This Norwegian fantasy thriller is Norwegian at its core and that is the best thing about it. On its surface, the film takes from found footage pictures such as THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT. A group of students set out to make a film and get more than they wished for. But in this case there aren’t witches, but trolls.

The students originally set out to chronicle bear poaching. They follow the gruff mountain man Hans (Otto Jespersen), whose Land Rover looks like it’s had a few run ins with some big “bears.” But the filmmakers find out quickly that Hans isn’t after bears, but trolls. He’s part of a secret government agency set out to keep the existence of the giant creatures secret. With incidents getting deadlier and more frequent, he decides to bring the students along with him to get the truth out.

When I say this film is Norwegian at its core I mean that its mythology is Norwegian. The plot borrows from mythology we know like trolls being able to smell the blood of a Christian men and the fact that sunlight turns trolls to stone. But it expands on those myths with modern weapons and science. Hans uses UV guns to make the trolls explode. The reason they turn to stone, we are told, because sunlight makes their bodies calcify. We discover all sorts of trolls such as Tosserlads, Ringlefinchs and Jotnars.

Writer/director Andre Ovredal mines a great deal of interest from his original world. Hans tells the students that they have to rub foul-smelling troll stench on their clothes in order to come along with him. This little fact provides great humor when a secret Christian starts feverishly covering himself with the stuff. The excuses that the government comes up with for troll attacks make swamp gas and weather balloons seem way more plausible.

It’s taken me this long to even mention the names of the students, because they are part of the film’s chief problem. They are just there to serve the plot. Thomas (Glenn Erland Tosterud) is the nerdy interviewer. Johanna (Johanna Morck) is the perpetually scared-face sound recorder. Kalle (Tomas Alf Larsen) is the guy behind the camera. That’s about it. Hans is by far the most interesting, but he is one dimensional at best. He’s a superhero, like if Tommy Lee Jones’ Agent K from MEN IN BLACK was more like a Norwegian Swamp Hunter.

The next big flaw is that when you’ve seen one troll, you’ve seen them all. After the first two sightings, the film seems to be going through the motions to show us what cool CG troll the can come up with next. Also the cover-up seems implausible. These trolls are stories high, so wouldn’t someone see them coming from miles away? How do you cover up a walking skyscraper? This mockumentary is more of a curiosity than compelling. By the end I was like Fee! Fie! Ho! Hum!

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What could a 3-D family film from Martin Scorsese be like? With HUGO now as an example, the answer is magical. And it’s a magic that Scorsese is best suited to bring to life — the magic of the movies. At one point, a young boy visits a movie studio and the director leans down to him and tells him if he’s ever wondered where his dreams come from this is where they are made.

Based on Brian Selznick’s celebrated illustrated novel THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET, the story follows its title character (Asa Butterfield, THE BOY WITH THE STRIPED PAJAMAS) as he survives as an orphan in the clockworks of a Paris train station. After his father (Jude Law, A.I.), a clock maker, died, he has been trying to finish a project they were working on together — fixing an automaton. This mechanical human is a complex one that seems to be designed to write something and Hugo believes it will give him a message from his dad. But the boy loses his notebook filled with calculations to Papa Georges (Ben Kingsley, GANDHI) after the toyshop owner catches him trying to steal. What Hugo doesn’t know is that Georges is Georges Melies, the once famed filmmaker who is best known for A TRIP TO THE MOON, where a rocket sticks into the eye of the man on the moon.

In order to get his book back, Hugo befriends Georges’ goddaughter Isabelle (Chloe Grace Moretz, KICK-ASS), who loves secrets and adventures. Their friendship soon grows around fixing the automaton, which they discover has connections to Isabelle’s heart shaped key, Papa Georges and his wife Mama Jeanne (Helen McCrory, INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE). Hugo shares his philosophy that the world is one big machine and because no machine has extra parts, everyone must have a purpose. He is struggling to find his though. Isabelle suggests that he is meant to fix things.

Every moment is filled with the joy of filmmaking. Leave it to a master filmmaker like Scorsese to transform the novelty of 3-D into something more. We’ve seen dozens of versions of epic clockworks, but never with this kind of tension. The heights and whirling gears seem far more threatening. Take the Lumiere brothers’ pioneering 1897 film ARRIVAL OF A TRAIN AT LA CIOTAT. It was just a train arriving in the station approaching the camera, but when it was screened for the first time people were frightened as the locomotive came toward them. Using 21st century 3-D filmmaking techniques, Scorsese recreates this sensation for an audience with film in their DNA.

