You know, there hasn’t been a big screen adaptation of an old children’s cartoon starring Jason Lee in one role or another since … well … this month.

But this time, you get to see his face, and does he look weird without the Earl-stache!

In the “you wonder why this wasn’t done earlier” category, Alvin and the Chipmunks will come to theaters this Christmas. For years, the singing rodents charmed kids with their high-pitched perennial holiday favorites and their 1980’s cartoon show. Many kids, like me at the time, figured out how they made the “chipmunk” sound by slowing their record players down to 16 rpm ( I think the only reason they ever made a 16 speed on a turntable was to decipher the Chipmunks!)

About 25 years ago, they had a brief renaissance, resulting in the album Chipmunk Punk. But since then, Alvin, Simon, and Theodore have been silent. Now, in 2007, the Chipmunks are back, and they sound the same as they ever did.

Instead of a cartoon, the movie will be live action with CGI chipmunks. The first trailer has been released, and it gets some points for cleverness, but loses some by going to a doody joke right away. Watch it here after the jump.

You can watch the trailer in high-definition formats at AOL Moviefone.

While one could probably figure out the plot right now, I’m sure kids and those who fondly remember Dave Seville yelling “ALLLLLVIIIIIN!” will get a kick out of it. This probably will be good mindless holiday fun for people who want to kill about 90 minutes in a warm theater, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

From 20th Century Fox, Alvin and the Chipmunks hits theaters on December 14, 2007.