Posts by Granditamias

  • Theo’s immaturity in Alvinnn

    Over the 5 seasons of Alvinnn so far, Theodore’s characterization has been pretty inconsistent. Sometimes he’s youthfully humble and shows growth and maturity. Other times, he’s a spineless baby with no confidence to take on big challenges on his own and his lack of intelligence gets exploited for jokes. And on occasion like in Munk vs Machine or the end of Switcheroo, he just becomes a savage who attacks and solves whatever the plot needs him to.


    I think it goes without saying which one is the correct portrayal of Theodore. It just really bothers me that after Janice Karman redefined Theodore in the 80s as someone the youngest viewers could relate to and learn from, he’s devolved into an overly emotional and incompetent fool. Theodore in Alvinnn has basically become what haters of Alvin and The Chipmunks think he was in the 80s and movies.

  • The Alvinnn!!! chipmunks have HUMAN TEETH

    Quote from elenori

    but how did you came with the idea to do a video about that?

    I came up with the idea as I was researching rodent physiology and hypothesizing what a scientifically accurate version of an anthropomorphic chipmunk species would be like.


    Quote from chipfan

    When will the video come online?


    And in the 80s series did they have the right amout of teeths?

    I'm surprised so many of you want a video about this. I haven't started writing a script yet but I will add this topic to my list. I mainly covered the basics here, but I want to go into more scientific detail in the full video.


    I didn't bother covering the 60s or 80s series because those are 2D animated and so it's impossible to tell if all their teeth are drawn consistently. I might cover the live action versions too when I do my video.

  • The Alvinnn!!! chipmunks have HUMAN TEETH

    I want to do a video on this eventually to explain further, but I wanted to briefly point out a scientific discrepancy in the CGI series. The chipmunk characters don't have the correct number of teeth as their real life counterparts or any rodents for that matter. Instead, they have the exact same dental formula as humans.


    For most mammals, a dental formula denotes the number of each kind of tooth in one quarter of an animal's jaws. Mammals have 4 different kinds of teeth: incisors, canines, premolars, and molars. Rodents of the sciuridae family (squirrels, chipmunks, marmots, and prairie dogs) have 20 teeth consisting of 4 incisors, no canines, 4 premolars, and 12 molars, giving them a dental ratio of 1:0:1:3. Humans and all other catharrine primates (humans, apes, and old world monkeys) have 32 teeth consisting of 8 incisors, 4 canines, 8 premolars, and 12 molars, giving them a dental formula of 2:1:2:3.



    I cross referenced this shot of Theodore in the season 5 opening with two other instances where a large portion of the inner mouth is shown and found that the number and placement of teeth are consistent across the series and with all chipmunk characters. I have used colored brackets in the last image to denote each type of tooth. Green for incisors, red for canines, yellow for premolars, and blue for molars.



    I know this may seem like I'm over-analyzing, but with their dental ratio being so specific to humans, this was likely intentional by the creators to make them more human-like and not simply a coincidence. I doubt there are any in-universe ramifications to this (unless you subscribe to the theory of them being mutants). Perhaps some other time I'll explain how I would describe their teeth in my scientifically plausible chipmunk design.

  • What’s your AU like?

    Is it based on any pre-existing series, or it’s own thing? What kinds of rules do the your stories follow by? Does it have any radical changes to the way certain characters are characterized or retcon any events?


    I’ve talked about my Tamian Mysteries series before as an AU of the CGI series, but there’s some finer details I haven’t yet brought up.


    Although I never set a divergence point for TM, I started writing it midway through the fourth season (going by US release date). It doesn’t spoil anything beyond the third season, but that may not matter anyway since the show is loose with continuity. And so far, nothing from the fourth or fifth seasons contradicts what I’ve written. As far as a timeline is concerned,TM currently takes place in summer of 2016, with the characters having completed their junior year of high school.


    Unlike the official series, where their town is nameless, there are fairly regular mentions in TM that it is Santa Barbara, California. Which we know for a fact is where Bagdasarian Productions is headquartered and where a lot of the show’s scenery is based on.


    In regards to the chipmunk species (something you may know I put a lot of emphasis on), I have set some general rules in my AU for how they age, their presence (or rather lack thereof) among humans, and their history. I decided to set Alvin, Simon, and Theodore at roughly age 9 and 1/2 (based on the “7 years” quote, passage of time since season 1, and how young they were when they met Dave in my telling of their origin story), which is equivalent to 16 or 17 years if they were humans, like the ones they attend school with. So they age at a little less than double the rate of a human. The Chipmunks and Chipettes are also the only ones of their species that live in human society, as all others remain hiding in colonies with little to no human contact. And finally, the chipmunk species evolved in North America, have been around longer than humans, and the last great chipmunk civilization, the Tamians, collapsed 20,000 years ago.


