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The Chipettes

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File:The Chipettes from Alvin 2.jpg
The Chipettes (from L to R: Eleanor, Jeanette, and Brittany), as seen in the feature film Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (2009).

The Chipettes are a fictional group of anthropomorphic chipmunk singers first appearing on the cartoon series Alvin and the Chipmunks in 1983. In this and related materials, the Chipettes served as female featured characters in their own right, starring in several episodes in which their male chipmunk counterparts did not appear. The title of the show was changed from Alvin and the Chipmunks to simply The Chipmunks in 1988 to reflect this reality. In the cartoon series and the accompanying feature films, all of the Chipettes were voiced by their creator, Janice Karman, wife of Ross Bagdasarian, Jr., son of Ross Bagdasarian, Sr., originator of The Chipmunks. Karman also wrote and voiced the Chipettes' dialogue on all of their studio albums, while studio singers such as Susan Boyd, Shelby Daniel, and Katherine Coon provided their singing voices. In the Japanese language version of the feature film The Chipmunk Adventure, the voices for the Chipettes are provided by Mayumi Suzuki, Mika Doi and Ikue Ōtani.

The first character designs for the Chipettes were drafted by Corny Cole for their 1983 debut. These were later revamped by Sandra Berez for The Chipmunk Adventure and the later seasons of the show.

Origins

The origins of the Chipettes can be traced to the 1982 Alvin and the Chipmunks album "The Chipmunks Go Hollywood" (RCA, 1982). On this album, Alvin sings a duet with a female character billed as Charlene the Chipette. Charlene is featured on the song You're the One That I Want from the soundtrack of the motion picture Grease. Charlene was depicted on the album cover as having a long, blonde ponytail, and seems to have been the basis for the later character of Brittany. She later made a visual appearance in 1990, in Rockin' with the Chipmunks, where she danced and lip-synced in the music video for Crocodile Rock by Elton John.

Like the Chipmunks, the Chipettes were originally created for the musical medium, and later crossed over into cartoons. According to their creator, Janice Karman, she and Ross Bagdasarian, Jr., "...had been doing the albums at that point... We couldn't do the girl songs. I wanted to do female chipmunks that have counter personalities to the Chipmunks so we could do some girl tunes."

Bagdasarian also added in reference to the Chipettes characters, "It enables you to deal with issues that girls are going through that boys wouldn't necessarily be dealing with... We had a baby girl at the time. We wanted to let her know she can be president, or a soccer champion, or whatever... With the Chipettes we can handle those sorts of things."

It is worth nothing, however, that the Chipettes of the cartoon series (Brittany, Jeanette, and Eleanor) appeared on the small screen before appearing on any albums. Their first appearance on the Chipmunks album was on 1984's "Songs From Our TV Shows" which was released on March 4, 1984, nearly seven months after the Chipettes debuted on the first episode of the Alvin and the Chipmunks television series on September 17, 1983.

Although the Chipettes featured prominently on many Alvin and the Chipmunks albums, they received equal billing with the Chipmunks only on 1988's "Born to Rock."

The Chipettes appear in the 2009 film Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel. In the movie, Anna Faris, Christina Applegate and Amy Poehler voice the Chipettes.[1] “There has been a lot of talk about it,” noted Janice Karman, one of the film’s producers. “A lot of people have been asking about the little girls."[2]

Character profiles

Brittany Miller

Brittany is the leader and moral rolemodel of the Chipettes, and her exuberance often serves as the impetus for their adventures. Although she is foolish, and materialistic, with a very short fuse, Brittany cares deeply for her sisters and often acts as their defender. Brittany is dynamic, ambitious, fearless, competitive, and possessed of a desire to always have her way (although she stops short of true ruthlessness). Brittany has auburn hair which is often seen in a ponytail, and has blue eyes. Her signature color is pink. Brittany and Alvin, her counterpart in the male trio, share a love-hate relationship. The rivalry between the two was part of the impetus for the events of many of the episodes of the television show, as well as The Chipmunk Adventure, the first feature film to star the characters. In the 2009 film Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, Ian Hawke makes Brittany stand out and her sisters stand behind her, telling Eleanor and Jeanette to "give her some space." Ian seems to focus most on Brittany, though she tries to sing with her sisters, which Ian doesn't like. When she refuses to sing without them, Ian threatens them, saying that if they won't sing, he would barbeque them. She shows off while singing and mostly sings lead. Although she isn't as tall as Jeanette, Brittany is described as the oldest. Her favorite nut is the Macadamia.

