The Chipettes
The Chipettes (Eleanor, the short, plump, fun-loving blonde who wears turquoise and pigtails in her hair; Brittany, the outspoken, self-loving leader of The Chipettes who wears pink, yellow and lavender; and Jeanette, the shy, bookish brunette who wears blue, red and purple) are a fictional group of female anthropomorphic chipmunk singers from the television show Alvin and the Chipmunks..., forming a counterpart to the three male chipmunks that are the stars of the show. All of the Chipette's voices are provided by Janice Karman, while their caretaker Miss Miller's voice is provided by Dody Goodman.
Profile of the Chipettes
- Brittany: Brittany is just as arrogant as Alvin, and bosses her other sisters around. Brittany is the lead singer and the dazzling center of her own universe. Though she may appear self-centered, emotional, vain and self-absorbed, she also cares for her two sisters...just not quite as much as herself. Brittany is around 5 or 6 years old in the series. Like Alvin, Brittany will stick up for her other sisters. However, both Alvin and Brittany constintly get under each others skin over many things, and make bets as to who is better than the other. But all and all, they both still like each other despite their differences.
- Jeanette: Jeanette is the eldest and is just as intelligent as Simon, but she's more timid, and can never stop Brittany's schemes. Jeanette is the Chipette's "absent minded professor". She often is so caught up in contemplating the universe that she forgets the simple matters of life like not tripping over her own feet. She can generally be found with her shoelaces untied, one knee sock wrinkled around her ankle or her buttons askew, and unlike her sister Brittany, Jeanette knows she is not known for her looks. Jeanette is around 6 or 7 in the series. There are some occasions when Jeanette will turn to Simon for advice, and even help her to do something.
- Eleanor: Though she is the youngest, Eleanor is logical, organized and extremely maternal, and exudes a sense of calm that soothes her two sisters frenetic nature. Like Theodore, Eleanor is the chubbiest of the three, but she embraces "living large" and is a mini olympiad in any field of sport. Eleanor is around 4 or 5 in the series. Both Theodore and Eleanor get on great with each other.
- Miss Beatrice Miller: Miss Miller is the strange, eccentric, but nice, old lady who lives next door to the Chipmunks. She ends up raising the Chipettes.
The Chipettes' Background
The Chipettes are orphans who were taken care of in an orphanage in Australia by a girl who lived there. Unfortunately, the director of the orphanage noticed the Chipettes' singing abilities and tried to use them in a very bad way, mistreating them. The girl who took care of them was adopted and the Chipettes were stuck with the horrible woman until they managed to escape, travelling to New York as stowaways. They tried to get jobs and sang in the streets for money, and eventually made their way to California where they met and befriended the Chipmunks.
The fortunes of the Chippettes changed for the better at that point, and for a while they lived in a tree house. Unfortunately, the school they were attending found out that they lived alone, and after a disastrous meeting where the boys tried to pose as the Chipettes' parents, they were threatened to go to an orphanage again. Alvin, Simon and Theodore had the idea that they could be adopted by Ms. Beatrice Miller, their ditzy but motherly babysitter, and a short while later she did so. After the initial troubles, Ms. Miller came to love the girls and they became a nice family.
The Chipettes finally got their big break as a singing group when Alvin became their manager and suggested that they perform on top of Mount Matterhorn. They eventually paired off in relationships with their doubles: Alvin with Brittany, Simon with Jeanette and Theodore with Eleanor.
Beyond
During the run of the cartoon, there were several episodes which had only the Chipettes and no Chipmunks.
In 1990, the Chipettes also teamed up with other contemporary cartoons (such as Bugs Bunny, Garfield, etc.) for the former drug abuse-prevention special and natural history sequelCartoon All-Stars to the Rescue 2000.