For the film buffs, Scorsese works in references to a great deal of Melies’ work, as well as another famous clock scene from Harold Lloyd’s SAFETY LAST to stick with the theme of time. When the automaton isn’t working, Hugo says that it is just waiting to do what it was meant to do and we can’t help but believe this also refers to Melies. Before cinema, he was a magician and he brought his talent for illusion to film as a profound innovator in special effects. After WWI, tastes changed and his films weren’t popular anymore. Desperate for money, he sold most of his films to a company that melted them down to make shoe heals. Preservationist Scorsese comes through loud and clear.

But this isn’t just a history lesson about film — it captures the joy of film from the creator to the spectator. The surreal version of Paris glows electric and has a touch of steam punk to it too. Films bring people together to share experiences. In this film, Hugo brings people together. He watches stories unfold in his station. Monsieur Frick (Richard Griffiths, WITHNAIL & I) can’t seem to get a moment with Madame Emilie (France de la Tour, HARRY POTTER) because of her snippy dog. The station inspector, played by Sacha Baron Cohen (BORAT) in full on Peter Sellers mode, is obsessed with catching thieves, but can the sweet flower girl Lisette (Emily Mortimer, MATCH POINT) make him smile? Can Hugo make Georges accept his past and do what he is meant to do?

Now that I’ve seen this film I couldn’t think of a better filmmaker to have made it. Scorsese has recreated past worlds in films like THE AGE OF INNOCENCE and GANGS OF NEW YORK, but not like he’s done with 1930s Paris. He’s done comedy before in AFTER HOURS, but not like the classic slapstick and word play as he does here. He’s dealt with real life figures in films like RAGING BULL and THE AVIATOR, but not like the loving tribute he pays to Melies, whose work is the reason we have a film like HUGO. This film leaves no doubt what Martin Scorsese was meant to do.

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The holidays have different meanings to everyone. For better or worse it’s usually a time for family. Now from Aardman Animations, the creator of WALLACE & GROMIT, comes a modern look at Santa and his family. What we find out is that even good ole Saint Nick has a dysfunctional family.

Being the big guy in the red suit is a Claus family tradition that has been passed down for generations. The current Santa (Jim Broadbent, IRIS), however, is more of a figurehead these days. The one-night present delivery enterprise has been streamlined by his heir apparent, his oldest son Steve (Hugh Lurie, TV’s HOUSE), a military type hunk with a Christmas-tree-shaped goatee. Steve has the elves working like special ops soldiers who can get a package in and under the tree in a matter of seconds.

Santa’s other son Arthur (James McAvoy, X-MEN: FIRST CLASS) is the opposite of his older sibling. He loves Christmas like a child, but his clumsiness has relegated him to the letter response division. After the gifts have been delivered, he tries to get his family to play Christmas the board game and the fight over who will get the Santa player piece underlines the resentments between fathers and sons… and grandfathers. Grandsanta (Bill Nighy, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST) is over 130 years old and turns up his nose to the giant rocketship that passes for a sleigh these days. Mrs. Santa (Imelda Staunton, VERA DRAKE) calmly watches it all from a distance with the ability to take charge when called on.

When the elf Bryony (Ashley Jensen, GNOMEO & JULIET) finds a missed present during clean-up, she alerts Steve, who seems unfazed because one missed gift out of the millions of gifts properly delivered is a great success rate. But when Arthur finds out he is aghast. One little girl will wake up on Christmas day believing that Santa doesn’t love her. Grandsanta decides to break out the old sleigh named Eve and the reindeer and get that present under the tree with Arthur and Bryony along for the ride.

At its core the film addresses the loss of the Christmas spirit in the holidays, but it is never made too obvious or maudlin. Arthur is the one who keeps it alive and his simple joy is all we need. The others have other motivations. Santa likes being Santa because  of the status, even though he has long handed over the day-to-day operations to a younger guy. Steve is that younger guy who has lost the point of the family business at some point while patting himself on the back for being so much better than the older, out of touch guys. Grandsanta just wants to prove that the old ways are better. Arthur has to battle against these family conflicts and his own self doubts, but he gets some help from the plucky Bryony, who is the best gift wrap elf around. Her belief that there is always time for a bow is unflappable.

