Featuring award-winning songs from The Chipmunks’ library and hits from popular artists, Alvin and The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel lets players star as The Chipmunks, their girl-group counterparts The Chipettes, or both as they rock out on the ultimate worldwide tour. Performers can unlock and choose from a variety of pulse-pounding concert locations including 25 different venues on Wii and 11 in the Nintendo DS version.

Using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk or Nintendo DS stylus, players must keep the bands on tempo through songs that grow increasingly challenging in two modes of difficulty – Normal and Expert – to gain fans and set attendance records. Performers can also choose from a variety of gameplay modes including Multiplayer, that lets them compete against two friends on Wii or up to three friends on Nintendo DS, and Jukebox, where they can play their favorite unlocked songs while watching and singing along to music videos. Offering hours of fun for the entire family, Alvin and The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel lets fans of all ages boogie their way to the top this holiday season.

Developed by ImaginEngine, Alvin and The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel for Wii and Nintendo DS is rated E for Everyone and is available now for the suggested retail price of $39.99 and $29.99 respectively.

SOURCE Majesco Entertainment Company

The film, “The Secret of NIMH”, a 1982 animated film, is an adaptation of Newbery Medal-winning children’s book, “Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH” written by author Robert C. O’Brien in 1972. It somewhat resembles Richard Adams’ novel “Watership Down”, which was written the same year only with rabbits instead of rats. It’s a story about the adventures of Mrs. Brisby (the name was changed to avoid copyright infringement), after she decided to leave the barn that they were living in to seek help for her ill son, Timothy. She will learn about the existence of a group of former lab rats led by Nicodemus in NIMH (National Institute for Mental Health), that is capable of utilizing human technology, and will discover how much she is connected to the strange bunch. She will then lead them into a sort of rodent exodus to avoid extermination.

The rats of NIMH have very large shoes to fill, (but technically, it’s their shoes that were filled since they came in first), following the rodents of G-Force in the silver screen. This high-tech-gadget-yielding, military-trained, five- guinea pig- strong cast gave Harry Potter a taste of their own magic ala Mission: Impossible in the box office. Even before that, the furry singing sensation in “Alvin and the Chipmunks” as well as the culinary wonder, “Rattatouille”, have each posted respectable box office turnouts when they hit the theaters. However, a good adventure will always be loved. With visual modifications to cater to a modern audience, this classic story may hold some promise.

People behind this film are still on the drawing board but we already know that Director Neil Burger (”The Illusionist”) is currently the one being swayed into writing the screenplay. If ever, this will be Burger’s first venture into a children’s movie. He’s best known for his dark and mystical treatment of the film, “The Illusionist” starring Edward Norton.

No other information is available yet so all that’s left for us to do would be to speculate and suggest, and speculate and suggest, we will. From the looks of things, if everything runs smoothly for the producers of this project, we might already have a chance to watch this flick by 2011. Although turning it into a live action– 3d animation type would really bring it to this generation, the greatest strength of “The Secret of NIMH” is its compelling storyline. The makers must be sure not to miss out on the juiciest parts so that the viewers, especially those who have read the book or seen the first movie would really be able to get that “reading experience”. Since the story is above all, about that rats’ struggle to survive, it will also be crucial to have a sufficient amount of comic relief on this film to break the monotony of impending doom. Such can only be provided by Jeremy, the clumsy crow and he has to have lots of exposure. This film would also need a great array of soundtracks to set different moods that we would generally expect from films like this such as sadness, comedy, and suspense. If they can come up with a bittersweet symphony as original soundtrack, like the one in the movie “Forrest Gump”, then so much the better.

We don’t really hate rats. So long as they make it worth our while, they’re more than welcome to gnaw their way to Hollywood!