A Rare Case of Children’s Film with Absolutely No Children
In a faraway, enchanted land, nestled within a secluded forest village, lives Papa Smurf alongside a hundred sons and a single daughter. An evil wizard with a crooked overbite (Azaria) desperately seeks to capture them for his experiments. While fleeing from pursuit, a group of Smurfs inexplicably finds themselves in the heart of Manhattan, where Patrick (Neil Patrick Harris), a man intimidated by his demanding boss, is working on the design of a new cosmetic line. Armed with Wikipedia, he comes to the aid of the magical little creatures and attempts to send them back home.
It’s not just that the phrase “blue moon” has a completely different connotation in our everyday language. It’s that while making a film for toddlers (and be warned: the cute, clumsy gnomes will be falling and farting throughout), the filmmakers apparently forgot that it would be a good idea to actually like children, or at least know how to cater to them properly. They don’t quite grasp why these strange, malevolent creatures inhabiting toy stores are even necessary. As a result, the magic will be seriously analyzed by unshaven men and pregnant women. And when a fairytale character starts teaching a womanizer from “How I Met Your Mother” the nuances of fatherhood, it becomes downright awkward.