The Smurfs 2: 3D Blu-ray Review
The Movie:
The evil wizard Gargamel (Hank Azaria) creates a couple of mischievous Smurf-like creatures called the Naughties that he hopes will let him harness the all-powerful, magical Smurf-essence. But when he discovers that only a real Smurf can give him what he wants, and only a secret spell that Smurfette (Katy Perry) knows can turn the Naughties into real Smurfs, Gargamel kidnaps Smurfette and brings her to Paris, where he has been winning the adoration of millions as the world¹s greatest sorcerer. It’s up to Papa (Jonathan Winters), Clumsy (Anton Yelchin), Grouchy (George Lopez), and Vanity (John Oliver) to return to our world, reunite with their human friends Patrick (Neil Patrick Harris) and Grace Winslow (Jayma Mays), and rescue her! Will Smurfette, who has always felt different from the other Smurfs, find a new connection with the Naughties Vexy (Christina Ricci) and Hackus (J.B. Smoove) or will the Smurfs convince her that their love for her is True Blue?
I’m not going to lie, I was kind of skeptical of this movie for the simple fact that sequels of CG/live action film usually aren’t very good (ie: Garfield: A Tale Of Two Kitties, Alvin And The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked…….The Squeakquel was actually pretty good). It was much to my surprise that this was a really entertaining movie. There are times that with sequels the quality of the film suffers but this was even more entertaining than the first and the CG effects seemed to have gotten better as well. The story was pretty straight forward and simple enough that kids can enjoy but not so generic that adults would be bored. The film also had a great underlining message included in it as well which was basically about the love of a parent for their kids no matter if they are their biological children or not. Harris is an absolute gem in EVERYTHING he does and considering at times he had to act to imaginary Smurfs I thought he was seamless in his performance. The only thing that was missing was a musical number, although I did enjoy the small scene of him walking down the Paris street looking hardcore with the Smurfs as “Remember The Name” by Fort Minor played in the background. Mays was just as sweet and endearing as she always is and is the perfect match for Harris. Her chemistry with Harris was just so great and I think it’s safe to say that can pretty much do no wrong in my opinion. Azaria has been a favorite character actor of mine for many years dating all the way back to Herman’s Head. I wasn’t sure initially how they were going to pull off the live action version of Gargamel but he has completely encompassed the character and made it his own. Although the Smurfs didn’t get much developmental moments besides the main characters the list of voice actors reads like a who’s who in Hollywood. With the likes of Katy Perry, Christina Ricci, Jonathan Winters, George Lopez, Anton Yelchin, Fred Armisen, Jimmy Kimmel, Mario Lopez and many more, they really gave credibility to the film as they did in the previous one. The Smurfs 2 really is a great film for a family movie night with the kiddos and it’s something that the adults will enjoy as well. Check this one out.
The 3D:
I’m not really much for 3D if it means that it’s going to be cheesy (ex. Throwing something towards the camera just for the sake of showing off the effects). There was a tiny bit of that which was good because I don’t know if I would be able to handle a full film of moments like that. Other than the tiny bit of cheese, I felt like the 3D that they did show was warranted and really did add to the experience of the film. The scenery in Paris looked so amazing and the depth of the 3D was perfect and didn’t make my eyes tire at all which is always a good thing.
Special Features:
The Smurfs: The Legend of Smurfy Hollow – A small short film starring The Smurfs.
Deleted Scenes – Just a handful of scenes that were better left cut but I’m glad they did include them on the disc.
Daddy’s Little Girl: The Journey of Smurfette – A small feature talking about the female Smurf as well as Katy Perry voicing her and her overall role in the film.
The Naughties! The Tale of Hackus and Vexy – A feature with cast and crew talking about The Naughties and the development of the characters.
The Puurrfect Companion: Azrael’s Tail – An interesting look at the feline of the film as well as how they used real cats mixed with visual effects to achieve certain moments.
Animating Azrael – A look at what visual effects artists have to go through to animate Gargamel’s companion.
Evolution of the Naughties – Creating and developing the newest additions to the film.
