The usually worst-rated movie of the franchise...and my personal favorite.
The movie starts off with a cruise trip that allows for several gags and silly ideas and then, once things start to go south, changes to a family-friendly island survival adventure.
And I have to say, I love it!
First off, the Chipmunks and the Chipettes, introduced in the previous movie, are a really well-fitting team.
While the boys represent their usual personalities and quirks at first, the Chipettes get the time to actually develop more of the personalities you might know from the cartoons:
Brittany as the little "star" that values her look and plans, Jeanette as the timid and smart but also most-adult one and Eleanor as the emotional one.
These things develop quite well and each of the Chipettes is a great counterpart to the corresponding boy, and it's really nice to have all six of them:
Alvin's and Brittany's arguing, Simon's and Jeanette's shy and cute behavior while trying to guide their siblings, and Theodor and Eleanor as the emotional siblings, with Eleanor doing well to be the emotional part that Theodor was in the second movie.
And then, once the survival aspect comes into play, especially Alvin and Simon both get a big chance for character development, learning more about themselves, and in the end taking some of the learned things with them.
All the while it contains adventure elements, treasure hunts and lots of cuteness and dancing.
Like with the movies before, many moments where characters can learn about themselves, responsibility, family and love.
Some cute little surprises, well-animated dances and lovely character interaction.
And contrary to the second movie, even the human actors have more important roles again that don't feel totally out of place.
I really enjoyed it!
Also, I ship Simon and Jeanette, they're lovely! <3
