Smurfs

Title: Smurfs

Director: Raja Gosnell

Format: In theaters (July 2011)

Rating: PG

Genre: Comedy, Family, Animation

Starring: Neil Patrick Harris, Jayma Mays, Katy Perry (Smurfette), Hank Azaria, George Lopez (Grouchy Smurf), Jonathan Winters (Papa Smurf)

LA LA LA LA LA LA, LA LA LA LA

Does anyone find that song mildly annoying?

You do?

Some of the Smurfs are even annoyed by it too.

But no worries, they are cute enough to deflect even the most annoying of songs.

An old childhood favorite is back and on the big screen. The Smurfs go on their biggest adventure yet when the evil wizard, Gargamel, chase them from their magical village. (Yes, they still live in mushrooms!)

In their haste to get away they tumble through a vortex and find themselves in a whole new world – our world! Central Park and New York City to be exact! With Gargamel (and his evil cat!) hot on their trail the little blue Smurfs must navigate through the city and find their way back home before the wizard captures them for his heinous plans.

On their journey they meet new friends and change the lives of everyone they meet.

My two kids (ages 8 and 5) really wanted to see this movie and they walked around my house for days upon days using the word "smurf" in every sentence they could. Imagine hearing "Mom, I think I just smurfed myself" day after day.

I think I would rather hear the Smurfs sing their little song over and over again.

So when the opportunity arrived to take them we decided to fill their curiosity of these little blue people. Imagine my dismay when they asked what they were! I mean, the Smurfs were a household name when I was a kid. I watched them endlessly. Whenever we would eat blue candy everyone would say "did you eat a smurf?". I said that once to my kids (before the movie came out) and they looked at me like I had three heads.

Moms are so uncool.

I have to say that because I was so fond of these little things I was extremely skeptical about this movie. I mean, you can't change something that classic. Just from the previews I could tell that they looked different. I guess some would say, re-digitalized and made better in 3-D. Personally, I liked them better back in the day. (They way they looked anyway).

The movie itself was cute. The kids in the theater got a real kick out of the Smurf's antics and the "evil" cat of Gargamel's was a huge hit as well. In fact, the cat was one of my favorites too.

The movie mainly centered around Clumsy Smurf, Papa Smurf and Smurfette. Of course there was Brainy and all the others as well. There was a new guy too, I can't remember his name. He wore a kilt and had a beard. He talked in an accent too. He was funny, but because he wasn't an original, he wasn't my favorite.  Hey, I told you I was a fan of the classic and you don't mess with the classics.

The main human actors in the movie Neil Patirck Harris (he rocks!) and Jayma Mays (who also is fabulous on GLEE!) were a good pair. I like Neil Patrick Harris, I think he is full of talent and I actually brightened a bit when he came on screen. He plays this insanely busy marketing director for a major cosmetics company that is handed a promotion and a "do this or your fired" job. His wife (played by Mays) is beautiful and supportive to a fault and is also pregnant with their first child, a baby that Patrick is very nervous about having.

The movie has some good life lessons in it for kids like to believe in yourself, work together, and family is the most important thing in life. It also has the bad guy who gets what he deserves and some humor.

I do wish that we got to spend more time in the Smurf village instead of NYC because it is such a magical place. I also kind of got annoyed they way they used the word "smurf" for everything.

All in all I think this is a great movie for kids. They will laugh and be in awe of the little blue people that they didn't really know about before the movie. I will say that if you are an adult and used to be a fan of the Smurfs as a child, this movie might miss a little. They aren't really how I remember them, but the movie did bring back memories for me of the Smurfs I used to love.

So there you have it. My opinion.

This review is written by Cambria Hebert