A Chipmunk Christmas
is definitely my favorite DVD in this boxed set. Here, you not only get the original animated episode that has Alvin giving his prized harmonica to a sick boy and trying to find a way to buy another one before the boys' big performance at Carnegie Hall, but it also contains a "Christmas Carol" and "It's a Wonderful Life" spoof. In "Merry Christmas Mr. Carroll", Alvin seems to be stuck in a might selfish mode during Christmas, but when he gets visited by three ghosts (Dave as the Ghost of Christmas Past, Theodore as Present and Simon as Future), he realizes his ways and makes sure to give back to his neighbors. Meanwhile, "Dave's Wonderful Life" has Dave embarrassing his boys a bit more than normal when his car breaks down, he loses the soccer match and none of his songs sell. When he thinks the Chipmunks' life might have been better if he wasn't in it, he is visited by the kids in his dreams and shown exactly where they would end up if he hadn't helped them all this time.The Halloween disc,
Trick or Treason
contains the Chipmunk episode of the same name, where Alvin is trying to join a local band of hooligans called the Monsters, but he has to impress them first. Meanwhile, Theodore befriends a local boy who has a physical deformity and is seen as a bit of a monster around the neighborhood. This all comes to a head on Halloween night when Alvin is supposed to give someone a "Monster Mash" and the Monsters want Alvin to bring Theodore's friend so they can beat him up.While not directly Halloween related, the rest of the episodes on this disc deal with practical jokes ("Theodore's Life as a Dog"), things that go bump in the night ("Nightmare on Seville Street", "No Chipmunk is an Island") and a possible murderous babysitter ("Babysitter Fright Night"), so they do fit the generally scary theme. This is more than I can say for most of the episodes on the Thanksgiving disc since it contains their Thanksgiving special, "A Chipmunk Celebration", and then other, seemingly random episodes.
"A Chipmunk Celebration" has the boys putting on a school play, but when they decide to switch roles, they each feel like trying new things shouldn't be done. Alvin decides to make costumes (something Theodore would typically be better at), while Simon goes on stage as an actor (Alvin's standard schtick) and Theodore mans the lighting (a technical task that Simon is generally good with). As the play gets closer, they each feel overwhelmed, but in the standard 80's cartoon manner, trying to get out of the situation causes them to realize they can do it.
The other episodes on this disc, as I said before, just don't really seem to fit. Pilgrims are mentioned in one part of "Food for Thought", and I guess "Cookie Chomper III" is a message about being thankful for those you love, and remembering them when they pass away, but that feels like a stretch to me. And as for "Dave's Getting Married," you could probably pull a theme about getting along with family or something, but again, it just doesn't seem to fit quite as well as the other disc's follow-up episodes.
For the most part, Alvin & the Chipmunks: Classic Holiday Gift Set is a pretty good collection of Chipmunk, holiday-themed episodes. With the exception of the
