The Smurfs Review

What everyone has been waiting for, another 60′S kid show turned into a movie. So far we have had The Scooby Doo films which had some promising notes (Matthew Liarld was a great Shaggy and Scobby Doo looked good) but it turned out to be a disaster. More recently we have had the Alvin and the Chipmunks film which is just three squeaky chipmunks signing for an hour and a half which is as mindless and bad as it sounds. You thought that revamp of “You spin me right round” was bad, try hearing it sang by chipmunks. So does the Smurfs have what it takes to reverse this or is it another childhood disaster.

The Smurfs is about these blue tiny creatures called Smurf who live in their small village. Each of these smurfs are unique having their own diffrent personality which chooses their name. Examples of this is Grouchy, Clumsy, and Brainy. The village for the most part is peaceful, except when they have to deal with Clumsy (Anton Yelchen) making a mistake. There is also the evil wizard Gargamel (Hank Azari) who tracks down the Smurfs everywhere they go so he can use them for his evil scheme. One day when he attacks, the Smurfs find a portal which transports some of the Smurfs and Gargamel to a mystical land, New York City.

When the Smurfs get here they met Patrick Winslow (Neil Patrick Harris) who is a fashion vice president who is having a soon to be child with his wife Grace Winslow (Jayma Mays). The Smurfs also find out that Gargamel is on their trail trying to track them down. So the Smurfs try to get back to their village while learning the true value of friendship, family and other messages.

The Smurfs is your usual half animated half CGI film. The film is full of pop culture refrences that seem unnatural to the show it is adapting. I dont think the Smurfs excist in the same world where Katy Perry’s I kissed a girl is a nationwide hit. The thing that made last years Yogi Bear good is it stayed true to the show it was adapting. The film had no pop culture or fart and poop jokes that are just bad. Studios cram as much relatable stuff as possible to audiences so they can get a cheap laugh because they know or get the refrence.

That goes to another thing, why make this film in New York? The original series took place in Smurf village where thousands of Smurfs live. The film starts off there and its actually enjoyable. There were some really neat cameos in the beginning of the film it gave me a chuckle. The only reason the film is in New York is to give the film a relatable human character and so we can some landmarks that’s it. Like I said before the main problem here is that it is not true or honest to the television at all. Last time I check saying a word with smurf in it was never in the show and it’s not funny here.

The film does have some bright spots. Hank Azari is a scene stealer in everything he is in and its not different here. I respect Azaria because he brings a full effort to everything he is in and he makes everything better. The special effects of the Smurfs look fantastic blending in nicely to the New York landscape. The thing is this is all the stuff I was talking about with those other adaptations gone wrong. There is one breakout performance and everything looks good. These days that it is not enough.

Overall Smurfs is another failed adaptation which is sad to see. Hopefully Yogi Bear will show that an honest true adaptation is the best way to go. Overall I have to say.

Skip It!