Coming from Aardman there is certainly a dose cheeky British humor, but this isn’t just for those who say happy Christmas. This is a film about the awe of gift giving and family.  For those who don’t even celebrate Christmas, they can relate to the family dynamics and how they come to a head during holidays. Humor is mined from this conflict much like A CHRISTMAS STORY or HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS.

As a new take on the Santa myth, Sarah Smith’s film does take ideas we have seen before, but does so in a fresh way. The elves slick operation and skills are unmatched in their ingenuousness. They really have a plan for noisy toys and their battery removal when a child is stirring and could blow the entire mission. The contrast of the modern military like operation and the magic-infused way of the past doesn’t seem more obvious then when you find out what Grandsanta used as primitive stealth mode in his time.

With a perfect voice cast, this animated adventure comes to life with characters we love and relate to. To its great credit, there is no bad guy here. There are only three men who have lost sight of the meaning of the season and need to start seeing it through the haze-free eyes of Arthur. As an unsentimental, and yet joyous, celebration of Christmas, this smile-inducing comedy has the ability to become a perennial must-see for the holiday season.

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Jason Segel has made his love letter to the Muppets. This nostalgic comedy is clearly made by fans. It takes some vibe from the TV series and some from the features. While it might not have the spark of the original MUPPET MOVIE or the very best of THE MUPPET SHOW, it respects those origins and presents a heartfelt film for a cynical world.

Gary (Segel, FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL) and Walter (Jim Parsons, TV’s BIG BANG THEORY) are brothers, but Gary is a man and Walter is a muppet.  As kids they discovered THE MUPPET SHOW together, but Walter has never outgrown them and Gary has never outgrown his bond with Walter, much to the frustration of his Pollyannaish girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams, ENCHANTED). She just smiles when Gary tells her Walter is coming along with them on their anniversary trip to L.A., the home of the Muppets studio.

When they arrive at the Muppet studio and theater, it is rundown. Walter overhears Tex Richman (Chris Cooper, AMERICAN BEAUTY), a oil tycoon, talking about his plans to buy the studio and tear it down. Walter is heartbroken, so Gary takes him to Kermit’s house in order to convince the frog icon to do something to save the studio. In traditional Muppet fashion, Kermit sets out to bring the gang back together to put on a show.

Fozie is now working Reno as the frontman for The Moopets, a bad Muppets cover band. Gonzo has started a successful toilet business. Miss Piggy moved away from Kermit and has taken a job as the editor of the plus sized edition of French Vogue. Kermit takes responsibility for people forgetting the Muppets. In a great scene, Kermit tells a TV exec that kids deserve better than shows like “Punch My Teacher.”

The film is at its best when it finds new gags in the spirit of the Muppet vibe. Kermit’s introduction with blaring light and chorus music has a humorous practical origin. The bits that try to recreate classic gags are far less successful. Has many small characters piling up under a large overcoat ever been funny? And the film doesn’t miss the tradition of songs. Big dance numbers and quiet sentimental ballads are mixed in throughout. All of them are lively and fun. “Are You a Muppet or a Man?” was a stand out because you get to see what Segel looks like as a muppet. But the human version of Walter is even funnier.

There is a lot going on in this film… maybe too much for smaller kids. Segel and Nicholas Stoller’s screenplay weaves together the stories of Gary and Mary, Gary and Walter and then Kermit and Piggy. Each story has its own charm and work well together, but having so many stories to balance, each has less impact overall.

The moment that defines the film is one during the telethon. Kermit’s big number is “Rainbow Connection.” It brought a tear to my eye and reminded me of just how good THE MUPPET MOVIE was. But it also made me wish this film had found its own “Rainbow Connection” moment. It’s more MUPPETS TAKE MANHATTAN than THE MUPPET MOVIE. But it lets us forget MUPPET TREASURE ISLAND. Thank you Mr. Segel for reminding us what the Muppets are all about.

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This film is not based on Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots. Now that we got that out of the way, we can find out what this film is really about. One could claim though that this film is based on a dozen previous boxing movies such as ROCKY and THE CHAMP.

Set in a future where robots have replaced humans in the boxing ring because people like the carnage more. Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman, X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE) is a former boxer who has become involved in the low-rung world of robot boxing. He gets a shock one day when he discovers that the mother of his son Max (Dakota Goyo, THOR) has died and that he needs to work out who will take the child. The 11-year-old’s aunt Debra (Hope Davis, AMERICAN SPLENDOR) wants to take him and Charlie sees her rich husband as a chance to make some money out of the situation.

