{"id":1197,"date":"2011-08-09T19:51:21","date_gmt":"2011-08-09T19:51:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmgaze.com\/blog\/?p=1197"},"modified":"2011-08-09T19:51:21","modified_gmt":"2011-08-09T19:51:21","slug":"the-smurfs-in-3d","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmgaze.com\/blog\/action\/the-smurfs-in-3d\/","title":{"rendered":"The Smurfs In 3D ***"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Seeing little blue people prancing before your very eyes is usually not a sign of good health. But Raja Gosnell<\/a>\u2019s The Smurfs In 3D<\/em><\/a> makes you feel far from blue and has a simple if predictable storyline that all ages can get involved with. It\u2019s Smurfin’ good fun.<\/p>\n

When the evil wizard Gargamel (Hank Azaria<\/a>) chases the tiny blue Smurfs out of their village, they tumble from their magical world through a wormhole and into ours in the bright lights of New York City. Now they must find a way back before Gargamel captures them all and drains them of their magical blue essence. They\u2019re going to need some human help first.<\/p>\n

If the plotline sounds familiar, then that\u2019s because it is \u2013 the idea of mixing live-action and animation was done in the hit 2007 film Enchanted<\/em><\/a> when Giselle pops up and falls in love with a human character in the Big Apple. The Smurfs<\/em> is much less inventive and charming, and far more slapstick for kids with lots of death-defying accidents and puerile toilet humour, especially when Gargamel is in the frame.<\/p>\n

The single most annoying factor for adults here is \u2018Smurf-zing\u2019 of all words in the English language. This starts out as quite quaint and a bit of a giggle to share with the kids, but fast wears thin. Still, the little blue people are so cute, cuddly and funny at times that all is very often forgiven as they put a smile back on your pained face \u2013 especially when they sing their hypnotic little song that\u2019s actually more fun to sing\/hum post-viewing to annoy the hell out of others.<\/p>\n

Like all kiddies\u2019 films, the adult heroes are also \u2018cute and cuddly\u2019 and funny in a dopey, inoffensive sense. These performances are provided by Neil Patrick Harris<\/a> as pressurised marketing director Patrick Winslow and Ugly Betty<\/em><\/a>\u2019s Jayma Mays<\/a> as his hormonally challenged pregnant wife, Grace, two of the nicest New Yorkers any visitor from another world could ever hope to land themselves with. Both Harris and Mays are so kid-friendly and welcoming that it\u2019s hard not to warm to their mounting concern and Smurf loyalty. As always, the lead human character proves his\/her worth when the chips are down, and rises to the occasion, proving to the little darlings watching that humanity and kindness to all creeds speaks volumes in any language.<\/p>\n

Gurning Azaria who\u2019s the spitting image of the Child Catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang<\/a><\/em> puts on another daft accent and panto performance to become more animated that realistic, but is nevertheless always amusing to watch, if incomprehensible at times. Smaller children looked noticeably frightened of him on screen \u2013 especially in 3D with that nose, so there could be repeats of sleepless nights for kids across the land, mirroring the late Sixties\/early Seventies, even though this wizard gets his comeuppance.<\/p>\n

Naturally, there is a direct commercial angle to the whole film that cannot be ignored, with \u2018spot the Sony product placement\u2019 in virtually every shot \u2013 but at least it\u2019s not Apple for once. The other aspect that isn\u2019t really necessary is the 3D, although if you fork out for the ticket price, the overall result is better on the eyes than some recent offerings, and the shots use the technology to the best ability.<\/p>\n

The Smurfs In 3D<\/em> is join-the-dots, made-for-kids goofy blue magic that does nothing memorably new, but is guilty of putting a smile on your face, even after the Smurf-zing assault on the ears. If nothing else, it reinvents the franchise, and adds a little cool blue factor to the iconic figures, especially with Katy Perry<\/a> being the voice behind Smurfette.<\/p>\n

3\/5 stars<\/strong><\/p>\n

By @FilmGazer<\/p>\n

Follow on Twitter<\/a><\/p>\n

WATCH THE TRAILER HERE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Seeing little blue people prancing before your very eyes is usually not a sign of good health. But Raja Gosnell\u2019s The Smurfs In 3D makes you feel far from blue and has a simple if predictable storyline that all ages can get involved with. It\u2019s Smurfin’ good fun. When the evil wizard Gargamel (Hank Azaria) … <\/p>\n

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