When the first movie based on Ross Bagdasarian’s high-pitched trio of rodents made more than $358 million worldwide, a sequel became inevitable. Now Daily Variety reports that 20th Century Fox is planning to release Alvin and the Chipmunks II on March 19, 2010. The studio also set a date Feb. 27 as the release date for its adaptation of the Street Fighter video game series.
Created by Bagdasarian in 1958, the Chipmunks quickly became popular recording stars, churning out 16 studio records, selling more than 43 million albums and snagging five Grammy Awards. The animated Alvin and the Chipmunks TV series debuted in 1983 and was broadcast in more than 100 countries. An animated feature and various TV specials followed.
Starring Jason Lee (My Name Is Earl) as Dave Seville and three CG characters animated by Rhythm & Hues, Alvin and the Chipmunks was released on home video in late march and sold more than 2.6 million copies on the first day alone to become the year’s fastest selling home video title. The family flick was also voted Favorite Movie at the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards that month.
Universal first adapted Street Fighter for the screen in 1994 with martial arts star Jean-Claude Van Damme in the lead. Now Hyde Park Ent. and Japanese video game publisher Capcom Ltd. are taking another stab at it for Fox, this time focusing on one of the game’s female combatants, Chun Li. The script is being written by Justin Marks, who is also attached to pen the upcoming Voltron movie for Mark Gordon Prods.
