Aren't they doing this a little out of order? The Alvin and the Chipmunks sequel, so endearingly titled The Squeakuel, is set to come out Christmas of next year, according to last week's Production Weekly. But only today is Fox announcing that they've hired a director for the thing. The Hollywood Reporter writes that Betty Thomas, director of Dr. Dolittle, The Brady Bunch Movie and other comedies, will take over the next movie. How in the world are they going to start animating this thing now and have it finished in a year?

Oddly, the voices of the chipmunks from the first movie-- Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler and Jesse McCartney, have signed back on, while Jason Lee is still a question mark. It's weird that the chipmunks would be so eager to return, since their voices were so distorted in the first movie there was no way of telling who they were. The new movie will introduce the Chipettes, the Chipmunks' female counterparts, as they compete against each other in a $100,000 Battle of the Bands.

Let's look at the bright side here. By Christmas 2009, the American economy will probably be in such bad shape that we'll desperately need a bona fide box office hit to prove we even have money left to spend. The Squeakuel, as hard as it is to admit this, will probably be that hit. God help us all.