I'll be honest- I did not go into The Smurfs with high expectations. After Hollywood butchered the lovable bear that is Yogi, my expectations were roughly the same, expecting The Smurfs to be completely massacred. I was pleasantly surprised- for the most part. I enjoyed the movie and it had many enjoyable, laughable, and heart-warming moments presented in a very family-friendly atmosphere. The Smurfs tells the story of The Smurfs and their archenemy Gargamel being sucked into New York City through a vortex in the Smurf Village. They run into Neil Patrick Harris' character Patrick (convenient, no?) as Clumsy Smurf falls into his box-o-makeup goods. The Smurfs then begin to try and find their way home and showing Patrick how to not miss his life all while trying to avoid Gargamel. Hank Azaria was quite perfect in his role of Gargamel, though portraying him a bit more daft than his typical self from the show. The Smurfs themselves were well cast too, save Papa Smurf who sounded like an Aslan the Lion wannabe and made the whole character seem a lot rougher and bolder than he was originally. Overall, if you're looking for a good, clean family flick than The Smurfs is right up your alley, but if you're into constant action with things blowing up, than you're probably better off checking out the latest Michael Bay flick.
3.5 out of 5
