Smurfs Review

Directed By: Chris Miller
Written By: Pam Brady; Based on the characters and works of Peyo
Runtime: 92 minutes
MPA Rating: Rated PG for action, language and some rude humor

Rihanna – Smurfette
James Corden – No Name Smurf
John Goodman – Papa Smurf
Nick Offerman – Ken
JP Karliak – Gargamel/Razamel
Dan Levy – Joel
Natasha Lyonne – Mama Poot
Xolo Maridueña – Brainy Smurf
Alex Winter – Hefty Smurf
Billie Lourd – Worry Smurf
Maya Erskine – Vanity Smurf
Spencer X – Sound Effects Smurf
Chris Miller – Grouchy Smurf
Jimmy Kimmel – Tardigrade
Marshmello – Turtle
Amy Sedaris – Jaunty Grimoire
Sandra Oh – Moxie Smurf
Octavia Spencer – Asmodius
Nick Kroll – Chernobog
Hannah Waddingham – Jezebeth
Kurt Russell – Ron

The lovable, docile creatures, the Smurfs, have a song that says, “La la la-la la la, sing a happy song,” but the song that the new Smurfs movie sings is not happy and enjoyable. It’s excruciatingly painful, not humorous, and forced. The blue denizens of Smurfs Village are back in a new big-screen adventure that no one asked for and no one wanted. The new Smurfs movie has only one hook. Rihanna is the star of the show as the new voice of Smurfette, as the film’s marketing materials make it abundantly clear. Unfortunately, that’s the only party trick that Smurfs has under its pointy hat for this hackneyed, goopy, ineffectual mess.

For whatever reason, the Smurfs is a weirdly resilient IP. Despite the failure of the last CG-animated feature, Smurfs: The Lost Village, produced by Sony Pictures Animation, the blue creatures are back at it yet again in their fourth big-screen outing. Unfortunately, the new adventure lacks any meaningful style or substance. The film often descends into a juvenile, spoon-fed, handholding narrative, filled with poorly constructive jokes. Even the attempts at more subtle adult jokes show about as much impact as hitting an anvil with a feather.

Although the marketing materials heavily focus on Rihanna’s Smurfette as the star of the show, the narrative’s true lead is the No Name Smurf (Corden). Out of all the Smurfs in Smurfs Village, No Name Smurf has no gimmick of his own. Without a gimmick, No Name Smurf has no smurfing purpose. Ain’t that a Smurf? [AN: Yes, that’s a reference to how the Smurfs frequently use the word “Smurfs” as a stand-in for obvious verb and noun placement.] Well, a powerful magic book, Jaunty Grimoire (Sedaris), notices No Name Smurf singing about his plight in a lame musical number and seeks to help No Name Smurf find his gimmick, granting him some magical powers.

Unfortunately, Jaunty’s gift to No Name Smurf sets off a signal, exposing the location of Smurfs village to the evil wizard, Razamel, the diminutive long-lost brother of the evil Gargamel (both evil siblings are voiced by Karliak). Razamel kidnaps Papa Smurf (Goodman), seeking the powers of Jaunty Grimoire so he and his evil wizard council can rule the multiverse [Yes, literally another multiverse story, again]. Before being taken away, Papa Smurf charges his Smurf brethren to find his long-lost brother, Ken (Offerman). It’s now up to the ragtag Smurfs and a useless Turtle, who is name is simply Turtle (Marshmello), to find Ken, save Papa Smurf, and the entire universe from Razamel.

Smurfs never becomes a full-blown musical, yet it contains two oddly placed musical numbers throughout the film. Their inclusion makes no sense because the movie does not have enough songs to play as a sufficient musical. In fact, the arbitrary musical numbers are not even particularly memorable. It’s possible Smurfs did not follow the traditional animated musical format; but then, why include the songs at all? Instead, the musical sequences’ inclusion plays more like a half-baked imitation of a stronger, more well-rounded animated musical experience.

Joining Smurfette and No Name Smurf on their journey are a group of some of the more prototypical and well-known Smurf characters, including Hefty (Winter), Brainy (Maridueña), and Vanity Smurf (Erskine). Besides No Name, Smurfette, Ron, and a couple of others, they are all background characters. The other Smurfs lack meaningful dialogue, character arcs, or interactions throughout the story. They only function to provide sparing observations or forced jokes, such as the Sound Effects Smurf, who only talks using obnoxious noises. Even Nick Offerman’s indelible voice and trademark dry delivery fail to elevate the experience. Most of the characters’ vocal delivery sounds flat and underwhelming. Rihanna’s Smurfette’s most notable feature is that she likes to eat French fries.

Smurfs also falls into the worst trope of a big-budget CG-animated movie, relying on big-name celebrities in tiny roles, merely to add another prolific name to the cast list. It happens with the Smurfs and the evil wizards, voiced by Oscar winner Octavia Spencer and Emmy winner Hannah Waddingham. Spencer and Waddingham portray barely incidental characters and are insignificant to the overall plot. They are not the worst cases of celebrity stunt casting in an animated movie, but it’s still disappointing, along with a waste of such talented thespians’ talents for such pointless roles. Jimmy Kimmel voices two lines as a cutesy, inter-dimensional Tartigrade. Sandra Oh voices a highly competent special ops Smurf of the Paris Division, but the plot ushers Moxie Smurf out shortly after her first appearance.

The CG animation looks adequate. However, the film frequently mixes live-action footage with the CG animation, as the Smurfs travel through “the real world” because that worked so well before [AN: That’s sarcasm]. Although the film depicts the Smurfs interacting and walking among the real world, live-action environments, and authentic humans, there are cartoony, CG-animated humans, who are presumably from “the real world” as well. It’s a strange conundrum the film never justifies.

Can parents take their kids to this and keep them engaged for about 90 minutes? Possibly. However, the only joy from watching Smurfs comes from the all-too-brief SpongeBob SquarePants short, “Order Up,” that precedes the experience. Otherwise, Smurfs lacks any discernible quality to “Smurf your whole day long.”

2.0

The final score: review Very Bad

The 411

Smurfs works like a half-baked attempt at a better animated movie with oddly placed musical numbers, yet fails as a full-blown animated musical. It's filled with patronizing storytelling, a hackneyed narrative, and unfunny humor. Rihanna is the main selling point in the marketing, but she is not even the film's lead character. The film also throws in a tired multiverse device for good measure. Smurfs might keep children's attention for 90 minutes, but kids could still do much better with their filmed entertainment.