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The Chipettes

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The Chipettes
OriginNew York City, New York, U.S.
GenresPop, rock, dance, children, Christmas
Years active1983–present
LabelsLiberty, RCA, Epic, Sony, Buena Vista, Chipmunk, Atantic, Republic, Geffen, Columbia
MembersBrittany Miller
Jeanette Miller
Eleanor Miller
Websitehttp://www.chipettes.com
The Chipettes
ALVINNN!!! and The Chipmunks (2015–present)
The Film Series (2009–present)
Alvin and the Chipmunks (1983–1990) character
First appearance1983–present
Created byJanice Karman
Ross Bagdasarian, Jr.
Portrayed byJanice Karman (1983–)
See the Film series
Voiced byJanice Karman (2015 series)
Present Episode(s)ALVINNN!!! and the Chipmunks
In-universe information
AliasBrittany, Jeanette & Eleanor
SpeciesChipmunks
GenderFemales
OccupationSingers
friends to The Chipmunks
FamilyDave Seville, The Chipmunks
HomeSeville household with Dave
NationalityAustralian American

The Chipettes are a fictional group of three female anthropomorphic chipmunk singers—Brittany, Jeanette, and Eleanor—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 numerous episodes. The title of the show was changed from Alvin and the Chipmunks to simply The Chipmunks in 1988 to reflect this. In the cartoon series and the accompanying feature films, all three of the Chipettes were voiced by their creator, Janice Karman, the wife of Ross Bagdasarian, Jr. (son of Ross Bagdasarian, Sr., the creator of The Chipmunks). Karman also wrote and voiced the Chipettes' dialogue on their studio albums, while studio singers such as Susan Boyd, Shelby Daniel, and Katherine Coon provided their singing voices. In ALVINNN!!! and the Chipmunks, Eleanor is voiced by Vanessa Chambers, the daughter of Ross Bagdasarian, Jr. and Janice Karman.

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.

The Chipettes

Main article: The Chipettes

Brittany Miller

Brittany Miller is the lead singer and leader of the The Chipettes and is the female counterpart of Alvin, She is the older sister of Jeanette and Eleanor. Brittany was the first one born of the three Chipette triplets in Australia, Brittany pushes Jeanette around a lot and takes advantage of her kindness, but deep down they love each other very much and are very loyal to each other. Eleanor always stands up to Brittany when she tries to push Jeanette around, and is generally the only person that tries to stand up to Brittany. The two of them do share a very nice sisterly relationship.

Jeanette Miller

Jeanette is the middle sister and smartest of the Chipettes, as well as the tallest. Like Simon, she wears glasses. She has brown hair in a bun in the '80s show and a short ponytail in the recent films. Her eyes are green in her TV appearances and The Chipmunk Adventure but were changed to purple in the live-action/CGI films. She cares about Simon and gets along with him very well.

Eleanor Miller

Eleanor is the youngest sister of the Chipettes. She has a lot in common with Theodore in terms of body shape and color of attire, but she is braver, more fit and has a better memory. She is blonde with pigtails and has brown eyes in the 80`s show, which changed to green in the more recent appearances.

Origins

The origins of the Chipettes can be traced to the 1982 Alvin and the Chipmunks album The Chipmunks Go Hollywood (RCA, 1981). 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, golden blonde ponytail, and seems to have been the basis for the later character of Brittany. She may have 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. Brittany had a similar appearance (but her eye color is blue)

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 noting, 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, redesigned as far more realistic chipmunks, appear in the 2009 film Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel. In the movie, Christina Applegate, Anna Faris, 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] Applegate, Faris, and Poehler reprised their respective roles in Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, which was released on December 16, 2011. The Chipettes also appeared in Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip; Applegate and Faris again voice Brittany and Jeanette, but Kaley Cuoco replaces Poehler as the voice of Eleanor.

Discography

With the exception of 1987's "The Chipmunk Adventure" soundtrack (LP) and 1988's "Born to Rock", the discography of The Chipettes consists of featured appearances on Alvin and the Chipmunks recordings.

Albums

Singles

2009

2011

2012

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' Sequel, But Will The Chipettes Be In It?'". 2008-07-28. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
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