Back in the 80’s Saturday mornings were synonymous with cartoons. One of the big stars of that era was the ageless Alvin the chipmunk. Now, thanks to the live action movie, the Chipmunks are back in the spotlight for yet another decade and our kids are watching the cartoons the same way we watched the old Alvin Show cartoons from our parent’s time when we were their age. This week I am taking a look at a 3 episode disc from Paramount called Alvin and the Chipmunks Go To The Movies: Daytona Jones and the Pearl of Wisdom.

Kids today all know who Batman is and after this summer they all are familiar with Indiana Jones as well….Robocop? eh, not so much. Even so, all little boys like robots and cops and robbers so it still holds their attention. This is a good collection of cartoon episodes for boys who love cartoon action heroes. My son (and subject matter expert for the cartoon releases) was very excited when we started watching Daytona Jones but even more so when Batmunk kicked in. I was a little surprised that the title didn’t feature Batmunk on the cover given the new movie but I would imagine it is mainly due to the fact that in the cartoon Simon was Batmunk instead of Alvin. Each episode follows a basic format of a setup scene featuring the boys that leads into their version of the movie.

The picture quality on this disc is pretty much the same as it was on the family tv set back in the 80’s For some reason the title sequence appeared very washed out and the color quality of the cartoons seemed to vary at points as did the picture quality. It is not bad enough to distract much from the movie but does warrant a mention in today’s age of high def. Predictably, my kids still prefer to hear Alvin belting out the new hip-hop version of Witchdoctor over listening to the Chipmunks cover “Chinatown.” The sound is a standard Dolby Digital track. There are no bonus features on the disc. It is very bare bones, consisting entirely of a static silent menu screen and the 3 cartoons.

The Alvin and the Chipmunks go to the Movies series is a nice little flashback to the 80s for those of us that remember when cartoons were only on Saturday mornings. Thanks to the live action Chipmunks movie, Alvin and family are experiencing a bit of a resurgence as a whole new generation is falling for the 50 year old chipmunks. If your kids are like mine, and like Batman and Indiana Jones they will enjoy this disc. There is re-watch-ability for kids and the episodes are a good length for a cartoon before bedtime. Adults will have a deja vu moments listening to the distinctive ‘munk sound applied to such forgotten songs as Good Thing by Fine Young Cannibals and Danger Zone from Kenny Loggins. Go ahead and pick this one up for the next family movie night.

Daytona Jones and the Pearl of Wisdom is available courtesy of Paramount Entertainment beginning on September 9th.

To switch for Daytona Jones and the Pearl of Wisdom or to order it from Amazon.com, click here.