ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: THE ROAD CHIP (U) 92 mins. Jason Lee, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Josh Green, Tony Hale and Bella Thorne.

LOVE is in the air in the fourth instalment of the Alvin And The Chipmunks series... but not for long if the helium-voiced furballs get their way.

Of course, the mischievous trio learn the error of their ways en route to a sentimental reconciliation that emphasizes the importance of family over fame with all the subtlety of a swift kick to the sternum.

Dave (Jason Lee) has been dating Samantha (Kimberly Williams-Paisley) for several months and decides to introduce his sweetheart to his surrogate children.

Alvin (voiced by Justin Long), Simon (Matthew Gray Gubler) and Theodore (Jesse McCartney) should be delighted, except Samantha's teenage son Miles (Josh Green) bullies them mercilessly when the parents' backs are turned.

The chipmunks discover an engagement ring and realise that Dave is poised to go down on bended knee to Samantha during a business trip to Miami to promote the album of superstar Ashley Grey (Bella Thorne).

Wedding bells toll disaster - the trio will be stuck with Miles - so the chipmunks hatch a cunning plan to sabotage the proposal.

The quartet embarks on disaster-prone misadventures from Los Angeles to Miami including a tangle with a tenacious air marshal (Tony Hale).

Meanwhile, the feisty Chipettes - Brittany (Christina Applegate), Eleanor (Kaley Cuoco) and Jeanette (Anna Faris) - begin their stint as judges on TV talent show American Idol.

Polished digital effects seamlessly blend the rapping rodents with exaggerated real life, including one scene at a courthouse that comes surprisingly close to genuine heart-tugging emotion.