• Little Alvin and the Mini-Munks

• Main article: Little Alvin and the Mini-MunksA live-action movie called Little Alvin and the Mini-Munks [1] was released on April 27, 2004 (April 24, 2005 according IMDb [2]). It features puppetry used for the Chipmunks and Chipettes. In this movie, when Dave (Ross Bagdasarian, Jr.) goes out of town, he leaves the young Chipmunks and the Chipettes in the care of Lalu (Janice Karman), a friend who is happy to have six pre-schoolers stay with her. Lalu lives in a magic cottage with Gilda (a talking cockatoo), and PC (a talking frog who believes he is one kiss away from being Prince charming). There are also Sam and Lou, two gophers who report to the viewers about the feelings the characters are experiencing. While at Lalu's, the kids learn and sing about separation, jealousy, telling the truth, sharing, and other life lessons. Theodore learns about telling the truth, and not to put things into the toilet; Alvin learns about helping Eleanor (the infant); and Jeanette learns that she cannot "borrow" Brittany's lipstick. The direct to video feature was directed and co-written by Jerry Rees, who also animated all the CGI effects and voiced two characters. The budget for the project was unusually low, at $600,000. It was also the only live-action appearances of Ross Bagdasarian, Jr. and Janice Karman, respectively.