acid reflects

Back in 2011, The Smurfs were accidentally teleported into New York from their hidden mushroom village while escaping the wizard Gargamel. Fish-out-of-water accidents happen, but a friendly human helped them find their way back.

This year, the Smurfs are teleported into the real-world dimension from their hidden mushroom village to rescue Papa Smurf (John Goodman) from the clutches of the evil wizards Razamel and Gargamel (both voiced by JP Karliak.) Along the globe-hopping way, the Smurfs are befriended and aided by hairy new creatures the Snooterpoots and masked Smurfs-in-Paris wearing black leather pants.

Yes, the basic storyline sounds the same, which lends me to believe that that was all that Paramount asked for this family film. The story is scattershot, the interdimensional hoo-hoo a lame excuse for magic that sends the little blue creatures off to an adventure into our world (though I find that idea a little too quantum physics to explain to toddlers), and the songs are very typical motivational kumbaya how you-can-be-who (or what) -you-want-to-be songs about feelings and not about the plot and therefore could have come from anywhere non-specific to this storyline.

The main story revolves around No Name (James Corden,) a smurf who has yet to figure out their identity and purpose in the grand scheme of “every smurf in the village has a name and a thing.” No Name is the impetus of both Papa Smurf’s capture and eventual rescue from the wizards.

I’m not sure if this manner of labelling is good or bad for children psychologically, although I get that the film’s idea is about accepting a person’s own identity, the sooner the better.

But what Smurfs is, it’s the most colorful movie my eyes have ever been exposed to. All 32 million colors that are made possible by lighting and textural variations that the multiverse can project. It is dazzingly colorful. Which should be okay for overstimulated children. Rihanna voices and sings as Smurfette. The Smurfs are impossibly, irresistibly cute, the adventure is illogically wild, and the story is safe and positive enough even for the shyest young little movie-watcher. Babysitter movies, they’re sometimes called.

Maybe that’s all director Chris Miller and Paramount needed to accomplish. Smurfs up!

Trailer and images courtesy of Paramount Pictures. Smurfs is out in theaters now.