Film Review: The Smurfs (2011)

Note: – The rating for this film is based on the genre ‘Family’ and taken other family films into consideration.

The Smurfs are lovable little creatures. Blue; live in mushrooms and pretty much 99 children of one Smurf…known as Papa. Obviously people know this since The Smurfs are one of the oldest children’s TV shows. I remember watching the cartoon but I do not remember a lot of it. One thing that does stick out is the names that they all got. They are named after their main trait such as Clumsy. The film does just that, keeping all the original elements clean.

You can tell instantly that this film won’t change the world. It’s a family film and it is ok for mistakes. But it does need to tick the boxes for a family film. It needs to make sure that not only does it entertain children but also grown ups, as they will be watching with their kids and may be long-term fans of the show. The film does just that. It gives out solid laugh for everyone watching.

We have the evil Gargamel bent on capturing the Smurfs and then extracting their essence to become the most powerful wizard. However his plans go wrong as the Smurfs manage to run away with a few of them falling into a portal leading them to New York. It is here that they encounter Patrick and Grace Winslow and stay with them until the next ‘Blue Moon’. Gargamel has then managed to get through the portal with his weird, yet funny cat. The Smurfs then try to get back to their homeland whiles trying to keep away from Gargamel along the way.

When looking at the special effects and computer graphics, it’s clear to see that the Smurfs seem a little out of place, as does the cat does when it does something a little abnormal to what cats would usually do. The cat’s scenes are the most obvious as it stands completely out of place giving that annoying feeling that they should have fixed that. However seeing that this is a family film, these can be pushed aside.

We have Jonathan Winters (Papa), Alan Cumming (Gutsy), Katy Perry (Smurfette), Fred Armisen (Brainy), George Lopez (Grouchy) and Anton Yelchin (Clumsy) as the main Smurfs group that arrives at New York. It would seem that the makers of the film wanted to bring in things that the younger audience may associate with, such as when Smurfette suggests ‘I Kissed a Smurf and I Liked It?’ you can clearly see that this is a reference to Katy Perry’s ‘I Kissed a Girl’. There are other references within the film, but most are not as obvious as the one shown.

Overall, this is a fun family film for all to enjoy and would be one for the children to remember in the future. It is not a film that one would put highly on their list nor applaud for an outstanding film. It is generally one to enjoy.