    And those are most of the things that define my AU. It’s pretty simple compared to the official series, nothing that feels “out of spirit” but I do adhere to these strictly.

  • Episodes ideas

    As far as the CGI series is concerned, I’d love to see

    an episode where they encounter another chipmunk, maybe as a new student at their school or out in the wild like that 80s episode.


    Besides that, I’d love to see more scavenger hunt/MacGuffin driven episodes. Treasure Hunt from season 2 is one of my favorite episodes in the series so far and I think it handled the adventure aspect very well. My fanfic series is primarily centered on that kind of stuff, so if you’ve read that you can kinda get the idea.

  • Most underrated human character

    Is there a human character from any form of AATC media who you think is underrated?


    I chose Digbee from the 80s series episode Wings Over Siesta Grande. It’s one of my favorite episodes from that series and I think Digbee has a lot of potential if he were brought back now or in a future series.


    In fact, I put his treasure hunting experience to use in my fanfic series.

  • How long have sapient chipmunks existed?

    If sapient chipmunks in the AATC universe are a natural occurrence, how long have they existed?


    If the 80s series is anything to go by, since it’s the only series that features chipmunks besides the main cast, there are chipmunks who have adopted cultures of ancient humans. I am of course referring to the Twee-Twee tribe from the season 6 episode ‘Wings Over Siesta Grande’. Their clothing and art-style is very reminiscent of the Aztecs, who lived in Mexico, where the episode is set. This would suggest that the tribe has existed since the time of the Aztec empire. But this only sets a definitive minimum date as far back as 1521, which is when the Aztec empire collapsed after the arrival of Hernán Cortéz. A few centuries may seem like a long time, but on an evolutionary scale, that’s very recent.


    Sure, there was the caveman-like chipmunk from the season 1 episode ‘Alvin… and The Chipmunk’, but he does not seem to represent any particular human culture the way the Twee-Twee did. It’s possible he and chipmunks like him could have been influenced by Paleo-American cultures that existed over 10,000BCE, such as the Clovis, who actually lived in California; but again, there’s nothing specific that ties him to them. There’s also ongoing debate as to how long ago humans arrived in North America and that the Clovis may not have been the first. This is important since chipmunks have their evolutionary roots in North America.


    The oldest record of a chipmunk in the fossil record that I was able to find was Nototamias hulberti, which lived in the Miocene epoch about 20 million years ago. It’s possible than in the AATC universe, there could have been transitionary species that eventually led to the upright-walking chipmunks we see now. And 20 million years seems like ample time for that change to occur since it only took 4.4 million years for the human lineage go from the tree-dwelling Ardipithecus ramidus to modern Homo sapiens.


    But what do you think? How long have chipmunks existed as a species in the AATC universe?

  • Fake AATC movie posters

    For a long time, even before Road Chip, I have seen quite a few fan-made posters and pitches for additional AATC films. I know some of these can cause a lot of harm if not presented correctly, but i still think there is an allure to these fake posters. Either to show the ease of spotting a fake, or just showing off the creative talent of the fans.


    The first one I want to mention is Fun on the Moon, which has been in the fandom for over a decade and even has a few fake teaser trailers for it on YouTube. I think I remember that the original version of The Munkcast once mentioned it. You can definitely tell that the space suit is fake because of how choppy the outline looks. Though I do respect the effort since getting Alvin into a space suit probably was not easy. I also think it’s worth pointing out how the title does not have a rodent pun like the titles of the official movies. You have SQUEAKuel, CHIPwrecked, Road CHIP, and then Fun on the Moon breaks that formula, and is an easy way to spot a fake. I would say going to space would be jumping the shark for this movie series, but then again Fast and Furious 9 went to space. If I had to be extra constructively criticizing though, the bright yellow text for the subname on the white plaque makes it really hard to read.


    Then there’s this one which is what started me down this rabbit hole. It steals its title from one of the Hobbit movies, and the subname is red like the title but is in the wrong font. Though to be fair, none of the official movies have matched the subname font with that of the main logo which is Gill Sans Extra Bold. What’s really weird is the tagline “The Chipmunks are turned before…” uh WTF does that mean? Overall this is still more convincing than Fun on the Moon, mostly on the basis that it leaves the CGI renders of The Chipmunks untouched. As they’ve been used on all 4 movies and Fox never bothered to make new ones.



