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The Smurfs is a live action/3D CGI animated movie developed by Sony Pictures Animation and The Kerner Entertainment Company, which was released in theaters on July 29, 2011. It is the first feature to take place in the Smurfs Live-Action Film Universe.

Sony Pictures originally had plans for two more Smurfs films following this one. One of these was released on July 31, 2013, but due to its performance, Sony canceled plans for the third movie and has instead decided to reboot the series as an all-CGI animated movie series, starting with Smurfs: The Lost Village.

Characters[]

Plot Summary[]

Uh oh! Very Smurfy Non-canon warning: This article or section contains non-canonical information that is not considered to be an official part of the Smurfs Franco-Belgian comic book series, the 1980s Smurfs cartoon show series, or the 2021 Smurfs cartoon show series, and should not be considered part of the overall storyline of any of those media universes.

In the beginning of the film, as Farmer Smurf races Greedy Smurf to the Smurf Village carrying sacks of smurfberries, Narrator Smurf tells the audience about the Blue Moon Festival, where every Smurf prepares to sing the Smurf song in a dance choreographed by Vanity Smurf. However, of all the Smurfs who are permitted to join in the dance, Brainy, Grouchy, and Gutsy prevent Clumsy from joining in because he's too accident-prone. This, however, doesn't stop the Smurfs already in the dance from being toppled over when Gutsy and Grouchy give Brainy a flying boot.

Meanwhile, Papa Smurf is in his laboratory seeing a vision, showing Clumsy with a dragon wand, the Smurfs in cages, and Gargamel having ultimate power. Clumsy, who just happens to enter Papa Smurf's laboratory during the vision, sees that the village leader is out of Smurfroot and offers to go get some. Papa Smurf warns Clumsy not to go into the forest, fearing what he had seen in the vision. However, as Clumsy traipses off into the forest to collect the Smurfroot, he accidentally lures Gargamel and Azrael through a barrier that renders the village cloaked from outside. As the Smurfs flee from Gargamel, some of them go off in a direction that warns them not to go that way. It leads to the Forbidden Falls where a magic portal opens up during the blue moon and sucks them up, transporting them years into the future, where they emerge to discover that they are now in modern-day New York City. Gargamel and Azrael end up following the Smurfs through the same portal and also arrive at the same destination, only to lose the Smurfs.

The time-lost Smurfs take shelter with a young married couple (Patrick and Grace Winslow), who are expecting a baby. Patrick works as an advertiser for Anjelou, a cosmetics company, and must come up with a suitable advertising campaign for his client in two days. While the Smurfs offer more of a nuisance than a help with Patrick's advertising project, Patrick does help them come up with a way that they can predict the rise of another blue moon so they can return back to their original time period. The blue moon inspires Patrick to come up with an advertising campaign that he thought would be suitable for his client's product, and even though he second-guesses himself and creates a different advertisement to send in its place, the original idea accidentally gets emailed and promoted all over the city, causing his employer to warn him to fix the problem or he will be fired.

Meanwhile, Gargamel hides out in the abandoned Belvedere Castle in Central Park, using its equipment to make a magic formula from a lock of Smurfette's hair so he could track down the Smurfs and capture them. This leads to an encounter with them inside FAO Schwarz and later inside Mr. Wong's Mystical Emporium where he gets his hands on the dragon wand seen in Papa Smurf's vision. In the emporium and also through the Internet, the Smurfs discover that their legend has been passed on into the modern age through a cartoon artist named Peyo. However, Papa Smurf does get captured by Gargamel and is held prisoner inside the wizard's hideout, where he uses the dragon wand to refashion the Smurf essence extractor machine in the hopes of using it to extract the essence of every Smurf.

With the help of Patrick and Grace, the Smurfs succeed in opening the portal back to their own time, through which Brainy gets the rest of the Smurfs in the village. Every single Smurf is lined up on the edge of the balcony, as Gargamel was temporarily distracted by two (or three) helpless Smurfs that were standing on the roof. Gargamel believes that he can capture them all and get more power than he could ever dream of. Luckily, his Smurf essence extractor machine is doing nothing, as Smurfette confronted Azrael while freeing Papa Smurf from the container that imprisoned him. Gargamel's wand is then stolen by Gutsy, who foolishly drops it toward the ground. Luckily, Clumsy catches it just in time, and Papa destroys it. Gargamel is hit by a MCI J4500 bus, later shown on the streets, blasting magic at the viewer while he cries about his defeat.

