Alvin and the Chipmunks is an American animated television series featuring the Chipmunks, which was produced by Bagdasarian Productions in association with Ruby-Spears Enterprises from 1983 to 1987, Murakami-Wolf-Swenson in 1988 and DIC Enterprises from 1988 to 1990. The show aired from 1983 to 1990 on NBC and is the follow-up to the original 1961–62 series, The Alvin Show. The show introduced the Chipettes, three female Chipmunks with their own human caretaker, Miss Beatrice Miller. In 1988, the show switched production companies to DIC Enterprises, with the first 11 episodes of Season 6 produced by Murakami-Wolf-Swenson, and was renamed simply The Chipmunks. In 1987, during the show's fifth season, the Chipmunks' first animated feature film, The Chipmunk Adventure, was released to theaters by the Samuel Goldwyn Company. The film was directed by Janice Karman and featured the Chipmunks and Chipettes in a contest traveling around the world. In the show's eighth and final season, the show again switched titles to The Chipmunks Go to the Movies. Each episode was a spoof of a Hollywood film like Back to the Future or King Kong. Several television specials featuring the characters were also released. In 1990, the special Rockin' Through the Decades was produced. That year, the Chipmunks also teamed up with other well-known cartoon characters for the drug abuse-prevention special Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue. From 1998 to 2002, Cartoon Network aired the 65-episode syndication package of the series. It also aired in Canada on Teletoon Retro from 2008 until the channel shut down in 2015. It also aired on Boomerang from April 2011 to July 2011. The later episodes that were not included on the syndication package and not produced under the title The Chipmunks Go to the Movies have not aired in the United States since the series' cancellation in 1990.
* Alvin Sevilha: The oldest brother and leader of the Chipmunks, Alvin is the talented musician and leader of the group. He tends to chaos and rebelliousness, but he's actually sweet and golden-hearted at his core.
* Simon Sevilha: The middle brother, and the tallest, Simon is the intelligent realist and the most responsible of the group.
* Theodore Sevilha: The youngest brother, Theodore is the innocent one of the group.
The Chipettes: The Chipmunks' female counterparts and on-and-off girlfriends
* Brittany Miller: The oldest sister, Brittany is Alvin's counterpart. She is as equally vain and self-centered as Alvin is, but like him, really does care about others.
* Jeanette Miller: The middle sister and tallest, Jeanette is Simon's counterpart. However, unlike Simon, who is able to stand up to Alvin, she does not stand up to Brittany as easily. She is also very smart, which is what she does have in common with Simon. However, she is very shy and clumsy.
* Eleanor Miller: The youngest sister, Eleanor is Theodore's counterpart. She shares his love for food and cooking, but she is more athletic, more intelligent, and more likely to stand up to Brittany than Theodore is to Alvin.
David "Dave" Seville: The Chipmunks' adoptive father, the Chipettes' guardian, songwriter and manager. Dave's patience is tested nearly every day by Alvin, usually to the point where he yells his trademark shout "ALVINNN!!!", he gets frustrated with Simon and Theodore too, sometimes, as Alvin often gets them into mischief, but despite all of this, he loves all of his boys equally.
Miss Beatrice Miller: The kindly, absent-minded adoptive mother of the Chipettes.
Cookie Chomper III: The Chipmunks' first pet, Cookie Chomper III was a stray kitten who found his way into the Seville residence one night while Dave was working late. For a time, the Chipmunks kept him a secret from Dave until the kitten made his presence known. Dave allowed them to keep Cookie Chomper III, and he became their pet. But one evening, Cookie Chomper left through an open window in the Chipmunks' bedroom, then was hit by a car and killed. The Chipmunks all grieved, but Alvin was hurt most of all and even blamed himself. Dave reassured the boys that it wasn't their fault and helped them remember the happy times they had with Cookie Chomper III.
Lilly: The Chipmunks' puppy who they adopted from the shelter following the death of their original pet, Cookie Chomper III.
Vinny: The Chipmunks' birth mother. The Chipmunks find their long-lost mother after days of searching. Alvin gets upset because he doesn't understand why she abandoned them. Their mother explains that the year she abandoned them there was a horrible winter and all of the animals in the forest were forced to leave their homes. She realized that they wouldn't survive the journey if she brought them with her, so she decided to leave them with a nice man who was always kind to the forest animals. She told them that when spring came and she could finally return to get them, she saw how happy they were with Dave, and thought they would be better off with him. Eventually, Alvin forgives his mother. They return to Dave, but the brothers agree to keep in touch with their mother. In a later episode she and Dave clash on how to bring the boys up. Eventually, they make up.
Voice actors
Main
Ross Bagdasarian, Jr. – Alvin, Simon, Dave Seville, Grandpa Seville, most additional male voices
Janice Karman – Theodore, Brittany, Jeanette, and Eleanor, most additional female voices
The series made its debut on September 17, 1983, on NBC, originally under the name Alvin and The Chipmunks, and was animated by Ruby-Spears Enterprises. Beginning with the 1988–89 season, the series was renamed to simply The Chipmunks, and production switched to Murakami-Wolf-Swenson and DIC Enterprises for the remainder of the series' run, for reasons currently unknown – this was not due to the 1988 Writers Guild of America Strike, which did not affect any animated series. For its final season in 1990, the series was renamed again, this time, The Chipmunks Go to the Movies, as all episodes in this season were spoofs of popular Hollywood movies.
Syndication package
The series went into syndication in the fall of 1988 under the original Alvin and The Chipmunks title, distributed by Lorimar-Telepictures. The package contained all 52 episodes produced by Ruby-Spears, as well as the Valentine's and Reunion specials. To round the package out to the common-practice syndication package length of 65 episodes, an additional 11 episodes were produced specifically for the package by Murakami-Wolf-Swenson. In the syndication order, these episodes followed the 54 Ruby-Spears shows; in the fall 1988 cycle, they aired from November 25 – December 9.
