When the evil wizard Gargamel chases the tiny blue Smurfs out of their village, they tumble from their magical world and into ours -- in fact, smack dab in the middle of Central Park. Just three apples high and stuck in the Big Apple, the Smurfs must find a way to get back to their village before Gargamel tracks them down.

• Amazon Sales Rank: #904 in DVD
• Brand: Sony
• Released on: 2011-12-02
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.77:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Formats: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, 3D, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French
• Dubbed in: French
• Number of discs: 9
• Running time: 103 minutes

Amazon.com
Once in a blue moon, one gets a glimpse of what's truly important in life--and it's not always what one might expect. In the hidden land of the Smurfs, the perpetually happy blue creatures are preparing for the Blue Moon festival. They have no clue that the evil wizard Gargamel (Hank Azaria) is about to follow one of them into their secret world in an attempt to capture their happy essence--a substance guaranteed to render his magic all-powerful. In a striking parallel to Enchanted, a vortex suddenly opens up and sucks Papa, Grouchy, Smurfette, Brainy, Gutsy, and Clumsy Smurf into the middle of New York City, with Gargamel following close behind. Shocked expectant parents Patrick and Grace Winslow (Neil Patrick Harris and Jayma Mays) end up with an apartment full of the little blue beings. They eventually befriend the Smurfs and agree to help them outsmart Gargamel and find their way back home. What ensues is a danger-filled, comical adventure that takes the Smurfs from Central Park to Patrick's place of employment and even FAO Schwarz. Just when it looks like their plan to return home will fail, and that they've destroyed Patrick's career in the process, things really heat up and everyone learns a lesson about what's really important in life and about believing in oneself. The film does a good job melding live action and animation, and there's plenty of humor involved for both kids and adults. Most kids will laugh their way through the film, but there are some situations of peril that the very youngest or easily frightened might find rather intense. Harris and Mays do a good job interacting with their new blue friends, but it's too bad these talented actors weren't given a bit more depth of character to work with. Azaria is quite an effective villain and Frank Welker's cat Azrael is hysterical. Other notable voice talent includes Jonathan Winters as Papa Smurf, Alan Cumming as Gutsy, Katy Perry as Smurfette, Fred Armisen as Brainy, George Lopez as Grouchy, and Anton Yelchin as Clumsy. The Smurfs is funny enough family entertainment, but given its star-studded cast, it had the potential to be even better. (Ages 7 and older) --Tami Horiuchi

Most helpful customer reviews

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful.
Funny and entertaining for the whole family
By +++
This movie resembles two recent 3D videos: it uses the same combination of real-life footage with cartoons as "Yogi bear" and its cartoon heroes resemble gnomes from "Gnomeo and Juliet". Like with "Yogi Bear", there is an entertaining plot which keeps you occupied, and there is good humor which makes you laugh. Smurfs is a little better than Yogi Bear, though, because plot is more sophisticated and acting is more complex and involved. There is nothing in this movie to scare little kids but they may get bored as one probably has to be 10+ years old to understand all the humor and adult's problems with balancing professional life with family and Smurfs, but adults will certainly have fun. I honestly think it is one of the better movies that came out in 3D to-date.

Talking about 3D - 3D effects are OK but not outstanding. There are several scenes made with extensive use of computer graphics done with 3D in mind which stand out, but the rest of the footage is regular 3D footage of live action with fine, but not stunning depth.

I noticed that this movie got several bad reviews on Amazon, with one and two stars ratings. As I looked through those reviews, I noticed that they were all written by people who remember Smurfs from TV shows from decades ago and who are frustrated that Smurfs in this movie are so different from what they remember. I can't blame them - this is human nature and the way how we attach to memories from the past. I never saw the original story, and if I saw it today, I probably would find it boring and outdated as the majority of old films and shows. Without the set of mind pre-determined by expectations about smurfs, I enjoyed the movie and found that it was fun to watch!

22 of 30 people found the following review helpful.
Do not buy this edition if you want the digital copy
By cardex
This review is for the digital copy included with the movie and not a review of the film

The movie that you are looking at is one of the first to use the new "Ultra Violet" system for digital copy and distribution. A lot of you may not have heard anything about it and asking what is Ultra Violet. The hype around Ultra Violet says that it will allow you to stream your digital copy to any device and the files are store in the cloud so that once you purchase a single digital copy you wont ever need to replace it when technology changes. The reality is that the system is being forced on consumers before it is ready as of the release of Green Lantern and Horrible bosses (first 2 movies to use the system in mid October) exactly 0 mobile devices or set top boxes support the system and few will in the near future. Another major issue with the new digital distribution is the streaming aspect if you have a smart phone or tablet device on a limited data package is you stream a single 2 hour movie in HD the amount of data transferred could easily put you over the common 2 GB data packages.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful.
Awesome Family Fun!!!
By Pumpkin Man
This movie is for the kid in all of us. It's funny, cute, silly, awesome, and Smurftastic! I've never watched the classic cartoon series, so I couldn't compare it. During the Blue Moon Festival, an evil but wacky wizard named Gargamel chases Papa, Clumsy, Brainy, Grouchy, Gutsy, and Smurfette into a vortex and transports them to New York City. (It's a classic fish-out-of-water story) They seek refuge with Patrick and Grace Winslow, a couple who are expecting a baby. The Smurfs drive Patrick crazy and almost cost him his job. They try to bring the vortex back before Gargamel captures them. This is definitely a movie I would see again and again. I highly recommend THE SMURFS!!!