Comic Transcripts

[[ROSS BAGDASARIAN speaks with record executive ALVIN BENNETT.  These are the people’s real names!]]

ALVIN:  Ross, this “Chipmunks” song is so CREATIVE! Their little VOICES!  You’re CLEARLY a genius, so I just got one question!  What’re you doing NEXT??

[[At home, Ross wracks his mind.]]

ROSS: COME ON, Ross.  You can do it.  You can come up with something new.

CAPTION: SOON

[[Ross shows a page of ideas to Alvin.]]

ROSS: HARRY AND THE HIPPOS.  Buncha animals with real deep voices.

ALVIN: Uhhh

ROSS: Don’t like it?  Fine: FROGGY AND THE MERMEN.  We flange the audio so it sounds all burbly and underwater.

ALVIN: Are all of these just animal-themed novelties with various audio effects?

ROSS: Of course not!  There’s also PIERRE THE DOG WHISTLE and his SWINGIN’ MIME ORCHESTRA!

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#991; The Chipmunks, and What Came After transcribed by in

[[ROSS BAGDASARIAN speaks with record executive ALVIN BENNETT.  These are the people's real names!]]

ALVIN:  Ross, this "Chipmunks" song is so CREATIVE! Their little VOICES!  You're CLEARLY a genius, so I just got one question!  What're you doing NEXT??

[[At home, Ross wracks his mind.]]

ROSS: COME ON, Ross.  You can do it.  You can come up with something new.

CAPTION: SOON

[[Ross shows a page of ideas to Alvin.]]

ROSS: HARRY AND THE HIPPOS.  Buncha animals with real deep voices.

ALVIN: Uhhh

ROSS: Don't like it?  Fine: FROGGY AND THE MERMEN.  We flange the audio so it sounds all burbly and underwater.

ALVIN: Are all of these just animal-themed novelties with various audio effects?

ROSS: Of course not!  There's also PIERRE THE DOG WHISTLE and his SWINGIN' MIME ORCHESTRA!

{{header: don't be late for WONDERMARK.COM}}

''Is it...silent?'' ''Well, there's a percussion track''

#991; The Chipmunks, and What Came After

  — December 23rd, 2013

[ Tags: , , , ]       Permalink: https://wondermark.com/c/991/

It wasn’t until my mid-twenties that I realized the Chipmunks (which I had always known as cartoon characters from my childhood) were actually, as pop-cultural entities, much older — dating back to their eponymous novelty Christmas record in 1958 or, arguably, the “Witch Doctor” song all the way back in 1952. There was a short-lived cartoon in 1961, but the Saturday-morning cartoon that I and people of my generation are most familiar with didn’t come around until more than 20 years later (1982-1990).

The audio trick that creator Ross Bagdasarian used to create the sound of the Chipmunks’ voices was so simple, and the resulting songs so popular in the late 50s and early 60s, that I figured they must have spawned some knockoffs. Sure enough — enjoy the squeaky sounds of:

The Nutty Squirrels (singing “Uh Oh”)
The Grasshoppers (singing “Shortnin’ Bread”) (More info)
The Three Happy Crickets (“We Wish You a Merry Christmas”)
Woody Woodchuck’s Christmas Sing Song (info only)
Sing Along with the Busy Beavers (album download)
BONUS LINK: The Happy Hamsters sing “Ghostbustin'”, a few decades later. Full album here.

Buy a Print

New ways to get Bolted!

July 24, 2026 by David Malki !

In addition to buying things directly from me, the normal way, my game Bolted! is also now available on Amazon dot com.

On that famous website, you can also get the Creature-Crafting Magnets Set, which is made of the same artwork from the game, but is just a weird little trinket (not a playable game).

My kiddo made the elaborate version below to show off just how many magnets you get in the set (it’s 150 pieces in all — this isn’t even all of them).

Also now on Amazon is my set of Multi-Purpose Greeting Cards — a full dozen cards with envelopes in a fancy, unbranded, foil-stamped box!

Event alert!

I’ll also be showing off Bolted! at Greenwood Games, an event in Seattle this Saturday:

Greenwood Games is a free, all-ages community game event that invites players to spend the afternoon walking Greenwood Avenue from 65th to 80th, collecting clues, cracking puzzles, and discovering games made right here in Washington.

Think of it as Pride Hop, ArtWalk, and the Gumshoe all rolled into one,  except the whole thing is built around games and puzzles.​

Local game designers will be set up at different places along Greenwood Avenue in Phinney Ridge (near Ballard). My specific spot will be the “Holy Mountain Phinney Ridge Taproom”. All the information about all the different games & venues is on the website!

(If you’re in Seattle generally but not free tomorrow, Bolted! is also stocked at Blue Highway Games in Queen Anne.)

Next week, I’ll be at Gen Con! I personally will be hanging with my buddy Sam Logan at BFE Webcomics, booth #1217… but I have it on good authority that copies of Bolted! will be available at the CRWN Studios booth, #2549.

Visit one booth! Then the other! The order…is up to you.


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