MANILA, Philippines - The chipmunks are at it again bringing mayhem, music and adventure in their latest movie Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked with the returning cast Jason Lee as Dave Seville, David Cross as Ian with the voices of Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler, Jesse McCartney, Anna Faris, Christina Applegate and Amy Poehler.
Stranded with the chipmunks and the chipettes in the island is Jenny Slate (photo) who plays Zoe. Upon the group’s unexpected destination to a deserted island from their luxurious cruise they meet Zoe, a castaway who’ve been in the island years before they’ve arrived. Arriving in their new home is in a way a kind of homecoming for the chipmunks though not necessarily a welcome one. Being stranded on the island takes the Chipmunks full circle. When we met them in the first movie, they were wild living in the forest, foraging for nuts and that all came very naturally for them. Then, they became domesticated, famous, pampered and civilized. Now, finding themselves on a deserted island after all that domestication, they cannot figure out how to find a nut, or forage for anything but room service.
On their first encounter, Theodore mistakes Zoe for a monster. But soon finds out that the monster is a young woman whose island pals include Spalding, Calloway, Rawlings, Dunlop and Nerf respectively, a basketball, golf ball, baseball, tennis ball and nerf football. She enjoys extended chats with her anthropomorphized sports gear, all of whom have faces presumably drawn by Zoe. The inadvertent discovery of some long-buried treasure adds to the dynamic and danger between Zoe and the Chipmunks/Chipettes.
Jenny joins the cast as the mysterious island dweller Zoe. “Zoe was flying cargo jets, her plane crashed on the island, she’s been here for years and has become a little crazy because of being by herself. She’s managed to create a family of friends with the objects that she had on her plane,” says Jenny. ”Zoe is a really cool adventurous person, but she is definitely feeling the effects of being alone in a jungle on a desert island for nine years. I see her as a combination of rough and tough and incredibly sensitive. She is not who she appears to be.”
“I was really impressed by the scale of the production. When I walked onto the set, my heart beat faster because it reminded me of those classic family movies. And the story domesticated, fancy chipmunks being stranded on a crazy, mysterious island. It’s eternally exciting,” Jenny shares.
Jenny is a former cast member of Saturday Night Live. In 2009, Jenny presented her one-lady show, Jenny Slate: Dead Millionaire, to sold-out audiences in New York and Los Angeles. Last season, Jenny joined the Saturday Night Live cast as featured performer and created such memorable characters like Tina Tina, the doorbell saleslady. Before joining SNL, Jenny was cast in the HBO comedy series Bored to Death, as Stella, the stoner girlfriend to Jason Schwartzman. Jenny will soon be seen in This Means War with Reese Witherspoon, Tom Hardy and Chris Pine to be released by Twentieth Century Fox.
Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked opens Jan. 8, 2012 from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros. nationwide.