Ian Hawke

"Dave, we go way back. We both come a long way since college. You, not so much. I wanted to like that song, but, you heard it... not that good. If I wasn't your friend, I'd say, "Dave, you go right back out of this office and you keep writing music, you'll get there someday." But I am your friend, so I'm going to tell you that there is no sense in writing songs that no one is ever, ever, going to sing."

- Ian criticizing Dave's song

Ian Hawke is the hidden main and true antagonist of Alvin and the Chipmunks and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel and the (former) secondary, but semi, antagonist of Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked. He is the Chipmunks' and Chipettes' former arch-nemesis and David's former arch-rival and best friend.

Beginnings
Since college, Ian was Dave's "best friend", but not a true one.

This eventually led to their bitter rivalry, thus breaking their friendship. However, in the third film, he reforms and somehow becomes friends again with Dave, the Chipmunks, and the Chipettes.

Alvin and the Chipmunks
In the film, Ian is visited by Dave, who presents a song he wants produced to Ian. However, he refuses and bluntly tells Dave that he thinks it is bad and he hated it. He proceeds to tell Dave that he should quit writing music that he thinks no one will give attention to.

Later, Dave once again visits Ian to present to him Alvin and the Chipmunks in order to convince him that they would be JETT Records' next big hit. Unfortunately, the audition goes horribly as the nervous trio refuse to sing due to intense stage fright.

Later on, in his house he hears a door bell and thought it was just kids, It happens upon the Chipmunks who sing Ian "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" and greatly impress him and make him realize that Dave was right. He welcomes them into JETT Records and later calls Dave in the supermarket, calling him his favorite song writer and to tell him of the song's success and also informing him of the video that got 10,000,000 hits on YouTube. Later, at a Christmas concert, Ian tries to convince Dave to let him work with the trio. However, Dave quickly realizes that Ian would only exploit the Chipmunks and refuses, as well as pretending not to hear his proposition.

This angered Ian, who warns Dave not to go against him, further claiming that he never loses. He later tries to manipulate the Chipmunks by telling them that Dave is holding them back and that he could be making them 20 million dollars a day and that Dave does not view them in a positive light. Later at Dave's house, a misunderstanding occurs and a heartbroken group of Chipmunks contact Ian to see if they can live with him. When the Chipmunks move in with Ian, life at first seems grand as they are given a plentiful amount of toys and activities, but things begin to take a turn for the worse as Ian begins to overwork and exhaust them.

Finally, at the big concert in L.A., Dave wants to visits the Chipmunks but is flatly refused by Ian. Ian then further hurts the Chipmunks' feelings by claiming that Dave sent back tickets for their concert. Dave later attempts to sneak into the Chipmunks' performance, but he is blocked by security guards. Claire, however, sneaks Dave in by pretending that he is a journalist for a local magazine and giving him a press pass. When Dave enters the theater and calls out their names, the overjoyed group of Chipmunks quickly realize that Ian had lied to them and proceed to ruin the show and cause significant amounts of chaos.

Despite their efforts, Ian manages to once again capture the Chipmunks and quickly whisks them away in a cat cage. However, they easily escape and trick Ian with their doll doppelgangers. As Ian is chauffeured away toward the airport Ian discovers the dolls and proceeds to yell in defeat.

In a post-credits scene, it is revealed that the Chipmunks' escape cost Ian the world tour, as well as his career and fortune. So he tries to get three squirrels to sing, but, of course, fails.

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
In the film, Ian is depicted as a shadow of his former self: Jobless, as well as broke. It seems that he is such a poor state that he even eats a piece of muffin that had been in the garbage and a rat had gotten hold of. However, Ian ends up as the adoptive father, caregiver, and manager of the Chipettes. But he only adopted them to get revenge on the Chipmunks and he kept this a secret and didn't tell the Chipettes. The two bands later met up at school, but Alvin and Brittany were the only ones that ended up distrusting each other (until Alvin saves her and her sisters from Ian).

Throughout the film, Ian manipulated the Chipettes into believing the Chipmunks were evil and that Alvin literally spat on him. Despite this, he still wanted only the "B-girl" (Brittany) as a star and didn't allow Jeanette and Eleanor on Brittany's way. Brittany refuses to perform without her sisters and locks hands with them, turning on Ian. Ian nonchalantly accepts this and then asks if they like barbecues with a fake smile, earning confused looks from the Chipettes. Suddenly, Ian roughly grabs them by their tails and leaves them dangling. Ian then threatens to cook them in a barbecue restaurant if they don't do as he says. Terrified, the Chipettes are forced to follow Ian's orders.

Once again, Ian loses his fortune after the Chipettes escape just as the Chipmunks did in the first film. This leaves him to lamely make up for their disappearances by dressing up as Brittany and using puppets to portray Eleanor and Jeanette. As a result, he was thrown in a dumpster by security guards.

Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked
In the film, Ian returns as an employee on the cruise ship dressed like a pelican. He tried to crack the Chipmunks and Chipettes' relationship with Dave and ruin his life. However, he, in a way, does re-kindle his relationship with Alvin and his brothers, along with Dave and the Chipettes by helping Dave rescue his 6 "kids".

At the end of the film, when the Chipmunks and Chipettes perform at the International Music Awards, Dave and Ian (who has reformed) work together with them to keep them famous and happy, becoming friends again.

Personality
Ian was always quite an arrogant and unpleasant individual. However, he was also not quite bad enough to be considered a true villain; but this changed when Alvin and the Chipmunks started to become popular in the first film and his greed began to shine through, quickly revealing him for the control freak he truly was.

Ian was a heartless bully, a shameless glory-hound, and above all else, a man who would go to any lengths to get what he desired — caring very little for anyone else (he is also, arguably, a parody of the music industry itself, treating his "stars" badly and using them to boost his own career).

By Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, Ian's personality had darkened considerably and while he still managed to convince the Chipettes that he was a "good" guy and that the Chipmunks are evil (and that Alvin had literally spat on him, which definitely was not true), he was much quicker to reveal his true colors — being obsessed with regaining power and being openly abusive towards the girls, at the end of the sequel, it is hinted that Ian has gone slightly insane as he desperately tries to cling to fame, even when being booed off the stage by his once adoring public.

Appearance
Coming soon!

Powers and Abilities
Ian doesn't possess any superhuman or mystical powers, being an ordinary human — however, he was once a rather successful and rich businessman with great power, which he lost because of his own bullying nature: By the Alvin and the Chipmunks 2: The Squeakquel, Ian had been reduced to a pathetic excuse for a human being so devoid of power he was literally forced to wrestle with rats for food, though he was still good at manipulation (though he was considerably more skilled at it in the first film, his bitterness in the sequel, making him a much more obvious villain).

In the third film, Ian is a supporting protagonist. Although his personality has not changed, in the end, he somewhat restores his friendship with Dave and the Chipmunks and is not as sneaky.

Trivia

 * Ian is the film version of Uncle Harry from the cartoon series.
 * Ian is constantly believed to be a supporting protagonist in the third film.
 * Ian is similar to Chef Skinner: Both have locked up the main protagonists in a cage, they are the owners and got kicked out of their own businesses. As well, they are both rodent haters and become jealous with the main protagonists' owner / caretaker.
 * He is also similar to Count Olaf: Both have abused their own children.
 * Ian is also similar to Mr. Waternoose: Both are child abusers, both want to make lots of money, and both become enemies with the child's caretaker. However, the only difference between the two is that Waternoose is the secondary antagonist in his film (Monsters, Inc.) and Ian is the main antagonist in his film (Alvin and the Chipmunks).