Story Of Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chip-Wrecked Movie Available

There is chipmunk gambling. There is seductive dancing by Chipettes wearing only towels. There is a musical gag involving the lyric “whip my tail back and forth.” How “Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked” ended up with only a G rating is a mystery.

Alvin, Theodore, Simon and the gal pals they picked up earlier in the franchise are back, and their human minder, Dave (Jason Lee), comes up with the not-very-bright idea of taking them on a cruise. (The Carnival line gets perhaps the largest product placement in film history.)

The whole gang ends up shipwrecked on a tropical island, along with the nefarious Ian (David Cross, who near the end delivers the film’s funniest speech) and lots of references to the Tom Hanks movie “Cast Away” that will elude the 5-year-olds in the audience.

The Chipmunks' pop song covers are meticulously arranged. Their fur is animated with care. Then Alvin makes a tween-baiting ''honey badger'' reference or slips into an ill-advised impersonation of a Latino thug (no, really), and Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked reverts to nothing more than a cynical stab at grabbing kids' attention—and, more importantly, their parents' cash.

Also on the island is Jenny Slate (playing a character named Zoe), who may have been exiled there after using the worst possible swear word in her first show as a member of the “Saturday Night Live” cast in 2009. No swear words here; just harmless fun. A particularly nice touch: Some of the ’munks change personalities as a result of a spider bite. Alvin the Responsible? Believe it.

Noteworthy names provide some of the animated voices — Justin Long, Christina Applegate, Amy Poehler — though that money might have been better spent elsewhere. Once they’re run through the chip-erator, these familiar voices are of course unrecognizable.

At rare moments, you get the impression that some of the people involved in the movie actually put thought into their work. The Chipmunks' pop song covers are meticulously arranged. Their fur is animated with care.

In their third big-screen adventure, the gang -- which now includes three harmonizing chipmunks, three dance-happy Chipettes, and their harried father figure (Jason Lee) -- tries for a relaxing cruise and ends up scavenging for mangoes alongside a brain-fried castaway ("SNL" vet Jenny Slate).