The mischievous chipmunks bring back their comical sensibility and perform covers of Mark Ronson'€™s Uptown Funk and other hits in their signature high-pitched voices that will cheer up children this holiday season. For adults, you may be excused for dozing off in the first minutes of Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip.

The core problem is that the franchise keeps playing the same old tricks in Alvin and the Chipmunks'€™ fourth installment.

You might have found the trio'€™s mischievousness and shrieking singing endearing when the first live action appeared in 2007. But 8 years and two sequels later, the similar jokes and plotline feel a bit tedious.

Director Walt Becker sets the party mood in the opening of The Road Chip. Alvin (voiced by Justin Long), the troublemaker in a red hoodie, the bespectacled nerd Theodore (Jesse McCartney) and the chubby Simon (Matthew Gray Gubler) throw a surprise birthday bash for their father/manager Dave (Jason Lee).

The chipmunks entertain large crowds of partygoers with food, dance music and a half-pipe skateboard ramp installed in their backyard. The celebration unavoidably goes wild when Redfoo of electronic dance music duo LMFAO belts out his party anthem. Dave returns only to find that his home has been turned into party house.

Despite feeling upset by the chipmunks'€™ actions, Dave takes them to mini golf, where they are introduced to Dave'€™s new girlfriend, Samantha (Kimberly Williams-Paisley).

Samantha is a heart surgeon who absentmindedly goes everywhere with a stethoscope around her neck. She is a kind woman who could be a perfect mother figure for the chipmunks.

But the trio hates the idea of Samantha becoming Dave'€™s wife after meeting her teenage son Miles (Josh Green), who constantly picks on them.

Unintended consequences: After Theodore'€™s good deed, the Chipmunks are put on a no-fly list and are forced to take alternative transportation to reach Miami.

So when the chipmunks find an engagement ring in Dave'€™s bag, they scramble to sabotage the wedding proposal. Miles join forces with the trio on their quest, mainly to prevent having the chipmunks as brothers.

When Dave goes to Miami to produce a record and takes Samantha along with him, Miles and the chipmunks take a flight from their home in Los Angeles to Miami to stop Dave from proposing.

This is where the comical moments begin. Prior to their departure to Miami, Alvin and the gang drug three squirrels and dress them up in their own clothes to fool their bizarre neighbor Ms. Price (Jennifer Coolidge), who is tasked with looking after them.

On the flight, the innocent Theodore releases a restless monkey from a cage. His kindness turns to disaster when the monkey naughtily unleashes zoo animals into the cabin. Theodore'€™s mishap causes an emergency landing and draws the ire of air marshal James Suggs (Tony Hale).

He puts the chipmunks on the no-fly list and tirelessly hunts them across the country.

Suggs'€™ hostility is rooted in his heartbreaking past, when his girlfriend left him while The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don'€™t Be Late) played in the background. It seems implausible though that a man would turn psychopathic over such an event.

The air marshal'€™s evil laughter and threats are hardly intimidating or funny either. He mainly serves as a reason for The Road Chip to have Tom and Jerry kind of chases throughout the second half of the film.

The most entertaining scenes come when the chipmunks perform country tunes at a dive bar in Texas, and when they join a brass band in New Orleans'€™ French Quarter, to sing a blues-infused version of Uptown Funk. The Road Chip also reunites Alvin and his friends with their former singing rivals and love interests, The Chipettes, who are now astonishingly judging the American Idol singing contest.

There is a good subtle message in the film: Family isn'€™t always blood. Family are those who love you no matter what. The film wraps the message into a handful of sentimental scenes, particularly between Miles and the trio. However, some other scenes are not convincing, particularly when Dave seemingly stares blankly as if he is talking to the wall instead of the CGI-animated chipmunks.

Hell breaks loose: Chaos ensues as animals enter the cabin of an aircraft that the Chipmunks are flying in after Theodore releases a monkey from a cage, who in turn releases other animals.

Alvin and the Chipmunks has been part of popular culture since Ross Bagdasarian Sr. introduced the rodent trio'€™s song and cartoon in 1958. His son Ross Bagdasarian Jr. brought the beloved cartoon characters to the millennial generation with the live-action adaptations.

Looking at the latest Alvin and the Chipmunks live action he produced, he seems to do more harm than good to the nostalgia. The Road Chip feels like it mainly serves as a medium for a lot of product placement that heavily relies on overused jokes and pop hit covers.

However, it is hard to deny that The Road Chip is one solution if you are running out of ideas to entertain your kids in the holiday season. Just make sure that you bring enough snacks to last the whole movie.

'€“ Photos courtesy of 20th Century Fox
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Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip

Director : Walt Becker
Producers : Janice Karman and Ross Bagdasarian Jr.
Scriptwriters : Adam Sztkiel, based on the characters Alvin and Chipmunks created by Ross Bagdasarian Sr.
Cast : Jason Lee, Tony Hale, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Josh Green, Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler, Jesse McCartney, Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting, Anna Faris, Christina Applegate
Production companies : Fox 2000 Pictures, Regency Enterprises, Bagdasarian Company, Sunswept Entertainment and TSG Entertainment
Runtime : 92 minutes