The Smurfs 2
The Smurfs 2 is a 2013 American 3D live-action/computer-animated comedy film and a sequel to the 2011 film The Smurfs. It is loosely based on The Smurfs comic book series created by the Belgian comics artist Peyo. It is the second film in the Smurfs film series, produced by Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, Kerner Entertainment Company, and Hemisphere Media Capital, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. The film is directed by Raja Gosnell, who helmed the first, with all the main cast returning. New cast members include Christina Ricci and J. B. Smoove as members of the Naughties, and Brendan Gleeson as Patrick Winslow's stepfather. The film was released on July 31, 2013 to generally negative reviews, though some considered it as a slight improvement to its predecessor, and is dedicated to Jonathan Winters, who voiced Papa Smurf and died on April 11, 2013.
Plot
In preparation for her birthday celebration, the Smurfs read the story of Smurfette, how she was created by Gargamel to destroy them, only for Papa Smurf to rescue her and turn her fully into a Smurf. Meanwhile, she is having nightmares about reverting to her original form and betraying her fellow Smurfs by turning them over to Gargamel. The Smurfs are preparing a surprise party, but as Smurfette tries to find out what her fellow Smurfs are planning, none of them are saying a word. She takes this to mean that everyone has forgotten her birthday.In France, Gargamel is now a celebrity, amazing people with his sorcery, but he sees that he is running low on the Smurf essence that gives him his magic powers. With his new creations, evil Smurf-like creatures called the Naughties, named Vexy and Hackus, Gargamel plans on opening a portal to the Smurf village by using the Eiffel Tower as a conduit so that he can kidnap Smurfette and, through her, get Papa Smurf's secret formula for creating Smurfs. However, as the portal he created is not big enough for him to go through, Gargamel sends Vexy through to the portal to grab Smurfette and bring her to Paris.
The Smurfs witness the abduction of Smurfette and inform Papa Smurf, who uses his magic to create crystals that allow several of his Smurfs to travel directly to Patrick Winslow's residence in New York City in order to get his help to rescue Smurfette. Papa originally intends for Brainy, Hefty, and Gutsy to use the crystals, but through an accident, Clumsy, Grouchy and Vanity use them instead. Papa and the three Smurfs arrive in the apartment right after the celebration of Blue's fourth birthday where they meet both the Winslows' young boy and Patrick's stepfather Victor Doyle, a man who is a constant embarrassment to Patrick. The Smurfs soon discover where Gargamel is, and so they and the Winslows set off for Paris in order to find him.
After their arrival in Paris, Patrick and his wife Grace work together with Victor to distract Gargamel during one of his performances while the Smurfs sneak backstage in order to find Smurfette, only to discover what Gargamel is planning. At the same time, Smurfette escapes from her prison, and Vexy and Hackus chase after her. Upon her return to Gargamel's hotel suite with the Naughties, Gargamel presents her with a tiny dragon wand as a feigned act of kindness. Smurfette still refuses to give Gargamel the formula until she sees that the Naughties are dying due to a lack of Smurf essence. Faced without an alternative to save them, Smurfette writes the formula down and Gargamel uses it to turn the Naughties into real Smurfs. Immediately after they become Smurfs, Gargamel puts them into his Smurf-a-lator so he can carry out the rest of his plan.
Meanwhile, Patrick, Victor, and the Smurfs work together to rescue Smurfette. The Smurfs are soon captured and put into the Smurf-a-lator, powering Gargamel's large-sized dragon wand. Patrick and Victor arrive just in time to destroy the Smurf-a-lator together, causing an explosion of smurf essence that destroys the written formula and frees the smurfs from their cages. Everyone is blasted out of Gargamel's lair through a sewer hole where Patrick and Victor reunite with Grace and Blue. Gargamel reappears out of the sewer hole only to be blasted away by Smurfette with her new wand. He then falls onto the Notre Dame Cathedral, where he accidentally brings a stone vulture to life, which then throws him to the top of the Eiffel Tower where fireworks then set off, sending him in the air. The Smurfs then bid farewell to the Winslows, then return home with Vexy and Hackus.
In two post-credit sequences, Gargamel and Azrael are pulled into the portal, sending them back to their castle, and they later have a fight.
