MOVIE REVIEW

RATING: ⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Paramount Pictures’ latest Smurfs entry arrives with the kind of pop-culture momentum studios love to manufacture. Marketed as both a franchise reset and a musical event led by Rihanna, it had all the ingredients for a fresh take on the long-running blue brand. What it delivers, however, is something far less inspired — a muddled, overproduced film that rarely finds its rhythm and never justifies its existence beyond merchandising.

The setup is standard fantasy-fare with a gloss of modernity. Papa Smurf, the wise village leader, is abducted by sorcerers Gargamel and his newly introduced brother Razamel. Left without their anchor, the Smurfs, led by Smurfette, embark on a mission that whisks them into the human world and eventually positions them as unlikely saviors of the universe. The stakes are high on paper, but the execution drains them of weight. It’s a storyline that feels stitched together from familiar genre scraps — dimension portals, chosen-one revelations, comic-relief sidekicks — all delivered at a breakneck pace that leaves little room for actual wonder.

Much of the film’s hype centered around its soundtrack and the inclusion of new music from Rihanna, who also lends her voice to Smurfette. But both contributions fall surprisingly flat. Her vocal performance lacks the elasticity typically required for animated characters, and her much-publicized song, “Friend of Mine,” is more of a background loop than a narrative moment. It’s one of several instances where the movie feels like a branding exercise first, a film second. The choice to cast celebrity voices over seasoned voice actors continues a trend in animation that often prioritizes recognizability over resonance — and here, it shows.

Tonally, the movie is in constant conflict with itself. The script includes references to Zoom meetings, app-based food delivery, and even a running gag in which the word “Smurf” substitutes for expletives. These choices are presumably intended to generate chuckles from adult viewers, but they clash awkwardly with the otherwise simplistic storytelling aimed at children. The result is a film that speaks to everyone and no one at once.

That tonal confusion extends into the plot structure. A subplot about an unnamed Smurf searching for his identity offers a sliver of emotional promise, yet the narrative buries it beneath noisy action sequences and shallow detours. By the time this Smurf discovers what sets him apart, the film has already moved on, unwilling to linger in the moment or reflect on its meaning. It’s emblematic of a larger issue: the film’s reluctance to slow down and let its characters breathe.

This is especially disappointing given the potential embedded in the Smurfs universe. For decades, the franchise has built a cast of characters with unique backstories — some dark, some whimsical — but this film opts to gloss over those elements in favor of more digestible, brand-safe plotlines. Smurfette’s origins, for example — having been created by Gargamel in a twisted ploy to infiltrate the village — are relegated to a footnote. Likewise, lesser-known characters like Sassette are barely acknowledged, if at all. For a reboot that promises something new, it leans too heavily on the familiar while actively sidelining the strange and specific things that once made Smurfs compelling.

Visually, the film adopts a crisp, stylized 2D animation aesthetic that feels fresh in theory. But even here, the creative decisions feel limited. The opening dance sequence, meant to dazzle, instead reveals a troubling amount of repeated movements and mirrored crowd choreography — details that suggest a rushed production schedule rather than deliberate design. In an era where animated films are celebrated for pushing visual boundaries, this one appears content to just meet expectations.

But perhaps the most telling indictment comes from its intended audience. For all the spectacle and sound, the film rarely lands a laugh or an emotional beat. Its humor feels corporate-tested; its plot, increasingly tangled; its characters, underdeveloped. When a film aimed at children can’t consistently engage them — and when its nods to adults don’t go beyond hollow references — what purpose does it ultimately serve?

The 2025 Smurfs film had the opportunity to reimagine a classic property with style, sincerity, and maybe even substance. Instead, it lands somewhere between reboot and rerun — too calculated to be memorable, too noisy to be magical. It’s the kind of project that answers to algorithms more than audiences, and in doing so, forgets why these little blue characters mattered in the first place.