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Parents' Guide to

The Smurfs

By Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 6+

Not enough bright spots in disappointing adaptation.

Movie PG 2011 103 minutes
The Smurfs Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 6+

Based on 35 parent reviews

kayym1593
kayym1593 Parent of 5-year-old
April 28, 2023
age 6+

Not sure why all the Negative comments, its not THAT bad, it's actually pretty good.

Please ignore all those negative reviews.. I seriously have no idea where they are coming from. This movie had my kiddo rolling with laughter. (She is six) alot of silliness happens. And it's an extremely relatable movie for Littles. I enjoyed it as an Adult. I am VERY picky about what my kid watches, and this is NOT bad. It has very little violence if ANY at all. The only *scary* parts is when the gargamoyle guy tries to catch them and when he is in jail, and almost gets into a fight, and when he captures papa smurf, but it never shows anything too overwhelming or terrifying that some Littles could handle, and almost ALWAYS ends in humor and silliness. Which is important. If you want a family friendly movie this is a great choice and if you dont want to watch the papa smurf being caught by gargamoyle then simply fast forward past it. But it always has an extremely positive twist to things, and has a lot of encouraging twists that are extremely inspirational for Littles and as an adult if you appreciate those things, then this is a great option. They replace any inappropriate words with *smurf* which is way better than anything negative. Yes, there is some women objectification but nothing sexual, or anything at all. There's a lot of humor. And it really emphasizes upon family, finding positivity, and realizing that even though things don't always go perfectly, there is still a silver lining somewhere. It encourages supporting those you care about, and sticking by them. Yes there is a decent amount of adult interaction and conversations, but they are actually really meaningful, and have a really positive message tied to it.. It's not bad. Honestly. I'd say try it out to see what you think, because you may be surprised. Your kid may love it.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
JonDan22
JonDan22 Parent of 8 and 12-year-old
April 8, 2023
age 9+

Disappointing and disturbing

(Written by 8yo boy) I agree with Common Sense. There are no real bright spots in this disappointing film. I was worried in the end because the main smurf is about to die by a machine of some kind. There is one point that was really gross where a cat eats off one of the smurf's hair and then barfs it up later (like a hairball). I suggest you don't watch this creepy and disgusting film. There's much better stuff to watch so just don't.
See all 35 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In the enchanted Smurf Village, THE SMURFS, a group of 100 little blue, gnome-like creatures, live in a utopian bliss, preparing for a Blue Moon Festival. Meanwhile, evil wizard Gargamel (Hank Azaria) and his cat, Azrael, plot to find and destroy the Smurfs' hidden home. After Clumsy Smurf (voiced by Anton Yelchin) accidentally leads Gargamel to the village, the powerful Blue Moon creates a vortex that sucks in Clumsy, Papa (Jonathan Winters), Gutsy (Alan Cumming), Grouchy (George Lopez), Brainy (Fred Armisen), and Smurfette (Katy Perry), with Gargamel and Azrael tumbling in after them. They land in New York City's Central Park, where cosmetics executive Patrick (Neil Patrick Harris) is throwing a party for his overbearing boss (Sofia Vergara). After Clumsy falls into one of Patrick's boxes, the other Smurfs follow him home and reveal themselves to Patrick and his wife, Grace (Jayma Mays). While the Smurfs attempt to find a way to conjure themselves back home, Gargamel tries to track them down and steal their powerful, youth-providing essence.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (35 ):
Kids say (92 ):

Despite a few laughs, this adaptation of one of the most popular Saturday-morning cartoons in U.S. history is only going to appeal to families with Smurf-obsessed kids. Even Harris, who has become one of those dependable movie savers in a string of comedies, and Azaria, who's a gifted, family-friendly comedian, can't save director Raja Gosnell's live-action/CGI hybrid from disappointing nostalgia-seeking grown-ups and all but the youngest of kids.

On the smurfy side, there are a few decent one-liners here, and physical comedy is hard to resist sometimes. The Smurfs joke about their personality-named brothers left back in the village (nobody misses "Passive-Aggressive Smurf"), or look shocked when Patrick snaps an apparent expletive that only involves variations of the word "smurf." And, yes, Gargamel stomping around Manhattan with his faithful devilish cat has an inherent comedic appeal, but it's not enough to sustain a paper-thin plot. As Grouchy appropriately says at the end of the Smurfs' urban adventure, "I didn't hate it as much as I thought I would. But I still hated it."

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the appeal of remaking old cartoons like The Smurfs into movies. Do you think the goal is to share the cartoons with a new generation or to appeal to grown-ups who remember the cartoons from their own youth?

  • What are the movie's messages? What do the characters learn over the course of the film?

  • If you've seen the old TV show, how does the movie compare? Do the characters seem the same?

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