After the Smurfs make their heartfelt goodbyes to their human friends, Patrick gets a call from his boss, thanking him for the advertising campaign which the Smurfs had incidentally restored her faith in. By the end-credits, Grace gives birth to a healthy baby.

Uh oh! Very Smurfy Non-canon warning: Non-canonical information ends here.


Cast[]

Voice actors:

Unused Voices[]

  • Panicky Smurf was stated to appear in the movie and was given Adam Wylie as a voice actor but is only mentioned by Gutsy in dialogue. However, he does appear in merchandise sold by McDonald's.

Live-action actors:

  • Hank Azaria as Gargamel
  • Neil Patrick Harris as Patrick Winslow
  • Jayma Mays as Grace Winslow
  • Sofía Vergara as Odile
  • Tim Gunn as Henri
  • Victor Pagan as The Street Bum
  • Madison McKinley as Model
  • Meg Phillips as Model
  • Julie Chang and Roger Clark as Newscasters
  • Joan Rivers as Party Guest
  • Liz Smith as Party Guest
  • Mark Doherty as Bluetooth Businessman
  • Minglie Chen as Young Woman
  • Sean Kenin as Guy in Plaid Shirt
  • Mahadeo Shivraj as Cabbie
  • Adria Baratta as Anjelou Employee
  • Paula Pizzi as Odile's Mother
  • Andrew Sellon as Waiter
  • Julianna Rigoglioso as Little Sister
  • Daria Rae Figlo as Blonde Sister
  • Bradley Gosnell as Toy Salesperson
  • Heidi Armbruster and Finnerty Steeves as Toy Store Parents
  • John Speredakos as Parent with Girls
  • Skai Jackson as Kicking Girl
  • Alex Hall and Eric Redgate as Skateboard Kids
  • Jojo Gonzalez as FAO Custodian
  • Scott Dillin as Cop
  • Tyree Michael Simpson as Cop
  • Sean Ringgold as Inmate Bubba
  • Mario D'Leon as Bubba's Inmate Friend
  • Party Guests:
    • Liz Smith
    • Tom Colicchio
    • Michael Musto
    • Joan Rivers
    • Olivia Palermo
    • Julia Enescu
    • Lauren Waggoner

Production[]

1997-2002[]

In 1997, producer Jordan Kerner sent the first "of a series of letters" to The Smurfs' licensing agent Lafig Belgium expressing interest in making a feature film. It was not until 2002 after a draft of Kerner's film adaptation of Charlotte's Web was read by Peyo's heirs, that they accepted Kerner's offer. Peyo's daughter Véronique Culliford and family had wanted to make a Smurfs film for years and said that Kerner was the first person to pitch a film that shared their "vision and enthusiasm".

2006[]

In 2006, Kerner said the film was planned to be a trilogy and would explain more of Gargamel's backstory. He stated, "We'll learn [more] about Gargamel and Smurf Soup and how all that began and what really goes on in that castle. What his backstory really was. There's an all-powerful wizard... there's all sorts of things that get revealed as we go along".

2008[]

Early animation footage was leaked on the internet in early 2008. The filmmakers were allowed to create three new Smurfs for the film – Narrator, Crazy, and Gutsy.

n June 2008, it was announced that Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation obtained the film rights from Lafig Belgium. Kerner said the current project started with Sony during a conversation with the chairman-CEO Michael Lynton, who grew up watching The Smurfs in the Netherlands. Kerner explained, "He relished them as I do and suggested that it should be a live action/CG film". Amy Pascal felt equally that there was "potentially a series of films in the making".

2010[]

In the United States, the film was meant to be released on December 17, 2010, but it was delayed to July 29, 2011. It was then further delayed to August 3, 2011, before being moved up to the original release date of July 29, 2011.

2011[]

The Smurfs was released to theaters on July 29, 2011.

The Smurfs was released on DVD, Blu-ray Disc, and Blu-ray 3D on December 2, 2011, accompanied with an all-new 22-minute animated short film The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol.

Development[]

Themes[]

The Smurfs teach kids about teamwork, while Papa Smurf and the Winslows teach about the importance of putting family first.

The movie offers positive messages about cooperation, teamwork, and family togetherness. Clumsy's transformation into a fearless hero is a great lesson that none of us is just "one thing," even if that's what we're most known for by our friends and family.