Jeanette Miller

Jeanette, the tallest, can best be described as the "absent-minded professor" of the group. Gifted with extraordinary intelligence, she often is so caught up in contemplating the universe that she forgets the simple matters of life, such as not tripping over her own feet. She can generally be found with her shoelaces untied, one knee sock wrinkled around her ankle, and her buttons askew. Jeanette has very poor vision, and is virtually helpless without her glasses. She has brown hair and purple eyes, and her signature colors are royal blue and purple. She and Simon, her counterpart in the male trio, are very shy about their romantic relationship. She has much darker color fur than her sisters. In the 2009 film, Jeanette seems to lack self-confidence, as she often comments: "I'm not good at things like this..." but toward the film's end she shows courage and faces her fears, catching the remote that saves her and her sisters from Ian. Her favorite nut is the Volcano Nut.

Eleanor Miller

Eleanor, the youngest and largest, is self-assured, confident, and extremely maternal. Eleanor has struggled with weight, largely implied to her love of food. Despite her little weight problems, she has been often shown engaging in heavy physical activity. She is a gifted athlete and a mini-Olympiad in any field of sport. Eleanor is quite strong-willed, and is far more likely than the timid Jeanette to stand up to her sister Brittany when she feels that she is wrong. Eleanor's blonde hair is styled in bunches, and her eyes are green. Eleanor's signature color is spring green. She and Theodore, her counterpart in the male trio, are openly caring towards one another, and both have a common bond with food and cooking, making their romance the most obvious of the three. Equally as sweet as Theodore, Eleanor shows the most sympathy towards the Chipmunks and her sisters. In the movie Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, Ian wants her to "work on being taller" (being the shortest of the Chipettes), and is given a pair of platform shoes to do just that. Her favorite nut is the Acorn.

Fictional character history

Like their counterparts the Chipmunks, the Chipettes seem to have been born in a single litter, or in human terms, as "triplets". It is unclear if there were others born in the same litter.

Alvin and the Chipmunks TV Series

Although they speak in American accents, the Chipettes were born in Australia and orphaned at a very young age. Luckily for them, their species mature faster than that of humans. The Chipettes could walk, talk, and to some extent hold their own, while still in their infancy, and no larger than the size of a human hand.

Under unexplained circumstances, the sisters came to live in the care of a young Australian girl named Olivia. Olivia was an orphan herself, living in an institution run by a petty and exploitive woman named Miss Grudge. Unfortunately for the young Chippettes, Miss Grudge noticed their innate abilities to sing and tried to exploit them for her own benefits. Fleeing the orphanage, but not before Olivia was adopted, the Chipettes traveled to New York and stowed away on a cargo ship called the "American Dreamer". For the time, the girls lived on the streets of the city, working in a number of different jobs until Brittany discovered an ad for singers to perform at a hotel in California. The sisters managed to scrape together bus fare and set off for Los Angeles, where they eventually landed the action, taking on the professional name of "The Chipmunks".

During an engagement at another hotel, the girls met with the original Chipmunks (Alvin, Simon and Theodore) and their manager, David Seville. After a brief dispute over the name "The Chipmunk", Alvin (with a little help from Brittany) came up with the name "The Chipettes".

The Chipmunks became fast friends with them, and the Chipettes eventually settled in a suburb of the Seville hometown Los Angeles and enrolled in the local school system. At this time, the girls lived on their own in a comprehensive and well-equipped tree house. Unfortunately, school officials discovered that the girls lived alone, and after a disastrous meeting in which Alvin and the Chipmunks posed as parents of their friends, the girls were again faced with the threat of life in an orphanage. To prevent this undesirable possibility, the girls were adopted by Miss Beatrice Miller, the former leader of the Second World War era dance group known as Miss Miller and the Thrillers, and a family friend of Seville. It was during this time that she took the surname of "Miller". Initially the girls felt frustrated with Miss Miller's old views and tastes (for example, she refused to let them go to school, unless their skirts reached to their ankles), but eventually bonded with her after they realized that they shared a love for music.

Along the Chipmunks/Chipettes timeline, a variety of adventures occurred, perhaps the most exciting was their balloon race around the world. Over the years, each of the Chipettes had an on-and-off relationship with their counterpart Chipmunk - Simon with Jeanette, Theodore with Eleanor, and Alvin with Brittany. However, the relationship between Alvin and Brittany rarely went smoothly, since their aggressive, selfish personalities often clashed, as opposed to the more mellow interplay between Simon and Jeanette and Theodore and Eleanor. Alternatively, they were also found to date human boys, just like the boys often showed interest in the human girls. It is striking that the Chipmunks and Chipettes live a relatively "realistic" world, where they are treated and act almost the same as average humans, in contrast to a world of anthropomorphic animals.

Discography

With the exception of 1988's "Born to Rock" the discography of the Chipettes consists of featured appearances on Alvin and the Chipmunks recordings.

Albums

Singles

Filmography

References

  1. ^ "'Alvin And The Chipmunks' Producers Reveal 'Squeakuel' Details -- And The Chipettes Are In!". 2008-07-28. Retrieved 2008-11-12.
  2. ^ "'Justin Long Confirms 'Chipmunks' SqueakquelSmall Text, But Will The Chipettes Be In It?'". 2008-07-28. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
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