Review: ‘The Smurfs’ sticks to conventional storyline

Spicezee Bureau

This week’s other 3D film comes all the way from Belgium. 80s popular comic, ‘The Smurfs.’ The Hanna-Barbera cartoon takes a celluloid trip after wooing kids for almost two decades now. The film, predictably remains a kid’s film. It doesn’t have much to offer other than thrills and animation. The noisy, live action/animated flick is unable to capture the imagination of the viewer. The plot is a basic one where a group of “Schtroumpfs” (their original name) or the Smurfs are set loose in New York city with typically chaotic results. Papa smurf(Jonathan Winters) and company end up reaching NYC while escaping the evil wizard Gargamel( Hank Azaria). After wandering in the city, they end up taking refuge in the apartment of a marketing exec (Neil Patrick Harris) and his pregnant wife (Jayma Mays). The rest of the story is all about how the smurfs try to save themselves from the evil clutches of Gargamel. Being a 3D film, one expects some marvelous special effects which unfortunately are missing. Harris works hard to make the movie work, at one point literally pointing out every single absurdity of the Surfs` entire existence, which makes for a funny moment despite undermining the whole premise. Watch this film only if you have no other film to watch. Or if you are a hardcore Smurf fan. If neither, then it’s safe to give this one a miss. Ratings:Two cheers for this one!