The Smurfs
Columbia Pictures | Release Date: July 29, 2011 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
30
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 22 Critic Reviews
Positive:
1
Mixed:
10
Negative:
11
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
70
MovielineS.T. VanairsdaleJul 28, 2011
This is a film that transcends "good" or "bad," "like" or "don't like." Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Jennie PunterJul 28, 2011
Sitcom star Harris puts his smart-aleck chops to good use as Patrick Winslow. Read full review
50
The New York TimesNeil GenzlingerJul 28, 2011
Sure, Smurfs are blue, but who knew that they actually work blue? Read full review
50
San Francisco ChroniclePeter HartlaubJul 28, 2011
Once you're done trying to conjugate the smurfs, there's a better movie than anyone could have possibly expected, thanks in large part to an honest effort by Harris in a thankless role. Read full review
50
USA TodayScott BowlesJul 28, 2011
Smurfs is utterly kid-friendly. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeTy BurrJul 28, 2011
The bottom line: Any movie that gives Jonathan Winters work is doing something right. Read full review
50
Orlando SentinelRoger MooreJul 28, 2011
The slapstick is very small-kid friendly and even the most adult-friendly jokes are pretty mild stuff. Read full review
50
VarietyJustin ChangJul 28, 2011
Adorable and annoying, patently unnecessary yet kinda sweet, it's a calculated commercial enterprise with little soul but an appreciable amount of heart. Read full review
50
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallJul 27, 2011
I deferred to the wisdom of Grouchy Smurf (George Lopez): "I didn't hate it as much as I expected to. But I still hated it." Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierJul 29, 2011
Azaria channels his inner Charles Nelson Reilly, which helps, as does an evil emoting cat. Kids under 7 will likely giggle at some too-harsh pratfalls, not care about a grown man's fear of procreation, not get all the tiny innuendos and possibly miss how the movie is a fairly successful tourism ad for New York. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterMichael RechtshaffenJul 28, 2011
For all the digitally enhanced Smurfness, the results are remarkably mirthless. Read full review
38
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottJul 29, 2011
Clever story? Pass. Originality? Nah. A smidgen of real humor to keep parents entertained along with the kiddies? Smurf you. Read full review
38
Slant MagazineEd GonzalezJul 28, 2011
Like the show, this boring, lazy, clumsily staged, overly lit, unnecessarily 3D-ed contraption even culminates with some half-hearted moral hectoring-in this case, the togetherness of the Smurfs works to validate heteronormative values. Read full review
33
The A.V. ClubTasha RobinsonJul 28, 2011
Actual kids may find this fun, but for adults, watching The Smurfs may feel a little too much like trying to wrangle an overcrowded kiddie birthday party. Read full review
33
Entertainment WeeklyKeith StaskiewiczJul 27, 2011
The Smurfs may be blue, but their movie is decidedly green, recycling discarded bits from other celluloid Happy Meals like "Alvin and the Chipmunks," "Garfield," and "Hop" into something half animated, half live action, and all careful studio calculation. Read full review
30
Village VoiceNick SchagerAug 2, 2011
Gosnell directs as if every scene must be either a nauseating roller-coaster ride or a syrupy melodrama, resulting in a seesawing tone that's not stabilized by the presence of Neil Patrick Harris. Read full review
30
Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyJul 28, 2011
This animated-live action hybrid is really more 3-D disaster than family comedy. Even Neil Patrick Harris, who has proved he can save just about any sinking ship, cannot make this boat float. Read full review
25
Washington PostSean OConnellJul 28, 2011
The Smurfs is exactly like Amy Adams's princess-in-Manhattan comedy "Enchanted," only far less clever, kindhearted, original, exciting or entertaining. Read full review
20
Boxoffice MagazineAmy NicholsonJul 29, 2011
Looking at the obnoxious TV ads for The Smurfs, it's easy to dismiss the film as a shrill, joyless exercise in special effects without substance. It's even easier after actually seeing it. Read full review
20
Time OutKeith UhlichJul 29, 2011
Smurftastic! Now where's that noose? Read full review
11
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenJul 28, 2011
What the kids at my screening seemed to like best was the wizard's cat, whose mouth is computer-manipulated to utter pithy asides. Read full review
0
New York PostLou LumenickJul 29, 2011
Ineptly directed by Raja Gosnell -- the genius behind the "Scooby-Doo" features, "Big Momma's House," and "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" -- this cheesy-looking flick has lousy animation, worse special effects and the most headache-inducing, blurry 3-D since "Clash of the Titans." Read full review
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