SMURFS: THE LOST VILLAGE

THE EMOJI MOVIE

Cert Running time

UBreathtakingly cynical and creatively bankrupt, this staggeringly dull kids animation adventure is a money pit for the unwary.

Three years ago The Lego Movie proved it’s possible to create cinematic magic out of humble toy bricks, so making a film featuring the icons of smartphone text-speak no longer seems outrageous.

But this desperate advert for expensive smartphones is rocket fuel for young kids’ pester power, and is devoid of the charm, wit, warmth and energy which made The Lego Movie such great fun.

When the upbeat ‘meh’ emoji is threatened with deletion for crashing its owner’s phone, it teams up with a Hi-5 and a codebreaker emoji to escape to the cloud where they hope to be rebooted.

James Corden, Patrick Stewart and Christina Aguilera are among the voice talent who should be ashamed of themselves. At best it’s as much fun as watching someone else play Candy Crush on their phone. #Angry face. #Poo.

Cert U

Digital Today, Disc August 14 The boys in blue are back for another animated adventure, but this time the girls are doing it for themselves.

Following the success of Disney’s female-led adventures such as Frozen and Zootropolis, this offers another female-friendly experience.

Smurfette leads Brainy, Hefty and Clumsy into the Forbidden Forest for a journey of self-discovery, where they find a lost town of female Smurfs. They are chased by an evil Smurf-hating wizard and encounter a lost tribe, which means Smurfette will no longer be the only girl in the village. Harmless fun for the youngest of kids.