The Smurfs: A
Christmas Carol
Format:
Animated straight-to-DVD short film
Country:
USA
Production
company:
Sony Pictures Imageworks and Duck Studios, for Sony Pictures Animation
Year:
2011
Length:
22 minutes
Setting:
Fantasy
Background:
The titular Smurfs have a long history in the popular cultures of many countries around the world, having been created as comic book characters by the Belgian artist Peyo in the late 1950s. Their international popularity resulted in a 1980s animated TV series, and even when new stories were not appearing their distinctive appearance meant that they remained regular cultural touchstones.
Sony had released
a Smurfs feature film in 2011, and this short special was commissioned to be
released as an extra feature on the DVD release of the film in December that
year. In a nice nod to the past, while the Smurfs are CGI as in the 2011
film in the framing story here, the main part of the story is done in traditional hand-drawn animated, harking back to
the 1980s TV version.
Animated straight-to-DVD short film
USA
Sony Pictures Imageworks and Duck Studios, for Sony Pictures Animation
2011
22 minutes
Fantasy
The titular Smurfs have a long history in the popular cultures of many countries around the world, having been created as comic book characters by the Belgian artist Peyo in the late 1950s. Their international popularity resulted in a 1980s animated TV series, and even when new stories were not appearing their distinctive appearance meant that they remained regular cultural touchstones.
Cast and crew:
Given the nature of its production, many of the same actors who provided voices for the 2011 cinema film are on duty again here. George Lopez stars as the Scrooge-like ‘Grouchy Smurf’; a stand-up comedian and American sitcom star, I have to confess he was not someone of whom I’d previously heard.
Probably the
best-known names internationally are Hank Azaria as Garmagel and Anton Yelchin
as ‘Clumsy Smurf’. Azaria has voiced a variety of regular characters in The
Simpsons throughout that show’s history, while Yelchin found all-too-brief
fame as Checkov in the Star Trek movie reboots, before his tragic early
death in 2016.
On the production
side, director Troy Quane gained his first such credit here, although he’d been
working as an animator since the 1990s, including on various direct-to-video
spin-offs from big animated feature films. Writer Todd Berger seems to have a
primary career as an actor, but had credits on various animations since the
year 2000 – like Quane, he’d also previously worked on such spin-offs from
cinema animated cinema films.
Given the nature of its production, many of the same actors who provided voices for the 2011 cinema film are on duty again here. George Lopez stars as the Scrooge-like ‘Grouchy Smurf’; a stand-up comedian and American sitcom star, I have to confess he was not someone of whom I’d previously heard.
Underdone Potato:
We begin with the CGI Smurfs singing their way through Christmas Eve and enjoying all the decorations around their village, until they get to Grouchy Smurf’s house and find he hasn’t decorated at all. Smurfette, in particular, reacts to this as if they have just come across the scene of a murder.
It transpires
that, perhaps not particularly surprisingly given his name, Grouchy Smurf isn’t
interested in celebrating Christmas. He hates everything about it, and that’s
that. Rather than simply leaving him be, the other Smurfs decide that Christmas
wouldn’t be Christmas without Grouchy being cheerful for the day and agreeing
to put the Christmas star on top of their tree. Papa Smurf prepares a special potion
to… Well, it’s not quite clear whether it gives him actual visions or
this is all a dream or what. But it knocks him out, anyway.
Past:
When Grouchy Smurf awakes, he is in a world of traditional hand-drawn animation, and pleased to be looking a lot slimmer because of it. Smurfette arrives down his chimney as the Smurf of Christmas Past – also fulfilling the Marley role, as she informs Grouchy that she will be the first of the three spirits to visit him this evening.
We begin with the CGI Smurfs singing their way through Christmas Eve and enjoying all the decorations around their village, until they get to Grouchy Smurf’s house and find he hasn’t decorated at all. Smurfette, in particular, reacts to this as if they have just come across the scene of a murder.
When Grouchy Smurf awakes, he is in a world of traditional hand-drawn animation, and pleased to be looking a lot slimmer because of it. Smurfette arrives down his chimney as the Smurf of Christmas Past – also fulfilling the Marley role, as she informs Grouchy that she will be the first of the three spirits to visit him this evening.
