Mashy the Pup, the roadkill who tells the Tree Weasels' backstory, is based on the Bagdasarians' pet Pekinese dog Tiger Lily, who was hit and killed by a car during the production of The Chipmunk Adventure (1987). This joke was added by Bob Jaques as an act of revenge aimed at Bagdasarian Productions for not crediting him for his layout work on that film.
John Kricfalusi, a fan of the original Alvin and the Chipmunks cartoons, considered what their origin story would be like and pitched the idea to Ralph Bakshi for 'Mighty's Benefit Plan'.
The tan skinned girl that Elwee flirts with during the "Twitch and Writhe" music video is a caricature of Janelle Pransky, who was Ralph Bakshi's secretary at the time.