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Reviews
The Smurfs (2011)
Disappointing and Lacklustre
I wasn't expecting much when I first watched the Smurfs, judging by the recent trend of making CGI movies about fairly old cartoons e.g.: Scooby Doo, Garfield. For a start the Smurfs themselves have been completely redesigned: they look more realistic, and although it may not be necessary a bad thing, I still don't like the fact they gave blue irises to their eyes instead of just black pupils.
Another thing I didn't like is that the majority of the film is set in NEW YORK. If this is a film about The Smurfs, why isn't it set in the Smurf world involving their adventures? There are practically hundreds of scenarios the film could have been based on, but it is obvious that they chose New York to fit as many human characters into the movie as possible (excluding Gargamel), and to avoid having to animate an entire forest (the Smurf Village was actually one of the better aspects of the movie).
Actor-wise, Hank Azara steals the movie, and I think his portrayal of Gargamel is hilarious, although he provides more of a comic relief to the movie than the Gargamel in the cartoon series.
The Smurf actors are kind of alright, but was it really necessary to cast Katy Perry as Smurfette? She has fewer lines than most of the main Smurf characters in the movie, and I think that she acted quite out of character near the end of the movie, I mean, in the cartoon series, would she really take on Azrael by herself? For me probably the worst scene is the scene in which the Smurfs sing along to Patrick playing Guitar Hero (product placement, anyone). It is completely cringe-worthy and will make your ears bleed.
Finally, I didn't find replacing swearwords with the word "Smurf" funny at all, and the new character, Gutsy, got on my nerves quite a bit (did they really have to invent a new character for the movie?) Overall, this movie may be entertaining for kids, but for anyone else it should be avoided at all cost, unless you're a die-hard Smurfs fan.
The Mr. Men Show (2008)
Another ruined Classic kids Show.
The Mr Men Show is probably the worst kid's show I have ever seen. The characters are the wrong shapes and colours; what happened to Mr Nosey's big long nose? Another thing I don't like about the Mr Men show is that there is too much slapstick. Surely in the old Mr Men series, Mr Bump would occasionally have an accident, but in this series, the poor fellow, is smacked, hit, and even chased by bees. THIS IS A KIDS SHOW, not Happy Tree Friends! Another reason I dislike this show is Mr Scatterbrain's poor impression of an American accent, the annoying thing is is that he uses American words such as "bucks" instead of English currency. I'm not sure about the American version, but it can really cheese me off. In my opinion, you should show your kids the old Mr Men series, they have a much better storyline. Just to finish off, there is actually a section of crude humour on one of the episodes, in which (you've guessed it) Mr Bump trips while trying to catch his train, and his suitcase opens, and you can see a pair of briefs inside, along with a whistle sound. (the one men use when they see a hot lady, and Channel 5 even has the nerve to put it on Milkshake) The bottom line, don't bother with this show, it's utter rubbish.