Smurfs is Certainly One Smurfed-Up Movie
Image Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
By Luis Zonenberg
As we continue to look back at last year’s films, I wanted to look back at some of the more infamous movies that most audiences despised. While Amazon’s War of the Worlds was awful to sit through, many still found enjoyment in how bad it was. I needed to find something more challenging to sit through, and nothing fit the bill better than the latest reboot of The Smurfs franchise, Smurfs. The film was panned by critics upon release and proved to be a financial disappointment at the box office, so I was curious to see whether the movie truly deserved all this hate.
The story focuses on No-Name Smurf (James Corden), an unnamed smurf who is looking to acquire some talent or skills so he can finally get a proper name. While walking through the forest with Smurfette (Rihanna), he somehow gains magical abilities and accidentally opens a portal that whisks away Papa Smurf (John Goodman) to another dimension. They are told to go after Papa Smurf’s brother, Ken (Nick Offerman), and go on an interdimensional journey to find him and save Papa!
Meanwhile, an evil wizard named Razamel (JP Karliak) teams up with his wicked brother, Gargamel (also Karliak), to find a long-lost magic book called Jaunty (Amy Sedaris). Jaunty was one of four magic books the Intergalactic Evil Wizard Alliance intended to use to eradicate all goodness in the world. Believing Jaunty might be hiding with the Smurfs, he follows hot on their trail as they work their way to find Papa Smurf.
The story is surprisingly overcomplicated and hard to follow, attempting to jam in numerous plot threads with tons of bad dad jokes. This creates a meandering pace that drags the film out more than it should, making its 90-minute run-time feel more like a chore than a fun watch. The movie is repetitive and unoriginal, recycling so many plot threads and repeating numerous jokes while failing to develop many of the characters, which only makes it feel dull.
The movie also serves as a forgettable musical, utilizing many bland pop songs that seem more fitting for a car ride than an animated fantasy film. Upon rewatching this film, I was shocked by how many songs and dance numbers were sprinkled throughout the movie. Each one feels akin to a bad music video, stopping the film dead in its tracks and monotonously dragging out the film even more.
The cast was also heavily underutilized, with James Corden grossly miscast as No-Name Smurf. His usual brand of humor does not suit the character he plays, and while he’s proven to have some dramatic chops, they’re nowhere close to being displayed here. Rihanna was also poorly cast as Smurfette, failing to capture the naivety and charm of her character. Other supporting voice actors like Nick Offerman, Natasha Lyonne, and JP Karliak were underutilized, rarely getting a laugh in the film.
The film utilizes various animation techniques akin to the Spider-Verse movies. Each style makes it clear we’re in a different universe, though the main one feels too sluggish for the quippy humor. They attempt to utilize it for quick cutaway gags and fast-paced jokes, even to the extent that they mimic the traditional 2D-animated style to complement the humor more. Yet, the animation unfortunately falls flat and moves too slowly for the rapid-styled humor.
While there may have been some potential to pay homage to the various Smurfs films and comics, it just fails to strive for anything fun or meaningful. The movie serves as the antithesis to the Spider-verse films, relying too heavily on its animation style and forgettable pop songs to move the story forward. The latest Smurfs film is just another smurfed-up adventure most audiences just won’t give a smurf about.
Smurfs is now streaming on Paramount+.
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆
