For the longest, I thought “Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked” was a direct-to-DVD deal. Apparently, not. But, the fact that “Chipwrecked” made it to the theaters shows that making these CGI chipmunks must be getting cheaper and cheaper to create.

According to Rotten Tomatoes, this children-only film starring Jason Lee, Justin Long, Jesse McCartney, Matthew Gray Gubler, Amy Poehler, Anna Faris and Christina Applegate has a measly 14% rating, and audiences, surprisingly, gave it a 66% fresh rating.

Here’s what the critics had to say:

“Flails about in search of a creative reason to exist.”–Nick Schager, Village Voice

“You usually have to go to an Adam Sandler movie…to see something as incompetently made as ‘Alvin and the Chipmunks.”–Lou Lumenick, New York Post

“Like the recent Adam Sandler dud ‘Jack and Jill,’ a sizable chunk of ['Chipwrecked'] was shot on the newest ship in the fleet of a major cruise company–the ultimate in movie product placement!”–Jennie Punter, Globe and Mail

What I don’t get is how do they keep getting these high-profile stars to play these chipmunks with pitched-up voices. It would seem that there’s a lot of work in getting these folks to play characters even though you’ll never be able to tell who is voicing the character anyway.

Anyway, what did you think of the film? Or, better yet, what did your children think of the film? Give your opinions below.