawke in the first three live-action Chipmunks films?

David Cross took the part after Patton Oswalt and Brian Posehn turned it down, and by the third film Hawke has sunk to a lowly job on a cruise ship.

Which actress voices Brittany, leader of the Chipettes, in The Squeakquel and both of its sequels?

Christina Applegate speaks for Brittany in all three films, while the Chipettes' creator Janice Karman supplies the character's singing.

In The Squeakquel, Theodore runs away to the Los Angeles Zoo hoping to live with a family of which animals?

Meerkats had left the enclosure, though, and Theodore meets an eagle there instead until his brothers come to the rescue.

In The Chipmunk Adventure, which homesick animal does a young Arabian prince give Brittany as a gift?

A baby penguin is his present, and the Chipettes break off their race to carry it home to its family in Antarctica.

Which Big Bang Theory actress replaced Amy Poehler as the voice of Eleanor in the Chipmunks film The Road Chip?

Kaley Cuoco took over the youngest Chipette for the fourth film, joining Anna Faris as Jeanette and the returning voice of Brittany.

In The Squeakquel, how do the Chipettes first arrive at the JETT Records building where Ian Hawke is living?

In a FedEx package is how the three sisters travel, having mailed themselves to the man they believe made the Chipmunks famous.

In The Squeakquel, Simon Seville talks Jeanette through which task by phone so the caged Chipettes can escape?

Picking a lock frees the sisters from the cage Ian has shut them in, while Alvin races to collect them on a toy motorcycle.

In The Squeakquel, Ian Hawke books the Chipettes as the opening act for which pop singer's concert?

Britney Spears is due on stage the very night of the contest, and Ian threatens the sisters with a barbecue restaurant if they refuse to sing.

In Chipwrecked, former music boss Ian Hawke works on a cruise ship dressed as which bird?

A pelican suit comes with his job as the ship's safety officer, a long fall for the man who once ran JETT Records.

In The Road Chip, what is the job of James Suggs, who puts the Chipmunks on the No-Fly List in revenge?

Air marshal Suggs, played by Tony Hale, holds a grudge because a girlfriend once dumped him for being a Chipmunks fan.

In The Road Chip, the Chipettes are away serving as guest judges on which television talent contest?

American Idol calls the sisters away early on, and they return to sing with the brothers at the closing launch party.

In the 2007 film Alvin and the Chipmunks, how do Dave Seville and music boss Ian Hawke already know each other?

College roommates turned rivals, the pair clash at once when Hawke rejects Dave's latest demo and tells him to give up songwriting.

In The Chipmunk Adventure, what have smugglers Klaus and Claudia hidden inside the dolls the Chipmunks carry?

Diamonds worth $5 million fill the dolls, and the ones handed over in return are stuffed with the buyers' cash.

Cookie Chomper III, the Chipmunks' ill-fated first pet in the 1980s cartoon, was what kind of animal?

A kitten that wandered in as a stray, Cookie Chomper III dies in a road accident, and most NBC stations refused to air the episode.

On which variety programme did the Chipmunks make their TV debut in 1959, portrayed by puppets?

The Ed Sullivan Show hosted them on December 13, 1959, two years before The Alvin Show first turned the trio into cartoons.

Chipmunk Punk began when a radio DJ jokingly introduced which Blondie hit as the Chipmunks' latest single?

Call Me drew so many listener requests after the joke that the creator's son rushed out a whole album, the first Chipmunks release since 1969.

Before the Chipmunks, Ross Bagdasarian co-wrote Come On-a My House, a million-selling 1951 hit for which singer?

Rosemary Clooney was persuaded to record it by a Columbia Records producer after many companies had rejected the song, and it launched her career.

Which Looney Tunes director served as creative consultant on the 1981 TV special A Chipmunk Christmas?

Chuck Jones advised on the NBC special, which aired nine years after the creator's death with his son voicing Alvin, Simon and Dave.

Which bumbling inventor, whose silent assistant Leonardo only whispered to him, had his own segment on The Alvin Show?

Clyde Crashcup kept inventing things that already existed, sketching them in mid-air with a pencil until the drawing became the real object.

The Chipmunk Adventure hired animators who lost their Disney jobs after which 1985 fantasy film flopped?

The Black Cauldron flopped so badly that Disney laid off many of its animators, and several of them went to work on the Chipmunks' feature.

On a 1982 Chipmunks album, Alvin duets with a Chipette named Charlene on a hit from which film musical?

Grease supplied the duet, and the blonde, ponytailed Charlene on the album cover appears to have been the model for Brittany a year later.

In Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman, Theodore takes the lead in which horror classic on stage?

Jekyll and Hyde suits him too well: a werewolf's nip has turned gentle Theodore rude and fearsome, and his Mr Hyde wins great applause in rehearsal.

In Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein, where do the lost brothers stumble on the real Dr. Frankenstein at work?

A movie theme park named Majestic Movie Studios hides his laboratory, and he ends the film stuck inside its squirrel mascot suit.

In A Chipmunk Christmas, Alvin dreams of a Santa Claus who is really which US president riding in a hollow pumpkin?

Abraham Lincoln plays Santa in the dream because a muddled scientist claims to have invented Christmas and moved it to February 12, with elephants pulling the pumpkin.

In Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein, Simon and Theodore mix the antidote for a monstrous Alvin from what?

Buffet food at a film premiere supplies every ingredient, after Simon swipes the recipe from the mad scientist's potions book.