The Lilliputian-like creatures that are the Smurfs famously substitute the word “smurf” for other more complicated English words. Or they at least do so when the writers of the classic cartoon thought it could be played for maximum cuteness. When it happened, the word “smurf” could be good… could be bad; depends on the mindset of the Smurf in question.
In that open-to-interpretation spirit, let’s say that The Smurfs is one smurfy smurf of a movie.
Picking on Papa Smurf, his 99 sons and one daughter would be like picking on the (very) little ones who will probably enjoy this movie. If it has any staying power, it will be with the little kids of this generation who may fall in love with them.
The little kids of previous generations who want to see this will fall into two groups: the ones that want to share the experience with their kids, and the ones who were fans and maybe keep a figurine on a shelf or wear a Smurfs t-shirt to be nostalgic or ironic. The latter group will go thinking it’s a lot of fun. About ten minutes in, they’ll realize this really isn’t for them and that it was more fun to say you were going to The Smurfs than it actually was to go to The Smurfs.
The film is a combination of live action and computer animation (The Smurfs look less like the original cartoon and more like figurines you’d find at a gift shop). The evil wizard Gargamel (live action Hank Azaria) continues his quest to suck the Smurfs of their happy essence and stop them from singing “that annoying song.” In his latest attack, he creates a magical vortex that sucks him, Papa Smurf, Smurfette and a handful of other Smurfs into the world we know (a smart move – their village is not as magical-looking as say, a Pixar movie). They take sanctuary with a young couple (Neil Patrick Harris and Jayma Mays) who are expecting their first child. Together, they try to find a way to get the Smurfs back home.
The little kids in the audience will likely chuckle throughout; their parents will get a kick out of a few little things – like Grouchy Smurf’s (George Lopez) asides that are always timed to the moment we cut away from the action. All will laugh at Azaria (the man behind so many great Simpsons voices) who completely surrenders himself to being Gargamel and is hammy fun walking the streets of New Yorkas if he owns them.
But it’s not smurfect. Like any movie that combines animation with real life (see Zookeeper from a couple of weeks back), kids will likely not give a smurf about the adults and their storylines. The Smurfs themselves – being so little – become a symbol for the little one that Harris and Mays have on the way. If Harris can learn to accept the Smurfs, maybe he can accept his own child? Kids won’t care about that, and adults who are supposed to care will notice that the plotline is forced: we never even see Harris incredibly nervous about the baby on the way. In fact, he’s trying to get better at his job so he can buy a house – the man is ready! One wonders if director Raja Gosnell thought kids would get upset seeing a guy who doesn’t want kids. Maybe he’s right, but then, why have the story?
And at times, adults will have some questions of their own. This adult wondered how the Smurfs from a mystical land knew what haggis or cologne was? If they’d never seen a cab before, how did they know what a “stop” was so they could leap off the one they’d been clinging to? And how did the 99 sons and one daughter of Papa Smurf develop different ethnicities? Sure, they’re supposed to have different personalities (it’s how “Brainy,” “Grouchy” and “Clumsy” got their names) – but ethnic backgrounds? Lopez’s accent bleeds through – but even more blatantly, a new-to-the-movies Smurf named “Gutsy” is Scottish – cartoonish Scottish with a kilt, cap and sideburns.
That ridiculousness aside, kudos have to go to the filmmakers for acknowledging The Smurfs’ past. No, this movie – like any big screen adaptation of a classic – didn’t need to get made. But in one sequence, it teaches kids and adults where the characters came from, (the wikipedia page they look at doesn’t exist, but I tried) and Belgian cartoonist Peyo gets his due for creating them. It’s a made-up history, but it may make them look up the old comic strips – and maybe Smurf fans of two generations can keep sharing.
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