Smurfs: The Lost Village (D+ or 1.5/4 stars)
I watched The Smurfs as a kid. I liked 'em. However, the 2011 & 2013 live-action/animation films were woeful. And now we have the 1st FULLY animated entry in the franchise. Is it as woeful? Um, yep. 'Smurfs: The Lost Village' (directed by Kelly Asbury) focuses on Smurfette (voiced by pop star Demi Lovato); who is the only female in Smurf Village and is not identified by a descriptive personality trait. i.e., Brainy, Clumsy, Grouchy, Handy, Jokey, etc.. Smurfette was originally created by the evil wizard Gargamel (Rainn Wilson), & even though she was later magically transformed by Papa Smurf (Mandy Patinkin), our little heroine still wonders how she fits in with the rest. One day while on an escapade with Hefty (Joe Manganiello), Brainy (Danny Pudi) & Clumsy (Jack McBrayer), near the Forbidden Forest, they are captured by evil Gargamel, who reveals that he plans to trap all said Smurfs, boil them in a magic potion, & steal their intangible powers!
Helping Gargamel in this venture is a map that he claims shows where there is yet another 'lost' Smurf village. They include such Smurfs as: Archer Smurfstorm (Michelle Rodriguez), adorable Smurfblossom (Ellie Kemper) & the resourceful Smurflily (Ariel Winter). Smurfette manages to free her friends and, disregarding Papa Smurf's orders, they travel beyond their relatively safe borders of the Forbidden Forest & come upon the 'other' group of Smurfs; who all happen to be strong, bad*ss females! Smurfette must now convince the newfound Smurfs, who are led by sage Smurfwillow (Julia Roberts), that evil Gargamel may very well be en route to kidnapping & destroy them all! Animated chaos ensues.
Blah. That's how I feel about 'Smurf: The Lost Village'. Nothing about this movie excited me. Nothing is fresh or new or inherently fun. Also, this isn't the sort of animated flick that adults (or even teens) will want to see or get anything out of. I kinda sorta dug the theme of 'be unique'. But the plotline is thin, & only the teeny tiniest of kids would get ANYTHING out of this. Rainn Wilson's Gargamel is played in the expected over-the-top manner. Demi Lovato is 'fine'. Really, every actor lends their voice accordingly. That's not the problem. The problem, for me, is that this movie was boring, unimaginative in its animation, & still too reliant on potty humor & unfunny slapstick {like the prior films in the franchise}. Again, the theme of 'being unique', coupled with a girl-empowerment message is admirable. But that's where my admiration ends.
Helping Gargamel in this venture is a map that he claims shows where there is yet another 'lost' Smurf village. They include such Smurfs as: Archer Smurfstorm (Michelle Rodriguez), adorable Smurfblossom (Ellie Kemper) & the resourceful Smurflily (Ariel Winter). Smurfette manages to free her friends and, disregarding Papa Smurf's orders, they travel beyond their relatively safe borders of the Forbidden Forest & come upon the 'other' group of Smurfs; who all happen to be strong, bad*ss females! Smurfette must now convince the newfound Smurfs, who are led by sage Smurfwillow (Julia Roberts), that evil Gargamel may very well be en route to kidnapping & destroy them all! Animated chaos ensues.
Blah. That's how I feel about 'Smurf: The Lost Village'. Nothing about this movie excited me. Nothing is fresh or new or inherently fun. Also, this isn't the sort of animated flick that adults (or even teens) will want to see or get anything out of. I kinda sorta dug the theme of 'be unique'. But the plotline is thin, & only the teeny tiniest of kids would get ANYTHING out of this. Rainn Wilson's Gargamel is played in the expected over-the-top manner. Demi Lovato is 'fine'. Really, every actor lends their voice accordingly. That's not the problem. The problem, for me, is that this movie was boring, unimaginative in its animation, & still too reliant on potty humor & unfunny slapstick {like the prior films in the franchise}. Again, the theme of 'being unique', coupled with a girl-empowerment message is admirable. But that's where my admiration ends.