Software Usage[]

Saliba notes that the animation process is incredibly technical – involving digital maps of the set, including set dressing, and even digital models of the live-action actors, all of which gets mapped frame-by-frame to the scene that was actually shot, all before the Smurf can be put into the scene and animated. That said, even as all of those technical details are sorted through, the animators also have to keep a close eye on the creative aspects. ― We‘re asking ourselves, how is the sequence meant to flow? Where are the gags supposed to come? When to the emotional beats happen? The animation process needs the sort of person who can handle the technical aspect but also has a good creative sensibility.

The animator's creativity as they performed the Smurfs also helped solve a tricky technical problem: when watching a wide shot, audiences would have to immediately identify each of the six Smurfs. Some of these, like Papa (white beard, red clothes) or Smurfette (blonde mane) would be striking, but, as Gosnell notes, Grouchy and Clumsy have no identifying prop or feature. Clumsy does look a little different from Grouchy – his ears and feet are a little bigger, his hat his a little droopier – but it's also a performance thing," says the director. "How does the character stand? What is his body attitude?" In that way, the animators not only had to be talented artists, but talented actors, bringing out these subtle differences.

The visual effects team also translated production designer Bill Boes' elaborate designs for the magical Smurf Village into a CG-animated space. ―We tried a lot of different design concepts to come up with the Smurf village, Boes says "but we ended up with basically what everybody knows, yet in a realistic way. It took a lot of trial and error to get it right".

Gargamel‘s partner in crime is Azrael, his cat. Four cats would play the role, and in certain scenes, the filmmakers chose to employ a CG-animated Azrael (animated by Tippett Studios). Azaria says "that though working with live animals always requires patience, the payoff is easily worth the effort. And sometimes, feline fate smiles on the production. ―The real cat would actually give us the perfect meow on cue", he says.

World Building[]

It began on set, where the director of photography, Phil Méheux, and the film's production designer, Bill Boes, coordinated efforts with visual effects supervisor Richard R. Hoover, SPI senior animation supervisor Troy Saliba, and SPI senior VFX producer Lydia Bottegoni of Sony Pictures Imageworks to build sets, light them, and shoot the film in such a way that the three apple-high stars could be added later. 3D visual effects supervisor Rob Engle was also on hand to ensure that it would all come to life in 3D.

"There were an awful lot of moving parts on this movie" says Gosnell. "Basic Directing 101 is about moving your characters around, how you stage a scene. On this movie, we had to stage scenes in which six characters weren't there. The actors would have to interact with nothing, and sometimes the camera would move, following nothing. My biggest job as a director was to keep the eye on the prize – how to keep everyone moving toward the same goal. Everyone embraced the fun and the challenge of the project, and by mid-movie, we were flying".

Boes‘ team was responsible for the film's physical sets, including Grace and Patrick's New York apartment, a two-thirds replica of Belvedere Castle, and Gargamel‘s dungeon in the Castle.

Plot Changes/Scene Deletions[]

Trailers[]

In the original trailer, Grouchy is heard saying "I think I just smurfed, in my mouth" while giving the audience an annoyed glance. This scene is never used in the actual movie.

Success and Critical Response[]

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 21% of 119 critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 4/10. The site's critical consensus states, "The Smurfs assembles an undeniably talented cast of voice actors and live-action stars—then crushes them beneath a blue mound of lowest-common-denominator kiddie fare."

Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, gave the film an average score of 30 based on 22 reviews, which indicates "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.

Keith Staskiewicz of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a D+ saying, "The Smurfs may be blue, but their movie is decidedly green, recycling discarded bits from other celluloid Happy Meals like Alvin and the Chipmunks, Garfield, and Hop into something half animated, half live action, and all careful studio calculation". Michael Rechtshaffen of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a negative review saying, "This numbingly generic Smurf-out-of-water-tale is strictly for those who stand closer to three apples tall." Ending the review he said, "Having previously helmed two Scooby-Doos and a Beverly Hills Chihuahua, director Raja Gosnell could probably have done this one in his sleep, which is likely where all but the most attentive of caregivers will helplessly find themselves drifting."

Roger Moore of the Orlando Sentinel gave it two out of four stars saying, "The good news about the big-screen 3D version of The Smurfs that's opening at your neighborhood multiplex is that it's not the insipid and some say "socialist" Smurfs you remember from 1980s TV". He called the slapstick "very small-kid friendly" and considered the adult-friendly jokes "pretty mild stuff". He closed his review saying, "Yeah, the Smurfs are still sickeningly sweet and upbeat. But if you've got kids, it's not nearly as torturous to sit through as you might have feared". Justin Chang of Variety described the film as "adorable and annoying, patently unnecessary yet kinda sweet" and calling it "a calculated commercial enterprise with little soul but an appreciable amount of heart". He said, "The script does wink knowingly in the direction of attentive adults".

