Smurfs: The Lost Village movie review

After two live-action/CGI movie production, the Smurfs are back in adventure in their own timeline. Not only that they are back in their own world, it will be in full-animated movie with computer graphics. This brings back the nostalgia of the old animation but with rich colors and 3D images.

 

Photo credit: Columbia Pictures

Besides that the movie is a full length animation; it also shows that it is a reboot (semi-expansion of the live-action movies). You can clearly see that there are influences of the modern world in the Smurfs like Brainy’s ladybug Snappy who also acts like his smartphone.

Snappy is just one of the new characters that will make the Smurfs inclusive since Smurfette is the only female Smurf originally. In Smurfs: The Lost Village, the story highlights only Brainy, Hefty, Clumsy and Smurfette again. I only wander why the movie didn’t vary from many Smurf characters. I can understand Brainy since he can be contradicting most of the time since he is a by-the-book type. Smurfette only shows inclusivity and balance to make in less masochistic. But Clumsy and Hefty seems like a regular Smurfs since the last two movies.

What I like about the movie was that you don’t need 3D glasses because even when watching it in regular 2D, it already shows 3D in the screen. I don’t see any difference and I think there is a need to pay more for 3D.

Sony Animation worked really hard to make this animation worthy of Peyo Studios, the owners of the Smurfs franchise. Even though Peyo( pen name of Pierre Culliford) is already dead.  Peyo’s studio still have a legacy to fulfill that Peyo’s daughter Veronique saw character designer Patrick Maté drew and she cried because he captured her father’s style and passion.

The only flaw of the movie was the voice actor of Gargamel Rainn Wilson sounded more suave for th role unlike what Hank Azaria did. But it was only a minor thing. Most of the voice actors are new with exception with exception of Frank Welker who does the animal voices like Azrael’s bickering. I am glad that they returned what Azrael really looked like in this animation unlike in the live-action version. Smurfs: The Lost Village is about a quest of the Smurfs before the evil Gargamel discover the secrets of the Lost Village and used it for evil.

I would advise to stay during the credits not just because there is something happening during the scrolling of the credits but also to pay attention to the animators who worked hard to make this movie worthy for Peyo’s legacy and a tribute to Peyo’s wife Nine Culliford who died recently. She was the one who suggested Smurf’s iconic blue color and also drew them.

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