Hello everyone! 🙂

Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ and I’m Tim Bradley!

Following me checking out the latest trailer for the three upcoming ‘Doctor Who’ specials for the TV show’s 60th anniversary, I decided to check out two films featuring Neil Patrick Harris, who is to guest star in the specials. The two films are the live-action ‘Smurfs’ movies, which I saw on Netflix. 🙂

I know these films have been criticised heavily by critics as well as Smurfs fans, but I wanted to see whether these films were good enough as kids’ films. I’m not a Smurfs fan myself, as I was vaguely aware of them when I was a kid. I do recall having a Smurf toy with some chocolate many years ago.

It didn’t click in for me that the Smurfs had a legacy and their own fanbase, as I never got into it as a kid anyway. But I appreciate how popular the Smurfs are, from being conceived as a comic series by Belgian comics artist Peyo to them having their own animated film and TV shows for kids to enjoy. 🙂

The two ‘Smurfs’ movies that were released in 2011 and 2013 are notorious in terms of whether they’re faithful adaptations of the original Smurfs, and it leans more towards the latter. This I acknowledge and appreciate…and yet, somehow, I was able to enjoy the ‘Smurfs’ films despite that.

(Audience boos)

Wait, wait, wait, hear me out. I’m not saying these are great movies. They’re not. There are things that don’t work for me in terms of how the world-building and the character development is handled in ‘The Smurfs’ films. This is especially in terms of the usage of Smurfy puns throughout the films.

But at the same time, I was able to get into the stories and characters and have a good time watching them on Netflix. The combination of CGI and live-action in these movies is debatable, but in my opinion, these are two mostly harmless children’s films, which I found entertaining to watch.

The first ‘Smurfs’ movie which was released in 2011 starts in Smurf Village where the evil wizard Gargamel, played by Hank Azaria, chases the tiny blue Smurfs out of their village and they’re transported from our world into ours. The Smurfs end up in New York and must find a way back home. 😐

There is an element of ‘Enchanted’ when you think about it. Despite the CGI Smurfs not looking as realistic as many would like them to be, the voice acting is good. Papa Smurf is voiced by Jonathan Winters, Smurfette is voiced by Kate Perry, Clumsy Smurf is voiced by the late Anton Yelchin, Brainy Smurf is voiced by Fred Armisen, Gutsy Smurf (and I didn’t realise it was him), is voiced by Alan Cumming, and Grouchy Smurf, is voiced by George Lopez (who’s been in ‘Sharkboy and Lavagirl’). 😀

The live-action performers are also very good. As well as Hank Azaria as Gargamel, there’s the aforementioned Neil Patrick Harris as Patrick Winslow. I first came across Neil Patrick Harris when he provided the voice for Spider-Man/Peter Parker in ‘Spider-Man: The New Animated Series’ in 2003.

It was interesting to see Neil Patrick Harris in a live-action role for a change and I look forward to seeing him again in the upcoming ‘Doctor Who’ specials. There’s also Jayma Mays as Grace, Patrick’s wife. Quite recently, Jayma Mays was in ‘Disenchanted’, but I don’t recall her role being big in that.

I found Grace a sweet presence in ‘The Smurfs’ films, especially when being Patrick’s wife and being friendly to the Smurfs. The film’s cast also includes Sofia Vergara as Odile Anjelou, Patrick’s boss and there’s Tim Gunn as Henri, Odile’s assistant friend at her company, which is called Anjelou Cosmetics.

The second ‘Smurfs’ movie is more or less the same as the first ‘Smurfs’ film. Not in terms of plot, but in terms of atmosphere. I can’t decide which ‘Smurfs’ film is better than the other. I found both films just as enjoyable, and it’s interesting how they kept the trend of storytelling throughout each film. 🙂

In ‘The Smurfs 2’, the Smurfs return to the human world to team up with their human friends to rescue Smurfette, who has been abducted by the evil Gargamel. They travel to Paris, whilst Smurfette is made to share a secret spell that can turn Gargamel’s ‘Naughties’ creatures into Smurfs. 😐

Like most sequels, new characters are introduced, including the Naughties. They’re Vexy, voiced by Christina Ricci, and Hackus, voiced by J. B. Smoove. I knew Christina Ricci was in ‘Casper’ and ‘That Darn Cat’, but I didn’t realise Hackus was voiced by Mr. Dell from the three ‘MCU Spider-Man’ films.

There’s also Brendan Gleeson as Victor Doyle, Patrick’s stepdad. Brendan Gleeson has also been in ‘Paddington 2’ among many films and TV productions. Throughout both ‘Smurfs’ films, there’s been this journey going on for Patrick Winslow in terms of coming to terms with being a father and everything.

‘The Smurfs 2’ also features Jacob Tremblay as Blue, Patrick and Grace’s son. Jacob Tremblay has gone on to do more films, including a voice for the latest ‘Little Mermaid’ film. Incidentally, both ‘Smurfs’ films are directed by Raja Gosnell. He directed ‘Home Alone 3’ and two ‘Scooby-Doo’ live-action films.

So yes, whilst I acknowledge the two live-action/CGI hybrid ‘Smurfs’ films don’t seem to be great as faithful adaptations of the original Smurfs in comics and other cartoon films and TV shows, I can’t say I didn’t enjoy them. The two films are entertaining enough and I’m glad I got to see them on Netflix.

Whether they’re good introductions for me to the Smurfs is another matter. I’ve yet to see ‘Smurfs: The Lost Village’, though I’ve heard it’s an improvement over the live-action films. I’m happy I’ve seen Neil Patrick Harris in two live-action films for a change before I get to see him again in ‘Doctor Who’.

Thanks for reading!

Bye for now!

Tim 🙂