San Francisco Chronicle Peter Hartlaub gave the film a mixed review. He said The Smurfs is a "rare movie where the worst parts are in the promos". He called Harris' performance an "honest effort in a thankless role" but said that Azaria as Gargamel "Hidden under prosthetics, [Hank Azaria] compensates for his lack of good lines and repulsive makeup by overacting". He closed his review saying, "Harris, mostly acting against Marshmallow Peep-sized animated creations, is convincing and likable throughout. No doubt he will poke fun at his participation in this film the next time he's hosting an awards show, but don't be fooled. It takes a good actor to save a bad movie". Ty Burr of The Boston Globe criticized the CGI used on the cat, the use of 3D by calling it "needless" and Lopez's voice as Grouchy. He called the Smurf rap the worst part of the film. However, Burr echoed Harlaub's praise for Harris' performance by saying, "Harris manages to class up whatever he touches, even if the sight of him repeatedly hitting himself with an umbrella probably won't go on the career highlight reel". About Azaria, he said, "[Azaria] gets to put on a baldy wig and fake buckteeth and overact as broadly as he can. A little of this goes a long way unless you're 6 years old, which is the point". He also added that Sofia Vergara "shares the screenplay's confusion as to what, exactly, she's doing here".

USA Today's Scott Bowles enjoyed Azaria's performance calling him "the human standout" and saying "He and his distrusting cat, Azrael, steal scenes". He also called Jonathan Winters "wonderful" as Papa Smurf. Neil Genzlinger of The New York Times said Azaria was "quite funny". About the film's content, he said "Those grown-up winks, along with an array of New York locations, make The Smurfs a surprisingly tolerable film for adults. As for their children, well, who knows with kids? But at least the writers have cleverly built in enough Smurfology that today's youngsters will be able to get the basics of the blue universe". Betsy Sharkey from the Los Angeles Times gave the film a negative review saying, "Director Raja Gosnell starts with the innocence but then loses his way in trying to pull off the hipster spin the script by J. David Stem, David N. Weiss, Jay Scherick and David Ronn is shooting for." and "There are many good actors wasted as voices—Alan Cumming, Fred Armisen, and Winters among them—and in the flesh, though the greatest disservice is to Azaria".

Trivia[]

  • Producer Jordan Kerner had pitched for the idea of a Smurfs movie back in 1997 with the Smurfs' licensing agency Lafig Belgium, but it was not until 2002, after a draft of Kerner's film adaptation of Charlotte's Web was read by Peyo's heirs, that they accepted Kerner's offer.
  • The film was initially set up at Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies, where it was planned as a fully animated film, which would have been the first of a trilogy. The project switched to Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation in June 2008.
  • Despite the negative reviews from critics, the movie was a box-office success, leading up to a sequel two years later.
  • The 1980s cartoon show's Season 2 introduction's lyrics to the Smurf song are used in the movie.
  • The film was released on the 30th anniversary of the 1981 TV series. In an homage to this, when Gargamel runs into a taxi, Gutsy says he's had it coming for thirty years.
  • This is the first Sony Pictures Animation film to blend computer animation with live-action photography.
  • Both Quentin Tarantino and Chester Rush were originally considered to voice Brainy, but both declined.
  • Alyson Hannigan was originally considered for the role of Grace.
  • Wallace Shawn and John Lithgow were considered for the role of Gargamel.
  • Ben Stiller, Lucy Liu, Ben Affleck, Sally Field, Julia Sweeney, and Marisa Tomei were all considered for voice roles.
  • At one point, Kevin James was rumored to be the voice of Hefty.
  • Gutsy Smurf's creation was because Hefty Smurf wasn't sufficiently macho (or Scottish) to be one of the main Smurfs. Hefty does appear in the film however, in the beginning and the end.
  • This film represents the first time the Smurfs are depicted with blue eyes.
  • To prepare for the role of Gargamel, Hank Azaria donned a prosthetic nose, ears, buck teeth, eyebrows, and a wig (he had to shave his head to accommodate the wig). He wore the wig when he came into recording episodes of The Simpsons's twenty-second season during recording breaks on this movie.
  • Some visual gags used in relation to the Smurfs in the movie include advertisements for the Blue Man Group and for Blu-Ray Discs.
  • Panicky Smurf, who was supposed to appear in the movie as a character voiced by Adam Wylie, was instead only mentioned by Gutsy Smurf. (However, he does appear as a toy figure sold through McDonald's)
  • Smurfette's line, "I kissed a Smurf and I liked it", is a reference to her voice actress Katy Perry's song "I Kissed a Girl".
  • In the original trailer, Grouchy is heard saying "I think I just smurfed, in my mouth" while giving the audience an annoyed glance. This scene is never used in the actual movie.
  • In the Cartoon Network show, MAD, The Smurfs movie gets spoofed with Transformers: Dark of the Moon in Trans-BORE-Mores 3: Dark of the Blue Moon/The Walking Fred.
  • Gargamel's Smurfalator took three months to build, due to its components having to be sourced from garage sales, flea markets, eBay, and Craigslist.
  • The first scene in the film with Greedy and Farmer riding storks is a homage to the opening credits of the 1981 TV series, which featured the same shots.
  • Gargamel refers to the Smurf Village as "the cursed land", which in the Smurf comic books was the name of the village's original location.
  • Gargamel amusingly finds out that Azrael is a male cat, which reflects the gender switch between the comic books and the cartoon show versions of the character.
  • During the scene when all the Smurfs are being thrown around by Gargamel's magic during a war to rescue Papa Smurf, one of the Smurfs scream the infamous wilhelm scream.
  • One of the ads clearly seen in Times Square is Community. Vanity Smurf's voice actor John Oliver appeared as a recurring role of faculty member Dr. Ian Duncan.
  • The apartment Patrick and Grace live in is called McKinley, name of the high school in Glee, where both Neil Patrick Harris and Jayma Mays appeared in, the former in a minor role and the latter is a major character.
  • Gargamel using a moth to summon other flying creatures to rescue him from prison is based on a scene from The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring where Gandalf uses a moth to summon an eagle to rescue him from his prison on top of Orthanc in Isengard.

