The Smurfs (2011)
Directed by Raja Gosnell
When the evil wizard Gargamel chases the tiny blue Smurfs out of their village, they tumble from their magical world and into ours -- in fact, smack dab in the middle of Central Park. Just three apples high and stuck in the Big Apple, the Smurfs must find a way to get back to their village before Gargamel tracks them down.
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A less consistently witty but still pleasing take-off of 2007's " Enchanted ," also about fairy tale characters ending up in modern-day Manhattan, the film's plot is simple and straightforward, its pacing unassumingly nimble for running a lengthy 103 minutes.
Unlike "Enchanted," which also saw cartoon characters enter New York City through a portal, the Smurfs are still their CGI-animated selves in both worlds, pursued in both worlds by a live-action Gargamel (Hank Azaria, "The Simpsons") and his live-action (but CGI enhanced) cat.
They have been expelled, a la Disney’s Enchanted , from their native forest by their nemesis, evil wizard Gargamel (Hank Azaria), and through a convenient portal.
It clearly takes it cues from flicks like "Enchanted" and "Stuart Little" in transporting these fantasy characters from their enchanted land and into modern-day Manhattan where they interact with all us live-action folk.
No, Raja Gosnell's movie is an uninspired rip-off of Disney's Enchanted.
This Enchanted-style fish-out-of-water scenario is mined for interminable product placement gags (Blue Man Group!) and dreary fantasy-meets-modernity scenarios (Gargamel gets Tasered by the NYPD!).
Screenwriters J. David Stem and David N. Weiss (who as a team created the insouciant wit of Daddy Day Camp and Are We There Yet? ), in concert with Jay Scherick and David Ronn (who as a team whipped up the frothy delights of Zookeeper and Norbit), working from the original cartoons of Peyo, of course, adroitly weave a tapestry of humor derived from the mirroring motifs of things ending up in the potty that aren’t supposed to be in the potty -- a tiny blue plop of a Smurf falls into a toilet; the stinking retch of an evil wizard Gargamel (Hank Azaria: Hop , Love and Other Drugs ) mistakes a porta-john for a magic laboratory -- and things not ending up in the potty that should be there, as with Gargamel’s penchant for public urination.
Having director Raja Gosnell (2008's " Beverly Hills Chihuahua ") in the driver's seat and writers J. David Stern & David N. Weiss (2007's " Daddy Day Camp ") and Jay Scherick & David Ronn (2011's " Zookeeper ") behind the script pages didn't exactly alleviate fears.
The script, from J. David Stern and David N. Weiss (Daddy Day Camp), and Jay Scherick and David Ronn (Zookeeper) is beyond simplistic, with pitiful stereotypes and celebrity stunt casting driving the action.
Screenwriters J. David Stem and David N. Weiss (who as a team created the insouciant wit of Daddy Day Camp and Are We There Yet? ), in concert with Jay Scherick and David Ronn (who as a team whipped up the frothy delights of Zookeeper and Norbit), working from the original cartoons of Peyo, of course, adroitly weave a tapestry of humor derived from the mirroring motifs of things ending up in the potty that aren’t supposed to be in the potty -- a tiny blue plop of a Smurf falls into a toilet; the stinking retch of an evil wizard Gargamel (Hank Azaria: Hop , Love and Other Drugs ) mistakes a porta-john for a magic laboratory -- and things not ending up in the potty that should be there, as with Gargamel’s penchant for public urination.
David Stem & David N. Weiss) and "Norbit" (Jay Scherick & David Ronn) haven't exactly set any standards for wit.