Dec 24, 2018 · 58m · how-i-built-this
The Chipmunks: Ross Bagdasarian Jr. & Janice Karman (2017)
Ross Bagdasarian Jr. · 24m spoken Guy Raz · 16m spoken Janice Karman · 9m spoken Alex Vandewark · 1m spoken Ross Bagdasarian Sr. · 2s spoken
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gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions
In this episode of How I Built This, Ross Bagdasarian Jr. and Janice Karman share how they resurrected, voiced, and transformed the 1950s novelty music trio Alvin and the Chipmunks into a multi-billion-dollar global entertainment empire. Through creative tenacity and fierce legal independence, the couple navigated industry rejection, studio battles, and multimedia expansion while safeguarding their family legacy.
How this conversation actually went
Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Guy holds 34.2% of the talking time here. How this is scored →
Guy as informed peer 4.3 Guest teaching 3.0 Guest disagreement 1.4 Guy pushing back 1.5
speaking balance: gold is Guy, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 26:10 Janice on crushing executives
Janice jokingly but sharply reframes Guy's question about rival animated characters, making clear their animosity was reserved entirely for dismissive studio executives.
Hardest push from Guy ▶ 14:03 Guy plays devil's advocate on rejectionsGuy challenges the guests by suggesting television executives were reasonably justified in dismissing a 1950s throwback concept in a fast-evolving modern market.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 46:47 Ross corrects revenue numbersRoss immediately corrects Guy's estimate of the Fox movies' earnings, breaking down the $1.3 billion box office and over $2 billion total revenue including DVD sales.
Guy holds their own ▶ 52:39 Guy cites Liberty Records executive namesGuy showcases deep historical research by revealing that Alvin, Simon, and Theodore were named after 1958 Liberty Records executives Alvin Bennett, Simon Waroniker, and Theodore Keep.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | Guy as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | Guy pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Origins of Alvin and the Chipmunks | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Guy Raz demonstrates strong historical knowledge of 1980s Saturday morning cartoon lineups and sets up the background of Ross Bagdasarian Sr. and the Witch Doctor origin story. The guests warmly confirm and interact. | |
| Growing Up with Ross Bagdasarian Sr. | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | Guy asks about Ross Sr.'s personality and whether Ross Jr. wanted to join the business. Ross Jr. explains his father's larger-than-life character and his own youthful reluctance. | |
| Legal Armor and the Spark to Revive the Brand | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | Ross Jr. explains how his father's sudden passing spurred him to attend law school for mental martial arts protection of intellectual property. | |
| How Ross and Janice Met | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Janice and Ross recount their humorous early courtship and how Janice became convinced of reviving the Chipmunks. | |
| Facing Industry Rejections with Shared Tenacity | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | Guy plays devil's advocate, pushing the guests on why TV executives weren't justified in viewing the Chipmunks as an outdated 1950s relic. Ross Jr. counters by asserting there are actually no experts. | |
| The Breakthrough with Chipmunk Punk and Urban Chipmunk | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | Janice describes how a Philadelphia DJ playing a sped-up Blondie song sparked the Chipmunk Punk album, and clarifies recording at half-speed affects pitch rather than spoken pace. | |
| Techniques for Voicing the Iconic Characters | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | Ross demonstrates the vocal pacing required to voice Alvin and Dave Seville, and explains assembling veteran Warner Bros. animators for their Christmas special. | |
| The 1983 Saturday Morning Hit Series | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | Guy asks whether competing with Mickey Mouse and Peanuts felt like warfare. Janice clarifies they loved the characters but wanted to crush rude executives. | |
| Mid-Episode Teaser and Break | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 | Guy presses on how Ross and Janice managed to keep full ownership rights when dealing with major broadcast networks. Ross cites lessons learned from his father and Berry Gordy. | |
| Realizing the Fanbase at Madison Square Garden | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | Ross and Janice explain realizing their cultural impact at a sold-out MSG show and turning an accidental negotiation with Viacom into a $25 million syndication windfall. | |
| The Universal Deal and Stifled Ambitions | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | Guy inquires about the Universal deal stagnation. Ross and Janice explain how executive turnover left them completely sidelined until they were forced to sue. | |
| Settling with Universal and Buying Back Ownership | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | The couple explains buying back Universal's 25 percent stake for $2.5 million to reclaim full ownership of the intellectual property. | |
| The Fox Deal and Inspiring the Movie Villain | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | Ross details how an unethical record executive from 1982 who reneged on national promotion inspired the movie villain Ian played by David Cross. | |
| Billion-Dollar Box Office and Creative Integrity | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | Ross corrects Guy on the Fox franchise gross, highlighting it generated over $2 billion including DVDs, while noting their creative disputes outweighed financial ones. | |
| Navigating Marriage, Partnership, and Honoring Ross Sr. | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Ross and Janice reflect on their 37-year marriage and creative partnership, sharing a touching story about catching Ross Sr. on television late at night. | |
| Naming Origins and Dave Seville's Famous Yell | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Guy shares the historical naming origin of the Chipmunks after Liberty Records executives, prompts Ross's iconic Alvin yell, and transitions to the MixMat entrepreneur segment. |
Statements from this episode (19)
Ross Bagdasarian Jr.: Ross Bagdasarian Sr. began songwriting at 16 with 'Nuts to You'
“Started writing songs when he was 16 years old, driving a truck in the vineyards of Fresno and his first song was called Nuts to You.”
