The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol

The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol (2011) -

This was Charles Dickens told by The Smurfs as only they can, with joy and colour and cheerful music. It was a short film that kids will enjoy and parents shouldn't object to sitting through.

Obviously the story tracks along the same lines as any 'A Christmas Carol' interpretation as it followed Grouchy Smurf (George Lopez), who didn't want to take part in Christmas. He had three visions that showed him why the festive celebration was so special and the rest went as you would expect.

I do have to add that I've started to get frustrated that with so many of these seasonal films and certainly the children's ones, they all seem to suggest that it's not okay, especially during the festive season, to be sad or grumpy and usually because the sad person hadn't considered how it affected the other people too. That's not really the right message for mental health these days and those issues can easily start at a young age, which these ideas won't help.

In general though I did like it as a quick watch and as a seasonal booster. I also thought that Hank Azaria worked much better as a voiceover for Gargamel rather than filmed in real life as he was in 'The Smurfs' (2011) and 'The Smurfs 2' (2013).

And I did like the use of both styles of animation, with the more traditional looking style used to show Grouchy's visions. It reminded me of the older cartoons that I watched when I was a child.

635.77/1000.

This short animation is about how the Smurfs make Grouchy like Christmas again.

After watching "The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol", I find myself in a rather gloomy mood. The story is dark, with lots of grumpiness, antagonism and dissatisfaction. Even though they say "don't be grumpy", the brain picks up "grumpy" at a subconscious level, so there is a constant stream of negative words and negative themes. The constant negativity gets viewers down. And there is even a scene about captivity! Even though the ending contains some positive scenes, it is far from enough to lift the gloomy mood the film spent 20 minutes to create. I cannot see how this animation can make people feel merry and joyful.

It's the spin on Dicken's 'A Christmas Carol' Smurfs style.

Grouchy Smurf is sick and tired of getting the same stupid present from Papa Smurf every year and is unhappy that he does not get the present he really wants.

This leads to Grouchy Smurf to behave badly to the other Smurfs and he refuses to celebrate Christmas.

The Smurfs of Christmas Past, Present and Future appear to teach him to appreciate Christmas. The Smurf of Christmas Future shows Grouchy a future where all the Smurfs will wander into the forest and get captured by Gargamel.

The film is bookended with CGI animation before going to the traditional animation for the bulk of the story.

Kids who enjoy the Smurfs film will appreciate this cartoon the most. At least its spirit is true to the Dickens story.

I read the other review on this film and have to disagree totally. Every movie I've ever seen about A Christmas Carol has the guy who hates Christmas and is visited by the 3 ghost of Christmas Past, Present and future to show them how things would be different if they kept upon their negative ways. That's all this movie does is follow the same formula as all the others that came before it.

Did I find it negative and did it leave me feeling that way? No. It teaches one of the smurfs how his actions affect everyone and he learns and it leads to a very happy ending!

My daughter really enjoyed this and I believe it takes all the adult movies of the same theme and puts it on a level for children to understand. Did A Christmas Carol with Micky Mouse leave a negative feeling for you too? It was the same movie just longer?

The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol (2011) is the first short film in the Smurfs franchise and it was okay, but it was definitely better than the 2011 movie.

Positives for The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol (2011): This short film does the smart thing and focuses on the Smurf characters and no human characters with the exception of Gargamel. I loved seeing the Smurfs celebrating Christmas in their world. The hand-drawn animation with Grumpy and the three ghosts of Christmas is awesome. And finally, this short film has great pacing with a fun energy that will definitely entertain kids and adults.

Negatives for The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol (2011): The reason for Grumpy hating Christmas is really stupid and it makes him looks really petty. I wasn't a fan of taking the classic Christmas Carol story and replacing the word ghost with Smurf. And finally, this short film was made for the purpose of having something extra for people to buy the DVD.

Overall, The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol (2011) is an okay bur fun short film that is definitely better than the 2011 live-action movie and kids will definitely enjoy watching it during the Christmas season.