An aside in Adam Markovitz’s brief Entertainment Weekly review of the 3D opus Yogi Bearhas eked some umbrage out of me. The offending sentence:

After watching so many cartoon icons turn cynical on screen (yes, you, Chipmunks), it’s a relief to see Yogi Bear land unjaded in this frivolous CG live-action episode.

There’s a point to be made there, but using the hallowed Chipmunks to it shows a shocking cultural ignorance.
Alvin, Simon & Theodore turned cynical? When? As in, when weren’t they?

From his very first recorded Christmas-song utterances, Alvin was questioning the value of everything from the value of pre-arranged lyrics to recording studio decorum in general. He wanted a hula hoop, damn it.

Revolution is incited on many a Chipmunks record. In their subsequent longer-form TV and film incarnations, the boys were inclined to do good deeds for others, but even these acts of kindness were compromised by their impatient guardian David Seville, who, for instance, wouldn’t believe them when they told him that they’d adopted an eagle. That’s from the 1960s TV version; the ‘80s Chuck Jones rendition is notably warmer, fuzzier and more moral, which is probably Markovitz’s blind spot. But those shows still demonstrate a constant disregard for authority, tradition and basic safety.
A certain amount of cynicism—a huge, vast amount—might naturally be afforded rodents with careers in the recording industry. These are not Smurfs or Care Bears, after all, who have communities of like-minded fluffy friends of the same species to fall back on. In every period of their half-century existence the Chipmunks have been essentially on their own, their motives for what they do perversely their own.

Cynicism’s totally the wrong term. Self-preservation’s a whole lot better. And that’s what those recent semi-live action Chipmunk films cover well. Their sensibility comes from screenwriters Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi who brought contemporary TV coming-of-age myths to a high art in their landmark Nickelodeon series The Adventures of Pete & Pete. The Chipmunks and Pete & Pete share more than the sensation of cute siblings as stars (McRobb and Viscardi also wrote for The Naked Brothers Band series, by the way); there’s the same sense of music having extreme importance, of individuality and non-conformity being paramount characteristics of healthy development.

I have not seen Yogi Bear yet, and have no comment on whether it is important (or credible) for a starving park bear to appear unjaded. But for my entire life I’ve happily embraced the jaded cynical maverick rebellion of The Chipmunks—not to mention their spiritual kin Dennis the Menace, Calvin & Hobbes and Snoopy—and can’t let even a casual clause in a hundred-word Entertainment Weekly review slide.

“ALLLLLLLLVINNNNNNNNNN!”