Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel

The famed singing chipmunks are back, but with a little less Jason Lee this time. When Dave (Lee) is injured because of a stunt pulled by Alvin at a concert in Paris, it’s up to their slacker cousin Toby (Zachary Levi, TV’s Chuck) to take care of them back home. They begin attending high school, where they have to deal with peer pressure and a female-chipmunk singing group, the Chipettes, who are being managed by their evil ex-manager, Ian (David Cross). This is a super-cute guilty pleasure, with jokes that will have both kids and adults in stitches. It does lose steam toward the end, and it feels a little choppy at times, but the film is kept fresh and funny by dependable character actors. The only glaring issue is the near-absence of Lee; relegated to almost a cameo, he is sorely missed.