Cast
Live action actors
- Hank Azaria as Gargamel, an evil wizard
- Neil Patrick Harris as Patrick "Pat" Winslow, Victor's step-son
- Brendan Gleeson as Victor Doyle, Patrick's step-father, Grace's step-father-in-law and Blue's step-grandfather
- Jayma Mays as Gracie "Grace" Winslow, Patrick's wife, Blue's mother and Victor's step-daughter-in-law
- Jacob Tremblay as Blue Winslow, Patrick and Grace's son and Victor's step-grandson
- Nancy O'Dell as herself, a television interviewer
Voice actors
- Katy Perry as Smurfette
- Jonathan Winters as Papa Smurf
- Anton Yelchin as Clumsy Smurf
- Christina Ricci as Vexy, a smart and mischievous Smurf-like creature called a "Naughty" created by Gargamel and Grouchy Smurf's love interest
- J. B. Smoove as Hackus, a funny and physical Smurf-like creature called a "Naughty" created by Gargamel
- Fred Armisen as Brainy Smurf
- Alan Cumming as Gutsy Smurf
- George Lopez as Grouchy Smurf/Positive Smurf
- John Oliver as Vanity Smurf
- Mario Lopez as Social Smurf
- Jimmy Kimmel as Passive Aggressive Smurf
- Frank Welker as Azrael
- Tom Kane as Narrator Smurf
- Paul Reubens as Jokey Smurf
- B. J. Novak as Baker Smurf
- Shaquille O'Neal as Smooth Smurf
- Shaun White as Clueless Smurf
- Jeff Foxworthy as Handy Smurf
- Gary Basaraba as Hefty Smurf
- Adam Wylie as Panicky Smurf
- Joel McCrary as Farmer Smurf
- Kenan Thompson as Greedy Smurf
- John Kassir as Crazy Smurf
- Kevin Lee as Party Planner Smurf
Production
On July 11, 2013, it was announced that Sofía Vergara's role was cut from the film. Gosnell, the director of the film, explained: "She came to Paris and did a tiny little cameo for us, but ultimately for story clarity we had to omit that scene.... It just muddied things up a bit. So it was a sad day for us, but she'll always be part of our Smurfy family." Several scenes were filmed in the new film studios Cité du Cinéma founded by Luc Besson in Saint-Denis in France.
Release
The film was theatrically released in the United States on July 31, 2013. Sony teamed up with marketing partners in the United States and Canada to promote the film through McDonald's Happy Meals with a set of 16 toys during the summer of 2013. Sony also teamed up with Build-A-Bear Workshop to release three customized limited edition stuffed animals of Vexy, Hackus and Smurfette.Home media
The Smurfs 2 was released on DVD, Blu-ray Disc and Blu-ray 3D on December 3, 2013. The 3D and Blu-ray combo packs also included a hand-drawn/computer-animated short film . The film was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray on March 1, 2016.Reception
Critical response
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 14% approval rating with an average rating of 4/10 based on 94 reviews; making it the second lowest-rated film ever produced by Sony Pictures Animation on the site behind The Emoji Movie. The website's consensus reads, "Like its predecessor, Smurfs 2 may amuse small children, but it's largely an unambitious, charm-free collection of slapstick gags and one-liners." The rating put the film as the 16th on the list of worst reviewed films of 2013. Metacritic calculated a score of 34 out of 100 based on 30 reviews, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". The film earned an "A-" from audiences polled by CinemaScore. The Smurfs 2 was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel.Justin Lowe of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a negative review, saying "Beyond a few chuckle-worthy one-liners and some amusing visual comedy, there's not much to engage adults, although the wee ones should be distracted enough." Matt Patches of Time Out New York gave the film two out of five stars, saying "Patient Adult Smurfs will be checking their watches as Excitable Child Smurfs lose themselves in the high jinks." Frank Lovece of Newsday gave the film two out of four stars, saying "Not Smurftastic, but not Smurfawful, either." Loren King of The Boston Globe gave the film two out of four stars, saying "That the mushroom- dwelling blue creatures still manage to be endearing even in their second big-screen extravaganza is about the best that can be said of "Smurfs 2." Kyle Smith of the New York Post gave the film one out of four stars, saying "They're as lethally uninteresting as Barney the Purple Dinosaur, though a Godzilla-style "Barney vs. Smurfs" is a movie I would pay to see, provided maximum destruction were promised."
