It's Simply Smurrific! -- The Smurfs in 3D Movie Review

Potato On the Go:

The color blue will definitely have a new meaning the moment you've seen the 3D adaptation of the comic book and cartoon classic The Smurfs!  This is what I went through when I attended the red carpet premiere of The Smurfs in 3D last Saturday, August 6 at the SM Mall of Asia.  To get to know more about our small blue friends, please check this story "Celebrate Global Smurfs Day" I posted last June.

The Smurfs is a 3D family film based on The Smurfs comic book series created by Peyo and the 1980s animated TV series it spawned. Directed by Raja Gosnell and starred by Neil Patrick Harris, Jonathan Winters, Hank Azaria, Jayma Mays, and Sofía Vergara, The Smurfs tells us the story of the magical tiny blue creatures called SMURFS!  When the evil wizard Gargamel chases them out of their village, THE SMURFS tumble from the enchanted world into ours - in fact, right in the middle of New York's Central Park!  THE SMURFS must find a way to get back to their village before Gargamel tracks them down and gets their essence to use magic the evil way!

The movie is definitely 100% SMURRIFIC!  Yes, THE SMURFS has the word SMURF in almost every modifier they could think and speak of.  I SMURF You, SMURFY, SMURFABonga, SMURF Droppings, and so on and so forth.  And I find it really amusing!  =)

 But more than that THE SMURFS is truly smurrific because the movie was able to interplay fantastic animation, humor, values and adventure which is a right fit for the family.  It's another movie that moms, dads and kids will surely like.  Well, I believe you would agree with me that it's not every week that we can have child friendly movies like this.  And this one definitely nailed it, which is really a welcome treat for the entire family!

THE SMURFS are pleasing to the eyes and calming to the soul.  They are cute and adorable and most kids will surely love them!  Their look and how they move, sing and talk really hypnotizes the kids (and women) to fall for them.  It's as if they want to grab them from the screen and take them home!  Well, they are not just cute, they are also funny!  Together with Gargamel (Hank Azaria), Patrick, Grace, Odile (Sofia Vergara) and Henri (Tim Gunn), THE SMURFS brought a great load of wholesome humor.  I really had big laughs from Smurfs' simple yet powerful punch lines on how they describe human technology. 

THE SMURFS, with their amusing different personalities also gave a dose of their charm and entertainment relief.  I was particulary entertained by key Smurf characters in the film: Papa Smurf (Jonathan Winters), Smurfette (Katy Perry), Brainy Smurf (Fred Armisen), Gutsy Smurf (Alan Cumming), Clumsy Smurf (Anton Yelchin), Grouchy Smurf (George Lopez) as well as the runners-up in scene stealer awards: Vanity Smurf (John Oliver) and Narrator Smurf (Kane) who really made the people crazy laughing at how he delivered his lines!  =D   The rest of the Smurfs in the film are Handy Smurf (Jeff Foxworthy), Jokey Smurg (Paul Reubens), Hefty Smurf (Gary Basaraba), , Greedy Smurf (Kenan Thompson), Panicky Smurf (Adam Wylie), Baker Smurf (B.J. Novak), Chef Smurf (Wolfgang Puck) and Crazy Smurf (John Kassir).

But the film's grand scene stealer award goes to Azrael the Cat (voiced by Frank Welker, who is the same voice of Hefty Smurf in 1981 cartoon series).  This rare Burma cat which is animated through CGI by Tippett Studio was able to bring the house down with his extremely funny facial expression, acts and stunts! 

Art direction is truly amazing, or better yet magical!  From the beginning of the movie where we are transported to THE SMURFS village, we are but mesmerized on the charm of their world.  It's truly spectacular to see how these small creatures live in this wonderful land, where mushrooms are houses and birds are means of transport.  The 3D technology, CGI and animation made all this cinematic wonders possible!  

Story wise THE SMURFS used the good versus evil plot where a greedy wizard is up to capture every SMURF to become the most powerful of them all.  But along the adventure, THE SMURFS, 6 of them were able to find refuge to a loving Winslow couple (Neil Patrick Harris as Patrick and Jayma Mace as Grace).  It's somehow a simple a story but it's a plot that will be forever cherished by the children and families who have seen the film. 

And along their respective journeys, THE SMURFS was able to share life's golden lessons which are value for family, self worth, chances in life and knowing the right thing to do. Some of the most memorable lines in the film are: "You never give up on family", "When knowing what to do, it comes from the heart", "Blue Moon comes once in our life..  Don't let blue moon moments pass you."  For some, they may sound cheesy, but when you get to understand its meaning, you will appreciate the message being said.

I also like how the additional "scenes" are added to the CBB.  It's funny and still visually amazing, and above all, it didn't let us wait until the full credits have ended.  [As we needed to rush to SM North Edsa for the Cowboys & Aliens right after THE SMURFS!  =D ]

My only comment, well, I somehow expected that the Winslow's dog will have a fantastic role and scene at the film's climax.  Allow me for a little spoiler, but most of us really expected that he will be the one to avenge The Smurfs against Azrael the Cat!  He was in the rescue mission in the first place!  =)  Anyway, of course that's forgiveable.  Hope to see more of him in the sequel!  =)  And for me, the apartment scenes were quite long and it dragged me a little. 

From a scale of 1 to 10 claps, I'm giving the movie a SMURFY 7 1/2 plus a rendition of The Smurfs song: ♪♫ la la la-la la la sing a happy song ♪♫ la la la-la la la Smurf your whole day long ♪♫!  

From Columbia Pictures, The Smurfs in 3D opens in theaters on August 10!