At first glance, the new version of “Smurfs”, a feature film by Paramount Pictures that opens this Thursday in Puerto Rico, does not seem to have any transcendental resource that justifies the return of the Smurfs to the big screen. The film’s script assumes all the conventions of a family offering that seeks to appeal simultaneously to those who are already fans of Peyo’s creations and those who are meeting them for the first time in this film. The result would have been a generic and disposable version were it not for the shrewd humor of a script that constantly seeks to explore the lesser-known nooks and crannies of the mythology of these characters.

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This resource is transcendental for the film to be entertaining from beginning to end. However, the key quality is the way director Chris Miller uses animation. The approach appears to be simple, but the film constantly takes advantage of different sections of the story to experiment with formats and find clever ways to evoke the distinctive style of Peyo’s original comic book animation. Had the plot development matched those creative instincts, the film could have been much more memorable.

This Smurfs animated adventure is no better or worse than the one released in 2017. Here the lead role is played by a Smurf (James Corden) who hasn’t found his signature quality. His quest leads him to a magical accident that uncovers countless secrets of Papa Smurf (John Goodman) and a magical saga that puts the future of the titular characters at risk. Of the Smurfs who always manage to be part of the central plot, the most distinctive is Rihanna’s Smurfette. This is not the first time the character has been played by a pop singer, but it is the first time the character has not been excluded from the central mood of the film.

Interestingly, the film’s most inventive moments do not involve the main characters. Both Gargamel and Papa Smurf have complicated relationships with their siblings, and the film spends much of its comic energy developing them. Likewise, the musical element doesn’t quite mesh. It doesn’t register as filler, but it also fails to be essential to the narrative.

Regardless of its limitations, this Smurfs adventure is never less than entertaining for the whole family and its climax communicates its positive message in an emotional and simple way that validates the creative leaps in animation.

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This content was translated from Spanish to English using artificial intelligence and was reviewed by an editor before being published.