So when I first heard about the making of this movie years ago I was very excited. I remember seeing the rumored cast list which featured Quentin Tarantino as the voice of Brainy Smurf and John Lithgow as the voice of Gargamel. I figured the whole thing would be CGI. Well a few years later and the previews came out and it was a mix of CGI smurfs with live action actors. And Gargamel was not being played by John Lithgow. And to make things worse The Smurfs were in New York with Neil Patrick Harris. Nothing against New York or Neil Patrick Harris but neither of these are reflected in my memories of The Smurfs growing up. I did want to see the movie eventually but I was not in a rush. Well I was very pleasantly surprised.
As a child I remember having countless plastic Smurf toys and stuffed animals that I would take to school with me and play in the sand with. As well as fond memories of watching the cartoon and learning whatever lesson was unknowingly being taught to me. Fortunately for me as a kid I was able to go to an in state amusement park, Carowinds, that featured its very own Smurf village complete with life sized Smurf mascots. We are talking about the late 80's and very early 90's here. So it was very sad as a I remember a visit to Carowinds in the summer of 1994 where walking along the familiar path led to a very destitute Smurf village absent of the Smurf mascots I remembered so fondly. The new children were asking stupid questions like "who are the Smurf's" and "why do they live in mushroom houses?". Idiots. And then there was a the even sadder memory of going to Carowinds in the summer of 1997 and finding Smurf island completely removed the park. I think if i remember correctly my thoughts were along the lines of "Fuck This Shit". Now I understand that each generation has their childhood things that make memories fun. Now I understand why my brother was never excited as I was when they made a live action Teenage Mutant Turtles movie. So seeing the Smurfs in New York in the preview made me think that it would just be another crappy attempt at ruining things I love from my childhood.
I like how the movie starts off and takes you into Smurf village and you get quick little cameos of different Smurfs many I remembered and would instantly point out silently.
Even the inclusion of at least three new Smurfs (Gutsy Smurf, Narrator Smurf, Crazy Smurf) did not bother me. However I do think Gutsy would have been more believable as a real Smurf from my childhood without his chops.
So far so good I smiled a lot during the open intro. Then we get our first shots of Gargamel and Azrael up to their usual shenanigans and plotting which as usual end in a humorous fashion. I loved the way Gargamels house looked and all his lab equipment and even his costume and make up were very well done. And even though John Lithgow was not in the movie I think Hank Azaria did a very nice job. I laughed quite a lot at his performance.
At this point of the movie they get on with the plot as Gargamel stumbles upon Smurf village which leads to an encounter where the Smurfs are sent threw a portal to New York City with Gargamel and Azrael following. Here it gets pretty predictable. Smufs find humans, Humans freak out, Gargamel plots to find Smurfs, Smurfs get into trouble, bonding with Humans and Smurfs, one last master plan carried out unsuccessfully followed by a heartwarming farewell where lessons are learned by all.
The movie is way better then I thought it would be and my complaints are really not the bad, aside from the whole being in New York thing. But they pulled it off nicely. The peformances were all well acted and pulled off nicely. The special effects were very believable as well, except for a few scenes where the Smurfs were either being held or hugged, some of those seemed a bit flimsy. It has its eye rolling moments where Smufette voiced by Katy Perry speaks lines such as "I kissed a Smurf and I liked it". Yes I know its a supposed to be fun and corny and all about pop culture but I don't know that was the only big "roll your eye moment" of the film in my opinion. Then you have borderline moments that appeal to older members of the audience such as when Smurfette gets a new dress and stand on a air vent. This moment is corny but fun and has a funny twist at the end.
All in all it was a good movie that I wish I had seen in the theatre in 3-D. There were a few action scenes that I feel would have made great use of the 3-D technology. I would totally re watch this again someday.
Pros: Good job the cast, Good job the the special effects people, Better then expected. The inclusion of a possible future cameo from the newly added Passive Agressive Smurf. And the running joke of having Gargamel backtrack and walk through the steam from the sewers as if it were mysterious mist.
Cons: I still think they could have made a movie that solely featured the Smurf world and landscape of the cartoon. A few bad special effect moments but not enough to take away from the overall feel of the movie. A few corny lines. The fact that more of the popular Smurfs from the cartoon were not given somewhat larger roles.
Rating: 3½ Stars
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