Christina Applegate received a Tony nomination for singing and dancing in the revival of Sweet Charity, but she sounded nothing like she does in Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel. Applegate voices one of the Chipettes, a singing group that gives Alvin and the guys some competition.

Parade.com’s Jeanne Wolf discovered what it took for Applegate to warble like a ‘munk.

The secret to changing your voice.
“You have to talk really slow like you just kind of had woken up from a nap. It’s really funny because it’s as far away as you can get from that chipmunk sound. Then, you hear it sped up and it’s perfect.”

If only she could move like that.
“I remember when they showed us the dance numbers for the first time. I almost wanted to cry. It was so adorable and I was so excited. It’s like, ‘Look how great I am.’ And then you have to remember that’s not even us doing anything. It’s all done by the animators.”

But she still might be back on the Great White Way.
“I’m always training just like before I did Sweet Charity on Broadway. I’m back in dance classes a lot now. I’d love to do Sweet Charity over and over for the rest of my life if I could. But if I was going to do another play, I’d want it to be something original, not a revival, because there’s a lot of scrutiny that goes on when you’re trying to fill the shoes of major icons like Gwen Verdon, who starred in the original Sweet Charity. She was a tough act to follow.”

Keeping it clean for the kids.
“I don’t have any children, but I’m happy that I didn’t have to say anything disgusting in The Squeakquel that would shock kids. We’re strictly PG all the way. When I improvise, foul things often come out of my mouth that aren’t on the page. So I really stuck to the script or there would have been some inappropriate words from my chipmunk. It was good to do something that was very wholesome.”

A silly pet memory.
“I had lots of animals. I had a parrot that could talk. It was a Macaw. He used to tell my dog to shut the door. He’d go, ‘Red Eye, shut the door.’ And the best part is my poor dog would shut the door.”

And a Married with Children memory.
“I was going through the awkward phase that every teenager feels, but my awkwardness–not to mention my bad hair and tight t-shirts–was getting documented on TV every week. But it gave me a chance to get back at this boy I loved so much that I thought I would die. He had been totally ignoring me. After I got Married With Children, I called him up just to see what would happen. He was like, ‘Hey, Christina, we should go out or something.’ Of course, I blew him off.”

New screening guidelines for breast exams.
“Don’t even get me started. Look, I just started to sweat. I get a little angry. I don’t mind being outspoken about that. I think that is the most atrocious thing that I’ve ever heard. I was 36 years old when I had breast cancer, and you’re going to have people wait until like their 50 to get screened? It irks my whole body. I’m telling you it’s not going to happen. We women will fight against that as much as we can.”

What she’s hoping for in 2010.
“The things I pray for are a lot different than they used to be. I pray that I’ll find joy and happiness in whatever comes my way rather than being totally focused on getting the thing that will advance my career. It’s not that I’m less ambitious, it’s just that I used to feel that if my life wasn’t a certain way I wasn’t going to be happy. Then I shifted gears in my consciousness. I really accept the fact that my life is blessed and that it doesn’t matter if I’m successful in this business or something else.”

From Parade

Actresses, who voice Chipettes in new ‘Alvin and the Chipmunks,’ pick cutest character, suggest inappropriate songs for future films.

You’d be hard-pressed to find three more fun, bubbly, beautiful blondes than Anna Faris, Amy Poehler and Christina Applegate. This week, millions will go and see their new movie, but not actually see them. Or really hear them — at least not their God-given voices.

The ladies, who play the Chipettes in “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel,” say the film is a unique opportunity for an actor to infuse a character solely with personality, unencumbered by the usual limitations of voice and physicality. Such lofty thoughts, however, went right out the window when we recently sat down with Poehler and Applegate, two good friends who could barely contain their laughter long enough to give us their thoughts on the sexiest Chipmunk, their old-timey listening habits and why the Chipettes need to cover a dirty Prince song.

MTV: I saw the movie last night. One of the coolest things was when I came out, I saw a little kid singing the old-school Chipmunks theme.

Amy Poehler: You mean, “Christmas, Christmas time is near… “? That one?

MTV: No, the ’80s theme song, from the cartoon show.

Poehler: Well, you see, I think we’re a little older than you. Because we used to listen to the Chipmunks on a record player.

Christina Applegate: A wind-up!

Poehler: Yes, an old man on a player piano would perform it. We’d go down to the speakeasy and put hot potatoes in our pockets so we’d be warm as we walked home.

MTV: Is that how you first became aware of the Chipmunks, through the Christmas song?

Applegate: It was for me. I don’t remember my childhood so much. [Laughs.]

Poehler: I remember your childhood. And it was because of that song.

MTV: Were you fans of the Chipettes?

Applegate: They came later, didn’t they? They came when we were already getting in trouble. [To Poehler] I love how I keep bringing you up like you’re 400 years old. I don’t even know how old you are.

Poehler: I’m 38.

Applegate: The same age? We’re the same age.

MTV: I can remember coming to the first “Alvin and The Chipmunks” junket and everyone was saying how bad they wanted the Chipettes for the sequel.

Applegate: Oh, really? Well, here we are.

Poehler: I’m hoping people will really respond. The characters are cute and sweet, and there’s a whole sense of fun in them. It was great to work with Christina and Anna [Faris]. It was a blast, even though we never got to see each other. But it was great to work with them in theory.

Applegate: I did it because when they told me those other two were doing it I was like, “Well, I have to!” Also because it’s iconic and it’s for kids. I haven’t done that. Look at my career — you can’t really show too much of that to kids.

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ComingSoon.net talked exclusively to Christina Applegate, Amy Poehler and Zachary Levi about starring in Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel, opening in theaters on Wednesday, December 23.

In the sequel, Alvin, Simon and Theodore finally meet their match – and maybe more – in the newly arrived female trio, The Chipettes. Directed by Betty Thomas, the film also stars Jason Lee, Justin Long, David Cross, Matthew Gray Gubler, Jesse McCartney and Anna Faris.

You can watch the interviews using the player below!