Well the day finally arrived – the last day of school before winter break! Unlike every other morning, my kids couldn’t get out of bed fast enough this morning, meanwhile, I scrambled to think of things that I’m going to do while my kids are on break…with it being an over 2 week break, I have lots of days to fill. Lucky for me, besides being the last day of school for the calendar year, today is also the premiere of of Alvin and The Chipmunks: The Road Chip. Coincidence? Most definitely not! It’s the perfect family film for winter break!
That’s right, those adorable little chipmunks – who seem to find trouble even when they’re trying oh-so-hard to avoid it – are back and ready for a new adventure. And this time, they’re on their way to Miami! It all starts when their father, Dave, begins seeing a new woman (Samantha, played by Kimberly Williams-Paisley) and things appear to be getting serious. As happy as they initially are for Dave, things go south when they meet Samantha’s son, Miles, who is less than thrilled about the idea of furry stepbrothers. Believing that Dave is going to propose when he’s in Miami promoting Ashley’s (played by Bella Thorne) new album and dump them in the process, Alvin, Simon, Theodore, and Miles head to Miami to stop the proposal.
But…like all those other chipmunk adventures of years past, things don’t go quite as planned. After some unticketed air travel and a scene on an airplane, the Chipmunks find themselves on the no fly list and being followed by an over-zealous Air Marshall. It’s then that they must all work together to get to Miami to stop the proposal.
While I’ve seen many of the Chipmunk movies, this was my younger daughter’s first Chipmunk movie and she just loved it. At only 4 years old, it’s normally pretty difficult to get her to sit in a movie theater for nearly an hour and a half (run time of this movie is 86 minutes), but she happily sat in her seat and danced through this movie. She loved the music, the silly jokes, and the crazy situations that inevitably follow the Chipmunks everywhere they go. Immediately after the movie ended, she named Alvin her favorite and asked to see the movie again, which we will most definitely do during her winter break since her older sister wasn’t able to join us.
But what I wasn’t expecting, was how much I would love the movie. This movie is absolutely hilarious. I went to see this movie for my child, but ended up laughing way more than I ever expected. Even better, the humor is appropriate for all, so my daughter and I were laughing at the same jokes and situations. And the music is great. I mean – really, really good. As someone who watched the Alvin and The Chipmunks cartoon as a kid, this was a slice of my childhood that has been perfected.
Earlier this week, I was luck enough to get to meet the beautiful and talented Bella Thorne, a Pembroke Pines, Florida native, who plays Ashley in the movie. Below are just a few of the questions that were asked during the round table conversation I participated in. 
Q: What first attracted you to the role? Or do you want to tell us about your audition process.
Bella: I had a meeting with the director and he said “you’re the girl, you’re her.” He said he wanted to incorporate my actual music into the movie and we did. So one of the songs I actually sing is one of my songs.
Q: How do you prepare for a role like this where you are opposite animated characters, do you talk to yourself a lot?
Bella: No, no, you don’t do any of that. You just kind of act with them, alongside them. You have people reading their lines that are in red and green shirts so you know which characters they are, in case you can’t memorize them. They were really nice those guys and you have little stuffed animals, you have like 10 takes minimum just for the animals, without any direction from the director. They have green stuffies, and then they take them out and then they do a regular pass with nothing there, just tape marks and then they do a pass with balls in gold and silver colors and then they have to go around and shoot 360 and you have to stand still. There is so much that happens which is why I wanted to work on an animated film.
Q: Since Alvin & the Chipmunks has been around as a franchise for so long, have you seen the movies? What about that made you want to be in the movie?
Bella: I did see them growing up! I think it is something related to fond memories. It was fun watching it when I was growing up. It was a cool experience getting to be in something that I never thought I would be able to do. It was interesting, but it was definitely cool!
Q: What were some of your favorite experiences while filming the movie?
Bella: There is a really funny story about the Chipmunks. We are so precious with the Chipmunks because really they are the stars of the movie. While filming everyone was always saying don’t bump into the Chipmunks, don’t do this, you can’t get close to them for animation purposes. So there was one time when the camera jib, which is a camera that goes on a track really fast, it was going down and it was zooming into an actor, and it ran over Theodore. It completely just slashed him. Literally, everybody just broke out in laughter, and I couldn’t help laughing because my favorite chipmunk is Theodore. We had to pick him up, he was fine obviously, this little green stuffed animal!
Q: How have you managed to stay humble?
Bella: I am a pretty regular girl, I do regular things. I spend a lot of time with my family which definitely keeps me grounded. I don’t know how people get so caught up. I don’t go to a lot of events, I am not really in the Hollywood scene.
Q: Which do you like better, acting or music?
Bella: Definitely acting. When people ask me if I sing, I usually say no.
Q: You do a lot of social good and charitable work, what brought you to those organizations that you selected?
Bella: I am so happy to be where I am and so blessed and lucky, and although I have been put in the time, luck does take a big toll. I want to give to people some of what I have, so that’s why I do a lot of charity work. I grew up doing charity work, it’s always been a big deal in my family. The Thirst Project is one of my favorites. I work a lot with the Dyslexia foundation and a few others.
Q: Would you consider being behind the scenes?
Bella: I want to study directing and writing, its a really big thing for me. I like to work closely with my directors.
Q: If you weren’t acting, what would you be doing?
Bella: I can’t think of one other thing that I would want to do with my life. Singing is great, and I love dancing, and writing, but acting is the one thing I love best.
Q: You are half Cuban, how does that influence the roles that you select?
Bella: I guess I don’t really take that into consideration so much. If the character is very spicy and has a lot of attitude I know I can do that.
Q: You write, you sing, you act, you dance, you want to direct, is there anything you don’t do?
Bella: I don’t have a perfume line.
Q: So, what’s next for you?
Bella: I am shooting a film in January, and then I am shooting another film two months after that. Then I would start my show, so it’s a busy schedule already! I’m doing a film called XO with Jack Kilmer, which is great! Jack’s awesome; obviously he is the son of two very well known actors, and he has a lot riding on his shoulders and he can stand up for himself. He is a really good actor. That film is about aliens; it’s a really interesting film. Then I have another film I can’t talk about!
If you haven’t seen Alvin and The Chipmunks: The Road Chip yet, I definitely recommend it. It’s the perfect movie while the kids are out of school and you’re looking for ways to fill the days!
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