It feels like only a few months ago we saw the tiny blue creatures appear on the big screen. Well now they are back and cuter than ever. We see the ups and downs of the magical Smurfs trying to get by and explore the real world.
With Smurfette’s (Katy Perry) birthday approaching, this gives her time to think about her origin and remember the fact she isn’t a true born smurf. Gargamel (Hank Azaria) kidnaps Smufette in the hope for the secret formula created by Papa Smurf (Jonathan Winters) that transformed Smurfette blue. Gargamel hopes to steal the formula and create a colony of ‘naughties’ so he can take over the world.
With the help of Patrick and Grace Winslow (Neil Patrick Harris and Jayma Mays), the smurfs and the Winslow family team up to save Smurfette and the world from Gargamels evil plan.
The animation tied in with real footage is great. It somewhat looks like the Smurfs are actually on Earth. The way the set was controlled with timing of the Smurfs is just incredible. They almost didn’t miss a beat with creating a reality to the illusion that these tiny blue creatures actually exist. The cat, Azrael, seems a little two dimensional at times especially with facial movements and expressions. It looks like something you’d see on Cartoon Network or Nickelodeon, but that’s just me being picky. The cat was, however, disconnected from other CGI put into the film.
The narrative takes you on a journey to Paris which aids the film visually. A European destination that most kids haven’t travelled to yet creates an atmospheric boost and fulfills the French stereotype kids are made to believe. This definitely helped the film to engage the kids and adults rather than having it set in a well known American city. There are a few comedic scenes during the film, but it seems all too repetitive with slapstick humour cliched family dramas.
The kids will be kept entertained, but the adults may become a little bored at times. The film is quite lengthy during the second half and doesn’t offer anything more than a cute childrens film. It just seems like a family adventure with some cute and small sized animated characters thrown in the mix to add some flavour. Despite my thoughts and opinions here, the film is great to take the whole family to as a lazy Sunday afternoon treat. I believe SMURFS 2 gets released just in time for the next school holidays.
The film is good, lacking in parts, but an easy kids film that isn’t too risky. I rate THE SMURFS 2, 5 out of 10 stars.
