I've been meaning to write this blog for some time because I commonly see many people who seem to be confused in exactly how the characters should be referred to in articles. The following blog strives to remove that understandable misuse of terms commonly used throughout the franchise and on Munkapedia by explaining the subtle differences between those phrases.
- Alvin and the Chipmunks usually refers to the entire franchise but can also refer to the band of Alvin, Simon, and Theodore. Since the phrase can apply to both and there is another for just the group, the best time to use it is when referring to the entire franchise to avoid misunderstanding.
- Alvin and the Chipmunks (with italics) refers to either the 1980s series containing Seasons 1 - 5, the 2007 CGI/live-action film, or the video game based off the film. In these cases, the writer must leave some clue before or after the phrase to inform the reader of which reference that is intended.
- The Chipmunks refers strictly to the band of Alvin, Simon, and Theodore and is the correct way to identify them (no other capitalization, i.e. the Chipmunks, is correct as The Chipmunks is an official name). If the name of the group was just Chipmunks (omitting the "the" since if it wasn't part of the name it could be replaced with anything), people would be bewildered if someone wrote "Look, it's Chipmunks!" It would be much more clear if someone wrote "Look it's The Chipmunks!" "The" has importance and should be used correctly. Mis-capitalization can confuse the reader by forcing them to wonder if the writer intended to refer to the group or the characters. With the correct use, there is absolutely no confusion about whether someone is talking about the franchise, the group itself, or the chipmunk characters.
- The Chipmunks (with italics) refers strictly to the 1980s series containing Seasons 6 & 7.
- The chipmunks (at the beginning of a sentence), the chipmunks, or chipmunks refer strictly to the characters that are chipmunks (Alvin, Simon, Theodore, Brittany, Jeanette, Eleanor, Vinny, or any combination of chipmunks). Here "the" has less importance so it's not capitalized and can be removed without changing the intended meaning. Since there is no capitalization and most of the main characters are chipmunks, one is no longer referring strictly to just Alvin, Simon, and Theodore.
- The Chipettes refers strictly to the band of Brittany, Jeanette, and Eleanor and is the correct way to identify them (no other capitalization, i.e. the Chipettes, is correct as The Chipettes is an official name). The same example can be used above for this name. Just replace "Chipmunks" for "Chipettes". Though a reader who is familiar with the franchise would know for sure who the writer is talking about if they read the Chipettes or the chipettes, these terms are not correct since the group is a proper noun. Here there is no confusion about who is being referenced.
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