Goofs[]

  • At the beginning where the Smurfs are rehearsing for the Blue Moon Festival, the Smurfs are dancing with the pond both left and right of them. But when Brainy ruins the dance, some dancers fall into the pond. Then when Narrator Smurf speaks, it's back to normal.
  • When the LG billboard changes to the blue moon ad, the LG billboard is still visible on a reflection on the glass on the front of the MTV studios building.
  • When Patrick is in Times Square, an ad for a video game can be seen. In the next shot, the ad has changed to raining backwards "r"s.
  • In some scenes in the streets of New York, a crowd watching the recordings can clearly be seen at the end of the street.
  • Papa Smurf and the other 5 Smurfs travel around New York by riding on top of the taxi. It's daytime. By the time they got to Patrick's apartment, it's night.
  • When Gargamel is having dinner with Odile and Henri, Gargamel talks to Azrael, while Odile is out of character and smiles. She then looks to the crew and waves to them.
  • When Odile asks Gargamel what it is that he desires, she asks "Riches? Fame? Fortune?", in terms of wealth, riches, and fortune mean the same thing.
  • In the scene where Papa Smurf is stargazing from the roof of the apartment, he is brought a cup of coffee and a striped, blue straw is put in it for him. Towards the end of the scene, the straw vanishes and then re-appears.
  • At the end of the movie, Papa Smurf breaks Gargamel's dragon wand and throws it into a pond, but during the ending credits Gargamel uses the wand again.
  • When Patrick encounters his boss as he's coming in on the first day of work after his promotion, she comments that he seems to have "nervous energy". He gestures awkwardly in the air with both arms and replies, "Nervous energy's what's going on up in here!". Halfway through his reply, the camera angle changes and he's no longer lifting both arms; he's gesturing with only his right arm, while his left arm is clutching a folder to his chest.

Video Release[]

  • Sony Pictures has released the movie on DVD and Blu-Ray, with a three-disc Blu-Ray/DVD bundle featuring a special animated segment called The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol. Other included bonus features:
    • Blue-pers (Smurf Bloopers!)
    • Deleted & Extended Scenes
    • Happy Music Montage
    • Commentary Tracks
    • The Smurfs Comic Book
    • Going Gargamel
    • Smurf Speak: Meet the Cast
    • Progression Reels
    • Smurf-O-Vision
    • The Smurfs Fantastic Adventure Game
  • Wal-Mart's preorder of the Blu-Ray/DVD bundle also included a plush toy backpack clip.
  • It is available as a video download through Amazon, iTunes, Zune, and Sony.
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