A screen shot from Chipmunks: The Road Chip. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The Alvin and the Chipmunks franchise, inspired by the namesake American animated music group created by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. in 1958, released its first film in 2007. To date the movie series has grossed a global box office collection $1 billion.

Chinese fans of the three chipmunks — Alvin, Simon and Theodore — say the films' songs and dances are its main highlight.

In the latest movie, the story revolves around the chipmunks' journey to scuttle their human adoptive father's "proposal" as they are worried they will be dumped by the new "stepmother".

While the movie has attracted a lot of pre-school children and pupils, adult moviegoers say the storyline "too simple" for them, according to scores on movie review sites Mtime.com and Douban.com.