The Smurfs (www.the-usher.com)

"Great Smurf!"

On the eve of the Blue Moon, Gargamel (Azaria) accidently finds the Smurf village after following hapless Clumsy Smurf (Yelchin) and as the wizard and his cat Azrael rampage through the village, Papa Smurf (Winters) tries to save all of his children but Clumsy accidently opens a magical portal to another land and he, Smurfette (Perry), Brainy (Armisen), Grouchy (Lopez), Gutsy (Cummings) and Papa fall through, chased by Gargamel. That portal leads to a new village, somewhere where the Smurfs feel even smaller, New York.

There have been many a childhood favourite that has headed to the big screen after entertaining generations in books, comics, music and on television but not many have the international appeal of The Smurfs.

Created by Belgian cartoonist Peyo, the little blue magic creatures have been entertaining youngsters since 1958. Standing three apples high with blue skin, white trousers and wearing a hat, the Smurfs are all named after what they do or a personal trait. With names like Handy, Grounchy, Brainy, Lazy, the Smurfs life in their village looked after by Papa Smurf, who wears red and has a white beard and he keeps them safe from the evil wizard Gargamel.

Stars of many an animation series, music recordings with Father Abraham and much more, the Smurfs are probably best known as been plastic figurines that you collected at petrol stations throughout the 70s and 80s. Having been part of many generation’s lives, a Big Screen version was bound to happen but can the fantasy world of the Smurfs work in the modern world?

The answer was to take the Smurfs from the safety of their village and send them to the biggest village in the world, New York City. The decision to take the Smurfs into the modern world and with the advancement of computer generated images, a live action film became possible. Much like Garfield, Yogi Bear and Alvin and the Chipmunks, here we have Neil Patrick Harris and Jayma Mays as Patrick and Grace, a young couple who are making their way in the big city. With Patrick trying to impress his boss Odile, played by Modern Family’s Sofia Vergara, the arrival of the Smurfs into his life is not what he needs at the moment. Add to this that the little blue people have been followed through the portal by Gargamel, played with great gusto by Hank Azaria, and Patrick and Grace have to try and save the Smurfs and the city from Gargamel’s magic. This, of course, leads to many a magical high jinx and adventure for the Smurfs and their human companions.

What ‘The Smurfs’ does well and much better than Garfield, Yogi Bear and Alvin and the Chipmunks is appeal to the entire family. This is simply just a fun movie with Alan Cummings, Katy Perry, Fred Armisen, George Lopez, Anton Yelchin and the original voice for the animated series of Papa Smurf Jonathan Winters, providing the voices of our heroes, there is much to enjoy here, even with the unneeded 3D. The Smurfs are back and this is going to be the start of a huge franchise.

DVD Special Features:
Find the Smurfs™ Game
Deleted & Extended Scenes
The Smurfs: Comic Book to the Big Screen
Featurette: “Going Gargamel” Progression Reels

Blu-ray 3D & Blu-ray Special Features:
All content featured on the DVD listed above, plus: Smurf-O-Vision: Second Screen Experience: Interact with the Smurfs as they take over your TV & iPad®, iPhone® or iPod touch® while you watch the movie!
The Smurfs™ Fantastic Adventure Game - Help Clumsy race through the village and Central Park to stop Gargamel and his evil plans!
Blue-pers Happy Music Montage
2 Commentaries
2 Featurettes: “The Smurfs™: Comic Book to the Big Screen” Smurf™
Speak: Meet the Cast”

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2011