By Season 5, the show had moved to syndication. The animation budget noticeably dropped, and the show transitioned away from the "rock band" format toward something closer to The Smurfs or The Flintstones (i.e., "Cave Chipmunks" and "Cowboy Chipmunks" episodes). While purists dislike these "theme park" episodes, they are part of the and contain hidden gems.
The show moved to DIC Enterprises and was retitled The Chipmunks . alvin and the chipmunks -1983 complete series-