Ross Bagdasarian Jr.: Growing up, I was certain I wouldn't take over the Chipmunks
“The only thing I was certain of while my dad was still alive was that I wasn't going to be involved with the chipmunks or what my dad had done, not because I didn't love what he had created, but because he, they were such big shoes to fill that I didn't want t…”
Bagdasarian: Creators struggle to maintain ownership without legal self-defense
“There's creating what you do, and then there's continuing to own what you do, and those are tough things to Do at both times unless you know how to protect yourself and contracts and so forth.”
Bagdasarian: There are no real experts and nobody truly knows what works
“What we came to realize is that there actually are no experts. You know, nobody really knows, and so I was just willing to put my belief above what other people were telling us, and Janice felt the same way.”
Karman: 'Chipmunk Punk' sold over one million albums overnight
“And as it turns out, it sold over a million albums overnight, and then the people at CBS and NBC and ABC, they, well, you know, all of a sudden they wanted to have lunch.”
Bagdasarian: Hired legendary Warner Bros. animators for A Chipmunk Christmas
“Some of the great animators from Warner Brothers including Chuck Jones, and Phil Monroe, and Virgil Ross, and these guys who had done the greatest Bugs Bunny cartoons in the forties and fifties were available, and they weren't being used, and Janice and I hire…”
NBC paid $210,000 per half-hour Chipmunks episode in 1983
“Back in those days, it was like 210,000 dollars for a half hour of shows.”
Bagdasarian Sr. was first songwriter to own publishing and master recordings
“Well, you know, because my dad had not only, as you mentioned, set that up, he was the first songwriter who not only owned the publishing but also The master recordings.”
Bagdasarian: Berry Gordy founded Motown to own masters like Bagdasarian Sr.
“When we met Barry Gordy years later, he said, you know, I learned a very valuable thing. When I was writing songs, I decided to found Motown because I wanted to own the master recordings the way your dad did.”
The 1980s Chipmunks cartoon captured a 40% TV audience share
“Back in those days, Guy, we were getting like, 40% of the audience was watching.”
Bagdasarian: Sold Chipmunks syndication rights for $25 million
“And then a couple of years later, we sold those rights for twenty five million dollars.”
Bagdasarian: Distributor spent under $900K marketing 'The Chipmunk Adventure'
“They spent less than 900,000 marketing the movie and including the prints and advertising.”
Bagdasarian Jr.: Universal acquired a 25% stake in Alvin and the Chipmunks
“They bought a 25% share at that point in time, and that for the opportunity for what felt like a really exciting opportunity to grow the business in a much larger way, felt like a great thing.”
Bagdasarian: Paid Universal $2.5 million to buy back Chipmunks stake
“Two and a half million dollars for their-”
Bagdasarian Jr.: Chipmunks Villain Was Inspired by a Real Record Executive
“This is a quote, and it's, it, so it explains why David Cross is, as Ian is, is that character. So the record executive tells Janice and me, well we're not actually going to do the national release and the big marketing. I said, well, wait, I said, you told us…”
The Chipmunks film franchise generated over $2 billion including DVD sales
“And if you include the DVD sales, it's over two billion dollars in revenue.”
Bagdasarian Productions earns just two cents per Chipmunks DVD sold
“So unfortunately Fox will send you the thank you card because we get about two cents per DVD.”