Review of Smurfs: The Lost Village Full Movie: You can do better. So the Smurfs are back for their third adventure, and they've decided to completely scrap the whole animated characters in the real world angle. This is fully animated, and Smurfette is questioning her purpose. When they happen upon a map, it is off to the Forbidden Forest to see if they can find a long lost village of Smurf women and make a connection. This is just a weak movie, and it is not like this has been a particularly strong series in the first place. I made the poor decision to watch this installment a bit late at night because the runtime was only a short 90 minutes.
Let me tell you that this was one of the hardest movies for me to stay awake to, and I consistently had to pinch myself to keep from nodding off. Now the thing that this movie really slapped me across the face with hardest is what a Troll's rip-off this is. I mean granted, the animated road trip movie where the characters learn something about themselves is not the most original idea out there (see also: Toy Story), but still, you can tell that Trolls was a major influence on this movie, minus the soul. It even has pseudo-pop music, and none of it is catchy or even memorable; unlike Trolls which has a number of songs that you walk away humming, this just feels like they have a soundtrack to sell.
This sequel feels like this is a studio film that was made by committee, but nobody knew the correct choices to make in putting together a competent film. All of these characters come off as being loud and annoying, and one of the very few things I liked about this is how they addressed that Smurfette is defined by her gender. That said, it's not like they are trying to keep up consistency with these movies, and they couldn't even get Katy Perry back to do the voice again. I do not blame any of the voice actors in this, and I am glad people like Rainn Wilson, Danny Pudi, and Jack McBrayer got paychecks for this. Smurfs: The Lost Village is not funny or even creative, and I was quite simply not in the mood for it. This is just animation made for the lowest common denominator of kids, and by the time I reached the inevitable dance number at the end, I was just thankful I could finally go to sleep.
Underrated. And definitely trippy. For as much as I didn't mind the original live-action film, this is the film people should have given their time too. Too bad they didn't. I get back to the heart of the original, with tons of creative subtext offered along the way. The jokes are wonderfully subtle, the story is given prominence, and as with all great smurf material, the whole thing is ripe with timely social commentary. And did I mention it's trippy? Built for 3D, the film imagines a world full of color, floating rivers, and "lively" plants. You can tell they gave a lot of attention to the detail, and it just adds a level of intrigue to a film that is not simply taking us back to the traditional smurf village, but also expanding our view of the whole smurf world.
For a film that nobody saw, it boasts one of my favorite cinematic moments of 2017... the spa scene. More importantly, though, it has a heartfelt conclusion that brings it all together in a memorable fashion. And, just for the record, I watched the film on a Saturday morning. Perfect setting and context for this film, especially if you are someone who remembers The Smurfs as an integral part of your own childhood memories. It's just too bad this one didn't catch on. It could have made for a decent franchise reboot.
Smurfs: The Lost Village is directed by Kelly Asbury, and it stars Demi Lovato, Rainn Wilson, Joe Manganiello, and Jack McBrayer in an animated film about Smurfette (Demi Lovato) that wants to know what kind of smurf she is, and she found a map that leads to a secret village which she wants to go over there with her smurf crew. Despite the fact that I've seen the first two Smurf films, I really had no intention to see the rebooted one, but since we rented it and that it's something for the little kids to watch, I guess I wouldn't mind it as maybe it'll be good as it's from the co-director of Shrek 2, but while I wasn't as irritated as the other films, I still didn't like the film.
The acting is fine in this, although I much prefer Hank Azaria as Gargamel than Rainn Wilson. The animation is fine but looks generic and uninteresting to look at, and the story is very much standard for a kids film where the adults will know almost everything about where the film is going. The characters are what they are in terms of what they are supposed to be, and the humor didn't make me laugh once. I wasn't really interested in what's going on, and when one of my young cousins aren't interested in what's going on, then this movie is very boring to watch for anyone. The emotional scenes are fine in this which may be the most "interesting" part of the film, but it's not much of it. The one thing that took me by surprise, was the weird choice of music as they did not fit with the film. I did like Meghan Trainor's I'm a Lady because it actually fits with the film, but that's it for that. Smurfs: The Lost Village is a terrible film that I rather watch another kids film that'll interest the little kids and me.
For a film that nobody saw, it boasts one of my favorite cinematic moments of 2017... the spa scene. More importantly, though, it has a heartfelt conclusion that brings it all together in a memorable fashion. And, just for the record, I watched the film on a Saturday morning. Perfect setting and context for this film, especially if you are someone who remembers The Smurfs as an integral part of your own childhood memories. It's just too bad this one didn't catch on. It could have made for a decent franchise reboot.
The acting is fine in this, although I much prefer Hank Azaria as Gargamel than Rainn Wilson. The animation is fine but looks generic and uninteresting to look at, and the story is very much standard for a kids film where the adults will know almost everything about where the film is going. The characters are what they are in terms of what they are supposed to be, and the humor didn't make me laugh once. I wasn't really interested in what's going on, and when one of my young cousins aren't interested in what's going on, then this movie is very boring to watch for anyone. The emotional scenes are fine in this which may be the most "interesting" part of the film, but it's not much of it. The one thing that took me by surprise, was the weird choice of music as they did not fit with the film. I did like Meghan Trainor's I'm a Lady because it actually fits with the film, but that's it for that. Smurfs: The Lost Village is a terrible film that I rather watch another kids film that'll interest the little kids and me.
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