Smurfs
review by Bobby Blakey
First appearing in the French comic Johan and Peewitt in 1958, the Smurfs took US TV by storm with the animated series in 1981 on NBC. Since then, it has gone on to a iconic stable for not only kids that grew up with the series in the 80s, but spawned merchandise, comics, the animated feature released in 1975 (the US in 1983) and three big screen features in 2011, 2013 and 2017. Now the franchise is getting an all-new animated feature but does it capture the essence and magic of the Smurfs or will it spend too much time smurfing around to deliver?
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​Smurfs follows Smurfette who leads the crew on a daring rescue mission to save Papa Smurf after he is mysteriously kidnapped by the evil wizards, Razamel and Gargamel. The Smurfs team up with new friends on an epic adventure that takes them into the real world, where they discover that their true destiny is to save the universe.
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The film features the voices of Rihanna, James Corden, Nick Offerman, JP Karliak, Daniel Levy, Amy Sedaris, Natasha Lyonne, Sandra Oh, Octavia Spencer, Nick Kroll, Hannah Waddingham, Alex Winter, Maya Erskine, Billie Lourd, Xolo Maridueña with Kurt Russell and John Goodman with Shrek the Third and Puss in Boots director Chris Miller at the helm.
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I must admit, as someone who grew up in the Smurf era of cartoons, I was never a big fan of the property but still watched it all the time like most kids of the time. I was never a fan of the live action animated mash-up films so was looking forward to seeing where they take things in a straight up animated feature. While I was annoyed that they felt the need to throw in some live
action world moments that didn’t really seem necessary I still found the film a lot more fun that I had expected.
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I love the look and feel of the animation that captures the fun and heart of the world of Smurfs. At the same time, it has a new look to it that makes it feel original and not just rehash their original looks. I enjoyed the voice casting with Rhianna being the old one that kind of stood out and didn’t always work for me. It wasn’t bad or anything and given the story of Smurfette being what it is it mostly worked, but every so often it just felt out of place.
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It was an interesting fun new direction to not just have the always tormenting Gargamel being who they were facing off against and even at times be on the same side. I would have loved a more sinister version of the character as he seemed toned down here, but for the direction they went they left all that for Razamel. The film is filled with bright vibrant visuals, joy and a lot of heart as it tackles identity and finding one’s place in the world.
The film is far from perfect with some elements that get repetitive and feeling forced to get to the finale, but at the same time it just brings a smile to your face. Fans that grew up with the property will probably be hit and miss with it, but will no doubt find some of the fun easter eggs and Smurfs themselves a great callback.
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​This release offers bonus content including over 35 minutes of SMURF-tacular bonus content, including interviews with the incredible A-list voice cast, a look at the evolution of the animation styles, music and lyric videos featuring Rihanna, DESI TRILL, DJ Khaled, Cardi B, Tyla, and more!
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Grab your copy of Smurfs available now on digital and then on Blu-ray and DVD on October 28th from Paramount Home Entertainment.