    These pictures inspired me to make a more convincing fake poster to make fun of this trend in the fanbase. Like the previous one I stole the subname from a popular movie, in this case one that has yet to be released as of the time I’m posting this. You can tell I was a little biased since I like prehistoric animals and imagined this being tied into my theories about chipmunk evolution and their ancient history. I used the matching font for the subname, though I could have gotten away with a new one and in hindsight I should have made it stand out more. Oh yeah, and the tagline makes sense while also being cryptic. Honestly I only spent 20 minutes making this, but I’d love to know what you all think. And if you wanna make your own fake poster, post it in this thread.

  • Alvinnn!!! and The Chipmunks: Tamian Mysteries

    This isn't something you'd know about me if you've mainly been following my YouTube channel, but I do write Alvin and The Chipmunks fanfiction. I got my start on the old forum playing the original version of the "Post Something an AATC Character Would Say" game, and eventually started writing all by myself. Writing fanfiction was something I had wanted to get into since before I joined the fan community, because as I was coming up with my theories about chipmunk evolution, I imagined how it could build up a mythos to the franchise. If there are other chipmunks out there, how long have they existed? What did they did they accomplish? What was their relationship with humans? And perhaps most importantly, how would the Seville brothers and Miller sisters react to learning all that? And so in late 2019, I started to plan out a series, and further refined my ideas about the history of chipmunks as a species.


    Alvinnn!!! and The Chipmunks: Tamian Mysteries is set in the world of the CGI series and expands on it in many aspects. The main characters are given origin stories that do not contradict what little the series has given so far (though if that does change I will still stick to my original vision). In fact, I have adhered strongly to the official continuity in order to make Tamian Mysteries feel like a sister-series that could exist alongside it. In addition to references from the official series, some of which affect the plot of individual episodes, I have also incorporated characters and storyline elements from previous iterations of the franchise, such as the 60s and 80s series. Some of the references are pretty deep-cut. Most of the series centers on a main plot surrounding the titular Tamians, however, there is a secondary plot which introduces a major new character. And there is one "breather episode" in the first season that is more lighthearted for pacing reasons. It is slightly more mature than the official series, but only for action and more dramatic themes. Like, kids might still enjoy it, but there are instances where characters' lives are on the line. As the title implies, there are mysteries in this show. It's not to the same extent as Sherlock Holmes, but readers will have to mentally work for some answers. There’s some clever foreshadowing and each episode gives just enough answers for certain questions while also setting up others.


    The story of the first season (10 chapters (treated as episodes)) follows The Chipmunks and The Chipettes after the former group discovers a mysterious book. Through a trail of clues, they learn about an ancient culture of chipmunks called the Tamians, while inadvertently setting into motion the scheme of an old enemy. The Chipmunks also uncover secrets to their origin story which culminate in some big reveals in the last few episodes. Throughout it all, Alvin leads the team and begins to mature as a result.


    I am currently halfway through writing the second season, though I don’t get a lot of time to write due to making videos and my personal life. And I tend to think long and hard about the dialogue to make sure everyone is in-character. My plans are constantly undergoing revisions in terms of things such as specific character arcs, but I do know where I want the story to go and how I want to end it. I’ve been sharing this series with two consultants since I started, and they both really enjoy it. Not only do they think the characters are written more consistently than the actual series, but they also like how it isn’t formulaic and there are twists and turns to keep things fresh. Theodore in particular is given more to do, and he isn’t the easily manipulated baby like he is in the series.


    With how crazy this fandom is, it can be really hard to find fanfiction that respects the characters and source material, and doesn’t just exploit them for some personal fantasy or arbitrarily put them in a scenario “just cuz itz cool”. I may be limiting myself in many ways by treating Tamian Mysteries more like a TV series in its own right, but in order to get people to take my concept of chipmunks as a species seriously, I needed to disguise it as a story that earns the respect of the reader by developing the characters and offering something you wouldn’t be able to get in any other AATC fanfiction. Not to boast, but I highly recommend you check this story out. I guarantee you will be hooked by the end of the first chapter.


    AATC: Tamian Mysteries (Season 1)

  • Hypothetical Alvinnn game

    This is more of an idea at the moment so I don’t wanna promise this will actually happen, but I have been wanting to make an AATC fangame based on the Alvinnn series. So far I gave it the working title “Super Tamian Adventure” and I initially wanted it to be a 8-bit platformer like Super Mario. I even made sprites of all 6 chipmunks, with Alvin having a much more complete moveset including jumping, sliding, balancing, and idle poses. I also made a form of in-game currency with an animated shine to it.


