Die Schlümpfe

Please people, some objectivity... A movie that does not conform to your personal tastes need not automatically be rated 1 or 2, a rating which I'd take to mean that it is just about the worst kind of crap you have ever laid eyes on (unless of course you really think it is in which case I'd recommend you to "broaden your cinematic horizons", but most people tend to exaggerate their opinions based on their emotional bias).

This is a children's movie, plain and simple, although admittedly a mediocre one in comparison to some of the truly great children's movies. As such there are certainly things about this movie that could have been handled in a more satisfying manner. One positive thing I can mention is the fact that it does not try to be anything but what it is.

Now, I may of course be wrong... It has been a very long time since I were in a position to give any accurate recommendations to the age group targeted by this movie. However, I must admit that what is left of the child within did find parts of it rather entertaining! :)

One may wonder why Hollywood is so bent on destroying the childhood memories of adults who grew up throughout the 70s and 80s. First there were the 'Transformers', 'Garfields' abomination and now comes the destruction of 'The Smurfs'. I doubt this can even be called a movie as it appears to be more of an extended commercial for Sony products. If they were to make a film, they should have just kept it within the smurf world and not 'merge' it with live action America. The 3d animation of the smurfs are quite lively and cute (it's a shame they're wasted here) and their 'world' is also vivacious and colourful (which is another reason why the story should have been contained in this world but then again, what would happen to all the Sony advertisement?). The live action actors aren't given much to do as they are unable to rise above the formula. Special effects are a waste. Despite all the criticism, the film must have done well enough for sequels. It's an expensive ad, uh, I mean movie, but severely lacking in substance.

What was I thinking? I knew this movie was going to be bad, but yet I felt compelled to go see it for myself. I was never really a big fan of the Smurfs cartoon but yet I remember I wanted that Smurfs Atari game so bad. Later I found out that it was horrible but I'm sure I would have loved it as a kid. Why did I go see this?

It's not completely terrible. Hank Azaria did a very good job playing Gargamel and I could actually see the cartoon counterpart that he was based on. I didn't see this in 3D but I can imagine it would be pretty entertaining to watch in that format. I just didn't pay for the 3D because I didn't want to pay more for a bad film, and I had been suffering with headaches lately. I didn't want to make it worse.

With that being said, the film centers around the Smurfs escaping from Gargamel who found them in their village. In some weird way, they come across this portal they knew nothing about until that time, and they are forced to go into this portal in order to escape from Gargamel and his CG cat Azriel. There, the Smurfs stumble upon New York City where they find the care of Doogie Houser and his cute, pregnant wife. They must find a way back home while being hunted by Gargamel on the streets of New York, and Doogie is trying to not to get fired from his cosmetics job.

One of my biggest problems is that I never felt connected to the Smurfs. The only ones that I really knew was Papa Smurf (who can ever forget Papa Smurf anyway), Smurfette and Clumsy Smurf who the only reason why I knew him is because they always reference how clumsy he is, gets left behind, and I knew that he was going to be the hero by the end of it all. Movie 101: If a character in your film is the underdog, he will always prevail in the end. This film is no exception.

The film is basically sloppy writing through and through, especially in the ending. The film could have ended easily by having the adults handle all the work but we couldn't have a Smurfs climax without having them be the center of it. So they basically just have the adults just stand around somewhere as the Smurfs get their butts kicked by Gargamel.

It's a kid's film and this film knows it. The kids will eat this up despite probably never seeing the cartoons. It wasn't the worst film I've seen but certainly not the greatest of kid's films. It was directed by Raja Gosnell. I should have stayed far away. Smurf you, Raja.

I have to say I was amazed when I first heard there would be a movie about this ever-so-popular cartoon.

Some people may complain about how bad this title is, but I don't share their opinions for one simple reason : time.

Time passes, as it always had and always will and we have to adapt to a few things. Back in time when the original cartoons on Smurfs aired, not all kids stayed home and watched this ( very much unlike today, where kids do almost nothing but play games and watch movies, but I'm going off-topic here ). We have to face it: no movie based on a cartoon ever worked as good as it's original did, because of the simple fact about its length: cartoons are basically 30min long, and movies are at least hour and a half, during which time one can lose focus, interest or at worst, a few nerves. I will not rate it excellent because it has its flaws, basically poor story-work, but I won't explain it further as I have no intention on spoiling out what happens. The plot itself could have been better, but I reckon it's not a total loss, considering that this is a movie based on a cartoon; the animations are great: one could barely see a difference between smurfs from actual humans. As for the cast and crew, I can't say anything bad about them, since they: 1. Are not the main characters of the story (human does not equal smurf) 2. Played out the characters just fine

In one sentence, my review on the title would be: Unbrushed diamond. (it shines, but it can shine better)

This film is about the Smurfs arriving in New York through a porthole, while escaping the persecution by an evil wizard.

It has been a long time since I watched "The Smurfs" cartoon, so I have little recollection of the original stories. With nothing to compare it with, I find "The Smurfs" fun, hilarious and thoroughly entertaining. The clumsy Smurf provides a lot of laughs, and the Nordic warrior Smurf gives these cute creatures a different than expected personality. Though the jokes are sometimes repetitive, they still serve the purpose of making people laugh. I think "The Smurfs" provides brainless fun. It should be enjoyed for what it is.