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You'd be far from nuts to be cynical about a sequel, or in this case Squeakquel, to the 2007 live action/CGI holiday kids blockbuster, Alvin and the Chipmunks.
Sure, the first movie raked in a cool $350 million worldwide, but it was also panned as one of the worst films of that year.
Surprisingly then, the follow-up movie, aka The Squeakquel, about the continuing adventures of those adorable singing chipmunk brothers -- Alvin, Simon and Theodore -- is an oddly entertaining, if mindless, way to spend an hour and a half on a Saturday morning with a seven-year-old.
Maybe it's because the series' signature catch phrase, "Alllllllllvin!" is kept to a minimum as Jason Lee (My Name is Earl), who played the chipmunks' father figure/manager Dave Seville in the first film, has limited screen time in the follow-up.
Dave ends up in a body cast in a Paris hospital after a giant likeness of Alvin, the mischievous one, takes him out during a Chipmunks concert as part of their world tour.
Alvin, Simon and Theodore (the voices of Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler and Jesse McCartney, respectively) are forced to return to Los Angeles on their own to be looked after by a video-game playing but goodhearted cousin named Toby, played by Zachary Levi (he's Chuck on the NBC show, Chuck).
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Once home, the three chipmunks -- now world-famous pop stars -- enroll in high school where their singing spot at a benefit to save the school's music program is challenged by an equally adorable female chipmunk sister singing trio known as the Chipettes -- performed by voices of Amy Poehler, Anna Faris and Christina Applegate.
Making matters worse, the Chipettes are managed by the 'Munks former manager and now nemesis, Ian Hawke (David Cross of Arrested Development fame).
Alvin's loyalty to his brothers is also tested when he's asked to join the football team and joins the "cool jocks" clique.
While this isn't exactly a plot for the ages, themes about the importance of family sticking together, music in schools, and not getting too big for your britches are worthwhile lessons for kids.
Director Betty Thomas (The Brady Bunch Movie, Dr. Dolittle) also knows how to handle a family comedy full of slapstick and a little harmless toilet humour and the occasional one-liner worth remembering.
"Ah, I love the smell of zit cream in the morning," says one of the 'Munks on their first day at school.
It also has to be said, the tiny, furry, big-eyed Chipmunks are pretty cute whenever they're on screen, which is essentially the entire movie, with nice comic timing provided by Long, Poehler et al.
Usually sturdy scene-stealer Wendie Malick (Just Shoot Me, Dream On), however, is wasted as the high school principal in a supporting role.
And if you can ignore the butchering of such classics as The Kinks' You Really Got Me, you can get past the sound of the Chipmunks and Chippettes, whose strangled alto voices are much better suited to the pop of Dead or Alive's You Spin Me Round, Beyonce's Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It), or Katy Perry's Hot N Cold.
(This film is rated G)