“This is not going to end well.”
I can’t tell you how telling that quote was for me. At least the movie has a catchy opening song in “Everything Goes With Blue,” courtesy of Smurfette, a.k.a. Rihanna, who voices the character. Interesting detail: all Smurfs movies from the 21st century have had Smurfette voiced by a famous singer. In The Smurfs (2011) and its sequel The Smurfs 2 (2013), Katy Perry voiced the character. In Smurfs: The Lost Village (2017), Demi Lovato provided the voice, and in this 2025 reboot, she is voiced by Rihanna. Another interesting detail: this marks Rihanna’s second animated movie she has lent her voice to, with the first being Home (2015), which was released 10 years earlier. However, where Home had was a success, I’m afraid I can’t really say the same for this reboot, even with a star-studded cast that includes James Corden, John Goodman, Nick Offerman, Jimmy Kimmel, Sandra Oh, Octavia Spencer, Hannah Waddingham, Nick Kroll, and Kurt Russell.
I was never much for the Smurfs growing up. It just didn’t appeal to me, and I can’t say that it appealed to my toddler either, despite my initial hopes. I’d hoped that the bright colors and music would be enough to captivate him. However, it was not. He made it about 20 minutes. But to be fair, that is not nothing, but as I was hoping to share the experience, it left me and my preconceived notions about the film all alone. The film does attempt to provide some context earlier on with a voiceover about the Intergalactic Evil Wizard Alliance, led by Razamel, Gargamel’s brother, and their attempt to use four magic books to rule the world with evil and destroy all the goodness in the universe. This only served to confuse me, because, as I said, my familiarity with the Smurf backstory is limited. However, my research about the film has revealed that similar to the Smurfs films from Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation, multiple Smurf characters were created specifically for the film, to include our protagonist, interestingly named No Name Smurf.
I did find No Name Smurf’s story arc mildly interesting as he experienced a bit of an identity crisis due to his lacking a defining “thing.” Most Smurfs have a defining characteristic that also serves as their name, thereby differentiating them from the group. However, in the case of No Name Smurf, he is yet to discover his thing, and much of the film in centered around this discovery, which predictably leads to both his “thing” and his eventual name.
That aside, the film was just something to endure, as my toddler came in and out of the room, but he never did reengage with the material. I suspect that the film would likely resonate with true-blue fans of the original series, as the film’s director is said to be a fan of the original 1980s series. However, as I am not a fan of the franchise in any incarnation, I never really connected with it.
I also wonder if it is early to be launching a reboot given that the last installment was just in 2017. I suppose the goal was to appeal to a new generation, but I don’t believe eight years is enough to time to be trying to breach a new generation. I would think that the franchise was still in the time window for a direct sequel, which would at least have the benefit of continuity. As it stands, the only connective tissue is Jimmy Kimmel, who is the only voice actor from the previous Smurfs-related media, having voiced Passive Aggressive Smurf in the 2013 installment.
