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!

Two years ago, a big screen adaptation of “Alvin and Chipmunks” became a surprise hit at box offices grossing $360 million worldwide. The movie was based on the animated music group created in 1958 about three singing chipmunks and their exasperated manager/father.

This week, “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel” hits theaters with a new, all-female singing group, The Chipettes, who give Alvin, Simon and Theodore a run for their money.

Comediennes Amy Poehler and Christina Applegate, who play chubby Chipette Eleanor and lead singer Brittany, respectively, sat down with Reuters to talk about their roles, parallels to pop diva Beyonce Knowles and Kelly Bundy’s future.

Q: Were you asked to play the specific Chipettes?

Christina: The studio must have had their own reasons because they came to us with those characters already in mind.

Amy: The reason why I was excited about doing this was because I heard Anna (Faris, who rounds out the trio) and Christina would be doing it and I love their work so much.

Christina: I just watched (Poehler’s 2008 movie) ‘Baby Mama’ the other day again, and it’s so funny.

Amy: Oh thanks. I was so skinny then.

Q: Any similarities between you and your Chipmunk selves?

Amy: I want to be a star! (laughter) Well, Christina is a good leader. She’s a good front person and she’s an excellent singer and dancer in real life.

Christina: Thank you for answering that question.

Amy: You’re welcome. I would say that I am like Eleanor in that I’m the shortest. And like Eleanor, I do not enjoy wearing high heels. I don’t walk very well in them. But Christina and I look like we could have a bit of Chipmunk in our DNA.

Christina: I have really hairy arms.

Amy: And we both sleep all winter (laughter).

Q: How was it recording the voices? You had to speak really slowly so your speech would sound normal when sped up.

Amy: When I was recording, I would crack myself up, and they ended up using my laugh for Eleanor. I’m sad to say that when my laugh is sped up, it sounds like an appropriate chipmunk laugh.

Q: In the movie, your evil manager, played by David Cross, tries to make Brittany the big star, pushing her sisters to the side. Very Destiny’s Child, don’t you think? Do you feel the parallels to (lead singer) Beyonce’s life as The Chipettes sing “All the Single Ladies?”

Amy: We always feel the parallels. I mean, in every day life, no matter what I’m doing, I’m thinking about how it relates to Beyonce. In the past, I’ve said to directors I’ve worked with: “Now what would Beyonce think?”

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Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel introduces the female counterparts to the singing chipmunk trio. The Chipettes come from the old cartoon series, but they never had star powered voices like this before. Christina Applegate, Amy Poehler and Anna Faris voice the live-action Chipettes.

You wouldn’t recognize them though, because they recorded very slow speech so it could be sped up to Chipmunk squeakdom. “You do each line for 10 minutes, because you are trying to get it to be slow enough but yet sound like a normal conversation,” Applegate said. “I mean it’s a very bizarre technique. I actually just thought you just did what you did and they messed with your voice afterwards and that’s not the case. You have to literally, ‘Taaaaalk liiiiiike thiiiiiis.’ When sounding excited like, you have to go, ‘Yaaaaay!’

That meant they had to sing slowly too. The soundtrack includes Chipette version of hits like Beyonce’s “Single Ladies.” “Oooooh, ooooh, ooooh,” Applegate demonstrated.

“I can do the whole song for you right now,” she joked.

Well, perhaps the girls can knock the Glee kids off the charts for a few weeks after “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel” opens. “I think I’m looking forward to just having a hit single I guess,” Poehler said.

Applegate ran with the industry lingo. “Our album is dropping,” Applegate said. “So yeah, I think it’s going to be huge. I think kids are going to freak out over this movie and literally have to go see it 50 times. I want to go see it again, I loved it. I love it. Seriously I loved it so much.”

From Starpulse

Christina Applegate has revealed that Justin Long gets naked in new romantic comedy Going The Distance.

Christina voices Brittany in Alvin And The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, while Justin voices Alvin, but he is also reunited with on-again-off-again girlfriend Drew Barrymore in the new romcom, out next year, which also stars Christina.

She hinted: “I saw A LOT of Justin Long over the summer, I did – You’ll see the movie and you’ll know why I said that.”

The 38-year-old actress also revealed the movie, about a couple in a long distance relationship, is “very dirty”.

Christina said: “It’s called Going The Distance and it’s with Justin and Drew Barrymore and then a whole slew of really awesome people.

“It’s very dirty. It’s the polar opposite of Alvin And The Chipmunks. These people will not be able to go see that.”

The Anchorman star and Amy Poehler, who voices Eleanor in the Chipmunks Squeakquel, also joked about their best and worst Christmas presents.

Christina revealed: “A set of encyclopaedias when I was 18. I’m sorry Marm, you’ll never hear, encyclopaedias when I was 18.”

Amy, keen to impress a British audience, joked in a cockney accent: “My best present was bangers and mash and my worst present was, um… um a tight pair of knickers.”

:: Amy and Christina voice Chipettes Eleanor and Brittany in Alvin And The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, in cinemas December 21.

From the Press Association

Amy Poehler has revealed Alvin is her favourite Chipmunk, even though she voices his brother Theodore’s girlfriend, Eleanor.

Christina Applegate, who voices Chipette Brittany in Alvin And The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel also revealed that Alvin was her favourite in the movie and off screen.

Amy revealed: “Eleanor loves Theodore… I have to say, if I was to be honest I would probably go for Alvin, because I tend to go for Alpha chipmunks.”

Christina added: “With some sass and some danger.”

The Chipmunks themselves were delighted to be starring in the world’s first ever movie Squeakquel, but insisted life had not changed for them since becoming film stars.

Simon said: “Alvin still pretty much hogs the spotlight.”

While Alvin claimed: “The title was my idea.”

Theodore advised: “Squeakquels go great with buckets of popcorn.”

Alvin and The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel is in cinemas December 21.

From Press Association