She shows him a
vision of a past Christmas when he used to enjoy it, only to become frustrated
over the years by never receiving the hang-glider he always wanted, and only a
new hat each and every year. He eventually becomes so frustrated that he snaps
and declares his hatred of Christmas, also discarding the hat he’d been given,
much to the upset of Papa Smurf who’d given it to him.
Present:
‘Brainy Smurf’ fills the role of ‘Smurf of Christmas Present’. He shows Grouchy that without him to put the star on the top of the tree, Clumsy Smurf had a go at doing it, and set off a chain reaction that ended up with the village tree and Christmas lights all destroyed.
‘Brainy Smurf’ fills the role of ‘Smurf of Christmas Present’. He shows Grouchy that without him to put the star on the top of the tree, Clumsy Smurf had a go at doing it, and set off a chain reaction that ended up with the village tree and Christmas lights all destroyed.
Grouchy also learns
that Papa Smurf made all the new hats he gave them every year personally,
tailoring each one to the specific tastes of each individual Smurf. He regrets having been so dismissive of the hats he was given in the past.
Yet to Come:
‘Hefty Smurf’ – no, me neither – plays the role of Smurf of Christmas Future, initially in the traditional black robe although he soon takes the hood down and wears it rather more casually. He doesn’t show Grouchy very far into the future – just the next day, when the Smurf village is abandoned because they all went to the ‘West Forest’ to try and find a new tree to cheer Grouchy up.
‘Hefty Smurf’ – no, me neither – plays the role of Smurf of Christmas Future, initially in the traditional black robe although he soon takes the hood down and wears it rather more casually. He doesn’t show Grouchy very far into the future – just the next day, when the Smurf village is abandoned because they all went to the ‘West Forest’ to try and find a new tree to cheer Grouchy up.
While there, they
were captured by the Smurfs’ enemy, Gargamel, who also captured Papa Smurf when
he came to look for them. Grouchy realises the error of his ways, but too late
as he goes tumbling into the bubbling vat of Gargamel’s cauldron…
What’s To-Day:
Grouchy wakes up, back in CGI land, and gets up early to restore all the Smurfs’ Christmas decorations. Everyone’s happy again and Grouchy even enjoys his new hat from Papa Smurf, who apologies for once again not getting him a hang-glider. While at the top of the tree putting the new star he’s made (put of his toy hang-glider, in a nice visual but not stated bit), he realises – or gambles – that if Papa Smurf knew he wanted a hang-glider, and he tailors each hat to its wearer, then his new hat must have some glider-like properties. In something of a brave move, he leaps from the tree, and it does indeed function as a sort of parachute.
I wouldn’t have
risked it, though!
Grouchy wakes up, back in CGI land, and gets up early to restore all the Smurfs’ Christmas decorations. Everyone’s happy again and Grouchy even enjoys his new hat from Papa Smurf, who apologies for once again not getting him a hang-glider. While at the top of the tree putting the new star he’s made (put of his toy hang-glider, in a nice visual but not stated bit), he realises – or gambles – that if Papa Smurf knew he wanted a hang-glider, and he tailors each hat to its wearer, then his new hat must have some glider-like properties. In something of a brave move, he leaps from the tree, and it does indeed function as a sort of parachute.
Review:
The Smurfs are one of those pop culture things that are big enough that I was aware of them and certain things about them, but I’d never actually watched or read any of their adventures before. Seeing them properly in action for the first time, I do have to say that they do rather come across as thinly-veiled knock-offs of the Seven Dwarves from Snow White.
There’s an
interesting question raised about Smurfette, too. Even glossing over the fact
she appears to be the only female member of the tribe, she talks more than once
during this about them celebrating Christmas “as a family”. But it’s clear that
more than one of the other Smurfs fancies her, and there’s even a gag
about loads of them queuing up to kiss her when she’s standing under some mistletoe.
Which makes you wonder about what kind of “family” they are, exactly…
The Smurfs are one of those pop culture things that are big enough that I was aware of them and certain things about them, but I’d never actually watched or read any of their adventures before. Seeing them properly in action for the first time, I do have to say that they do rather come across as thinly-veiled knock-offs of the Seven Dwarves from Snow White.
Not a bad little production for a straight-to-DVD spin-off, but probably only really worth seeking out if you’re already a fan of the Smurfs.
Wikipedia
IMDb
No comments:
Post a Comment