THE SMURFS: LOST VILLAGE
A SMURF in need is a Smurf indeed in director Kelly Asbury’s family-friendly comedy, which reboots the misadventures of the cute blue creatures created by Belgian illustrator Peyo.
The Smurfs: Lost Village abandons the uneasy conflation of live action and digital trickery, which dogged previous Smurf feature films, and settles on computer animation to render the colour-saturated escapades of Papa Smurf and his three inch tall kin.
Asbury’s picture adopts a strongly female-centric storyline in the hope of mimicking the success of Disney’s Frozen, Zootropolis and Finding Dory, but muddles its core message of female empowerment.
Most Smurfs know their purpose and have names that reflect their talents including Hefty (voiced by Joe Manganiello), Clumsy (Jack McBrayer), Brainy (Danny Pudi) and Table-Eating Smurf.
“We’re not too sure about him either,” concedes Papa Smurf (Mandy Patinkin) in voiceover.
However, Smurfette (Demi Lovato) is clueless about her calling because she was originally fashioned from clay by evil wizard Gargamel (Rainn Wilson) in order to wreak havoc in Smurf Village.
During a foray into the Forbidden Forest, Smurfette stumbles upon a lost tribe of female Smurfs led by SmurfWillow (Julia Roberts).
Smurfette senses she may have found her place but Gargamel and his cat Azrael also know about Smurf Grove and intend to capture SmurfWillow and her sorority.
Meanwhile, back in Smurf Village, Papa Smurf is furious to discover four of his wards have defied express orders and strayed into the Forbidden Forest.
Placed side by side with yesteryear’s joy-filled Trolls and its infectious Oscar nominated soundtrack, The Smurfs: Lost Village feels light on substance, sophistication and emotional complexity.
Humour is skewed towards the very young.