See it if you want, but this movie doesn't deserve any kind of glorification. It's just another rehashed cartoon in live-action for little kids who think that farts are hilarious. If I were you I'd just watch some episodes of the cartoon.
edited 4th Sep '11 12:13:40 PM by Sabertooth1000000000
3DS FC: 1719-3694-1541In my personal opinion, it was a good movie. I believe most people like to be hard on it because it is a live action adaptation of an old cartoon, and there seems to be an unspoken rule against liking that sort of thing. However this movie has a bunch of good laughs and treats the original source with some respect. There are a few off-color jokes, and if you like that sort of thing I think you would really like this movie. But overall, it's a well made movie with a positive message.
I thought most people disliked it because of all the awful jokes, including the cheap "adult" ones.
edited 4th Sep '11 11:05:49 PM by RTaco
Unspoken anti-live action adaptation rule: I think it exists and I wholly support it. For starters, live-action adaptations are a great way to see "We don't take animation seriously. Hence why we believe theatrical releases must be live-action", as an animation fan, that hurts.
Anyway, I have qualms against this movie, merely because of the way the smurfs look. Uncanny Valley + Smurfs make a bad combination for me. So much that I cannot feel like validating the movie by watching it to make an opinion of it.
"from what I've been hearing"...Bingo. Don't put it down without even viewing it. It's better than the previews actually.
I was "forced" to watch it last Sunday, and despite my expectations, it turned out to be rather bearable. It suffers from the same effect as, say, Mr. Bean: The Movie or Transformers: everyone is interested in the titular characters, but the creators decided that they will throw in a "relatable" average mortal character and will add a side-plot about his self-discovery due to meeting the title character. Meanwhile every old fan in the audience is yawning and wonder why there was a need for that. Same goes for placing the plot in New York; I can't really think of a good reason except for the half dozen product placements that, no doubt, contributed hugely to the movie being possible in the first place.
ALL THAT SAID, it's a surprisingly fun movie. The previews made it seem like it ran on bad pop colture references and toilet humor, but these hardly feature in the actual film and they are a lot more subtle in context. The plot fits together nicely, all the six smurf characters have their moments, and while the human characters are a tad distracting, they do a good job with them considering the thankless role they 've been put in. While many developments are predictable for the experienced movie-goer, the movie never becomes outright awkward.
I have watched it with a Hungarian voice-over, so I cannot comment on the English dub. In Hungarian, they were wonderful; even though the original voice actors for the cartoon are probably to old to be avaliable, the substitutes made an incredible imitation, down to Gargamel's signature laugh. I can only hope that the English actors did a similarly good performance.
Now, is this a good place to start with Smurf material? Probably not. This is a "happy meal" family movie - half product placement and half appeal to small children. It's not bad for that, even for adults, but it is still in the same category.
The elements they have lifted from the cartoons -like the "blue moon"- are nicely intergated into the story, they feel neither fan exclusive nor an assault on the canon. (The few subtle changes, like Gargamel chasing the smurfs to use them to boost his mediocre powers, rather than to create gold or revenge, actually make more sense than the original canon did IMO, even if some diehards will probably be up in arms over them.)
I think if you are writing on Tv Tropes then you're probably too old for the comic and cartoon series. It is similar to the new "My Little Pony" - it features an idealistic society of cute magical creatures who all have one special role, and their stories revolve around slice-of-life stories on smurfs trying to use or realize their special talent and learning lessons, or epic "David vs Goliath" adventures where the smurfs overcome difficulties despite their small size. But it's the ideal entertainment when you are 7.
That said, in light of the mixed reviews this movie is getting, I will probably wait until it comes out on DVD and rent it instead. Perhaps after all the knee-jerk anti-live-action-sentiment has died down, I might get a better idea how valid the criticisms and praises of this movie are in comparison to each other.
"The Daily Show has to be right 100% of the time; FOX News only has to be right once." - Jon StewartIf the Tourette's Guy were asked this question:
"Hey Dad, do you want to see The Smurfs?"
"NO!"
"C'mon Dad, it's just The Smurfs."
"NO!"
"I heard it was worth watching."
"NO!"
"It's in 3-D."
"BUTT FUCK!"
Person near Tourette's Guy gets one for Attack The Block instead.
edited 5th Sep '11 2:27:44 PM by Buscemi
More Buscemi at http://forum.reelsociety.com/I personally thought it was an okay movie, though the whole "replacing words or part of words with 'Smurf'" thing really annoyed me.
And I didn't understand Papa's Heroic Sacrifice at all. It just seemed so pointless.
But then I've never seen/read The Smurfs.
Victory! Honor! Destiny! Mutton!That it's live-action made it already very unappealing to me. But when I heard that the smurfs are thrown into the real modern world in it, any interest, that I still could possibly have, vanished instantly.
It may be that it's better than it sounds, but I sure won't go and find it out.
People aren't as awful as the internet makes them out to be.It's got Katy Perry attempting to act. There is no such thing as better than it sounds.
More Buscemi at http://forum.reelsociety.com/I choose the analogy for that reason actually. :D For the cartoon show that is. An analogy for the film...The "Garfield" movie, maybe?
(Btw, I love how we all use the phrase "mixed reviews" for a situation where everyone says that something sucks.
)
edited 7th Sep '11 4:57:05 PM by Vree

When I saw the "where the smurf are we" tagline, I found myself curious as to what else it got past the radar. I also think I'd like to familiarize myself with the Smurfs series, * and a movie seems like a good way to learn it what with it only being a couple hours long and all.
I know it didn't do so well on rotten tomatoes, but neither did Cars 2, yet I enjoyed that movie. What would the rest of you suggest? (Please include in what way your recommendation depends on how familiar someone is with the series.)
edited 4th Sep '11 11:52:19 AM by HiddenFacedMatt
"The Daily Show has to be right 100% of the time; FOX News only has to be right once." - Jon Stewart