    But since I recently got blender, I thought about making low poly models similar to an N64 game since I like that aesthetic and it would be easier to render. So I might end up changing the game to be a 3D collectathon like Banjo-Kazooie. However, due to my inexperience with modeling, that could be a ways off if it ever happens at all.

  • General AATC Chat

    Since it’s a hypothetical video game, I’ll put it somewhere in fanon, maybe the “video and audio short” section if you guys don’t mind. I don’t think video games are worth creating an entire subcategory for since this franchise hasn’t had a game in like a decade.


    Wow, I have a habit of coming up with AATC topics that are very niche.

  • The Chipmunks’ species

    Quote from Optimistic Alvin

    Hmm...


    I personally don't like the mutant theory either. And the alien theory is a bit absurd too. I mean, if the chipmunk are aliens then it's quite a big coincidence that they happened to look like chipmunks which we have here on Earth.


    I have heard of cross-breeding, but I'm not sure if that's considered evolution. Cross-breeding doesn't seem possible with chipmunks and humans anyway.

    Yeah. Humans, chipmunks, and all other animals would be closer related to bacteria and viruses than to extraterrestrials. So why should we just assume aliens would look like anything here on Earth? Heck, alien life may not even be carbon based.


    Cross-breeding between humans and chipmunks would not be possible. Not only would trying to get lucky with a rodent be a crime against nature, their genetics are far too dissimilar to produce a viable offspring. The last common ancestor between primates and rodents split off before the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs (yes I had to specify non-avian because birds are dinosaurs too LOL). And chipmunks have 38 chromosomes whereas humans have 46.


    A natural explanation could be convergent evolution, where organisms develop certain traits independently despite being from different lineages. There are many examples I could explain but one of my favorites is that the loss of legs has evolved in lizards at least 6 separate times, even though only one is the true snake lineage (basically all snakes are legless lizards but not all legless lizards are snakes). Something similar could have happened to chipmunks in the AATC universe. Maybe there was some event or change in their environment that led them along a path similar to our own evolution; standing mostly upright, complex problem solving intelligence, and developing language.

  • The Chipmunks’ species

    As some of you may know, I have believed since before I joined the fandom that the AATC characters are a species of chipmunk that evolved to be human-like. I just never liked the aliens or mutants theories because not only are they outlandish, cliché, and dark, but it’s also contradicted by several pieces of evidence in the 80s series like the existence of more chipmunks. Especially with the mutants theory, if the main 6 getting turned into mutants was a one-and-done event, it limits the possibility of introducing more chipmunk characters.


    I could go on at length with individual topics about their species like their taxonomy, diet, morphology, and evolutionary history, but I’ll save those for another time. As someone with knowledge of those fields of study, I am biased towards this theory, but there are some advantages if the franchise wanted to adopt something like this in the future.


    First, the idea of a non-human sapient species that evolved and exists alongside them is something not often seen in media these days. And it could lead to a lot of backstory and lore to flesh out the AATC universe. Second, it could educate audiences about some of the natural science concepts I mentioned earlier and give environmental messages by showing how chipmunks could be affected by the actions of our human society. Third, it can expand on AATC as a concept by introducing new characters. Making the AATC universe far larger than just the main 6 themselves could risk overshadowing them, but they could still lean into to the musical basis of this franchise by having new characters tap into music types the main 6 rarely do.


    What do you all think? Is there potential in emphasizing the chipmunks’ species and going into detail about it?

  • General AATC Chat

    Quote from Optimistic Alvin

    Well I think it might even work in Fanfiction perhaps? But now that I think about this, you are not the only one who comes up with theories about the Chipmunks.


    Perhaps I could change the category "Fanfiction" to "Fanfiction & Theories" and create two sub-categories (obviously "Fanfiction" and "Fan Theories") in it. Then such a category will also be able to include theories like Alvin 2.0


    What are your thoughts?

    I agree. And LOL I knew Jenna would have had the same issue of where to put Alvin 2.0.

  • General AATC Chat

    This isn’t so much related directly to AATC, but I was just wondering; where would be the best place where I can post about my scientific hypotheses regarding the biology of the AATC characters’s species?


    I was guessing AATC Off-Topic, but the concept is more my own original thing, so I thought Fanon (Media). Technically it might even work in the OC section too since describing their species would be kind of like describing a new character.


    What do you all think?

  • Simon with his Microscope

    Reminds me of an art piece I once made where 80’s Simon had a pencil resting on top of his ear a was holding a clipboard. Probably to write down some sciency things. Maybe I’ll share it some day.