The few positive reviews were from Gregg Turkington of On Cinema and Joe Williams of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Williams gave the film a positive review, saying "It's not exactly "Ratatouille," but this quasi-animated movie makes an amusing late-summer vacation from superheroes and shoot-'em-ups." Turkington gave the film five bags of popcorn, suggesting Jonathan Winters deserved an Oscar for the film and that it was the best performance of his career.
Other reviews were more agnostic regarding the film's quality. Mark Olsen of the Los Angeles Times gave the film two and a half stars out of five, saying "Right down to the brute functionality of its title, "The Smurfs 2" may be the platonic ideal of a major studio sequel - no markedly better or worse than the first and with just enough difference to lay claim to being something new."
Claudia Puig of USA Today gave the film one and a half stars out of four, saying "This insipid, and sometimes awkward, blend of animation, computer generation and live action wastes a ton of talent and lacks a true sense of whimsy." Jordan Hoffman of the New York Daily News gave the film two out of five stars, saying "Voicing Papa Smurf here turned out, alas, to be comedian Jonathan Winters' final role. " Alonso Duralde of The Wrap gave the film a negative review, saying "The Smurfs 2 will keep a child reasonably entertained for 105 minutes—but so will a large, empty cardboard box. The box is more likely to stimulate a child's imagination and less likely to contain jokes about testicles." Peter Howell of the Toronto Star gave the film one and a half stars out of four, saying "The Smurfs 2 has everything you hated about the first movie, and more."
Sean O'Connell of The Washington Post gave the film two out of five stars, saying "I found "The Smurfs 2" to be more enjoyable and far less obnoxious than . This, of course, is like saying having a cavity filled is preferable to a root canal, but in the dog days of the summer blockbuster season, beggars can't be smurfers." Peter Hartlaub of the San Francisco Chronicle gave the film zero stars out of four, saying "There's a dark and gratuitously negative vibe to "The Smurfs 2" that makes it unfit even for the undiscriminating young moviegoers that made the first one a hit." Bill Goodykoontz of The Arizona Republic gave the film two out of five stars, saying "There are a few laughs here and there, along with a couple of jokes for grown-ups uncomfortably squeezed in. But this is a movie made for two groups: small children and people who have fond memories of the TV show. For them, it’ll be fun, and the assurance of a third “Smurfs” scheduled for 2015 will be welcome news." Nick Schager of The Village Voice gave the film a negative review, saying "Its tolerant messages remain buried beneath lame pop-culture references, hectic slapstick, fart jokes, and endless Smurf-puns that make one pine for the Smurfpocalypse."
Neil Genzlinger of The New York Times gave the film two out of five stars, saying "The movie doesn't have the wit of the first installment and seems as if it might be hard for young children to follow, though who knows with young children?" Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a C, saying "The trouble with this stunted sequel is that the doughy, blobby-hatted Smurfs are mostly window dressing for an abrasive slapstick bash built around a tiresome kidnap plot." Bruce Ingram of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film two out of five stars, saying "The Smurfs 2 probably isn’t any worse than you might expect. On the other hand, it’s almost certainly not any better. It’s just a matter of figuring out how much punishment you’re willing to endure for the sake of the small child you’re taking to the movies." Kevin McFarland of The A.V. Club gave the film a D+, saying "The film undermines its rudimentary plot points at every turn with base humor. By marginally addressing the Smurfette Problem, Smurfs 2 is at least slightly superior to the absolutely dire first film, but it remains a series for kids whose parents can’t just pop in a DVD of something better."
Box office
The Smurfs 2 grossed $71,017,784 in North America, and $276,527,576 in other countries, for a worldwide total of $347,545,360. Box Office Mojo values the film's budget at $105 million, while Deadline Hollywood reported that the film's negative cost was $146 million, with $21 million gained from the production benefits. In addition, Sony spent $46.3 million on the film's marketing in the United States, and $45.3 million in other countries. Earning $200 million less than its predecessor, the film did not meet Sony's expectation, which was generally attributed to the original's negative reception and competition from another family sequel, Despicable Me 2.In North America, the film debuted at #1 on its opening day, earning $5.2 million. The film opened to #3 in its first weekend, behind 2 Guns and The Wolverine, earning $18.2 million. Over its extended five-day weekend, it earned $27.8 million, below the original's three-day weekend, and below Sony's projection of $35 million, which blamed too many PG-rated films in theatres.
Outside North America, the film debuted with $52.5 million from 43 countries. In Russia and Latin America, it performed better than the first film, while in Europe, it under-performed.