As part of his deal with Max’s uncle, Charlie will take the kid for the summer. Having used the money to buy an older champion robot named Noisy Boy, Charlie wants to quickly get out on the road again. So he tries to dump the boy off on Bailey (Evangeline Lilly, TV’s LOST), the daughter of his former trainer. But Max maneuvers his way into tagging along. Up to this point the film goes through the paces of so many other films. Charlie is a rash, skuzzy know-it-all, while Max knows all the right moves to make.

However, once the training bot Atom is introduced the film improves. The old generation robot isn’t meant to compete, but Max has faith that he can take on all contenders. It’s not surprising that Charlie and Max bond over the training of the bot. But I’ll tell you it works. The reason it works is because it’s not maudlin and is presented from the point of view of Max, whose enthusiasm toward the robot-boxing world starts to rub off on the viewer. Young Goyo might look a lot like PHANTOM MENACE’s Jake Lloyd, but that’s all the comparisons you can make. Despite the fact that this is a PG-13 movie, it’s appeal will hit boys Max’s age like a swift uppercut.

Adults who know all the movies the film is pieced together from will be less engaged. The script lifts key moments from ROCKY, which do not work in context. The robots being in the ring and the humans controlling them from the outside lessens the jeopardy and the intimacy of the underdog underpinning. Atom is Max’s robot and I never saw him as an underdog. I never really saw Charlie that way either. He’s more of an impulsive type, not a lovable loser. The problem is you can’t just weld random pieces together and think you have a champion on your hands.

Additionally, many characters don’t have the investment in the story as they should. Lilly’s Bailey is a forced love interest. It would have been better if her dead father were in the film; he would have meant more. And I never bought the subplot about her trying to keep the gym open. It seems Charlie is the only member, so I think she has bigger problems than him not pay his rent. There isn’t a powerful bad guy either. The fair grounds boxing promoter Ricky (Kevin Durand, TV’s LOST) is wicked and is the catalyst for an important plot turn, but he isn’t involved in the climax at all. The owners of the undefeated bot Zeus — Tak Mashido (Karl Yune, MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA) and Farra Lemkova (Olga Fonda, LITTLE FOCKERS) — are walking clichés and have no real antagonism with Charlie or Max, even though the little kid tries to start something.

Like I said once Atom gets in the ring, the film started to grab my attention. Director Shawn Levy (NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM) and writer John Gatins (HARDBALL) do a nice job of setting up the fights to maximize tension. The fights for the most part deliver strongly on the promise of epic robot on robot violence. But then the film lets you go with some stupid moves. When the film needs to soar, it just limps to a finish. On the way home, kids might be jazzed up to play the REAL STEEL videogame. Their parents will be wondering if that Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em set is still at grandma’s house. At least with that you never know when the head is going to pop off the robot. In the film it’s completely telegraphed.

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From the moment the sun rises over the savanna and we hear the African chant, THE LION KING grips the audience’s attention. Combining fable with Greek tragedy, this film has a serious undertone that many Disney animated features do not have. The studio dealt with the death of a parent before, but not like this. This is a world with real consequences, which is the basis to all classic children’s tales and what makes this film not just for the kids.

The opening calls together all the animals of Pride Rock to witness the presentation of the new male heir of the kingdom — the lion cub Simba (Jonathan Taylor Thomas as child and Matthew Broderick as adult). His father Mufasa (James Earl Jones, STAR WARS) teaches him to be a just ruler. He explains that the circle of life has the lion eating antelope and when they die they help the grass grow, which new antelope will eat. Simba hasn’t learned yet that there are creatures out who would kill for other reasons. This is the case with his scheming uncle Scar (Jeremy Irons, REVERSAL OF FORTUNE), who sees his nephew as the boulder in his way to the throne.

Scar conspires to kill off Simba by tricking him to go to the forbidden elephant graveyard where his hyena cronies wait to ambush him, two of which voiced by Whoopi Goldberg and Cheech Marin. When that fails, he plans bigger and sets up Simba to believe that he is the cause of his father’s death. Disney broke hearts with the death of Bambi’s mother, but they tear it out with the death of Mufasa. Simba flees into the plains where he befriends the comedic duo of meerkat Timon (Nathan Lane, THE BIRDCAGE) and warthog Pumbaa (Ernie Sabella, MOUSEHUNT). They live a carefree life, so that Simba can forget his guilt.

Part of the joy of the film is the wide cast of characters. Zazu (Rowan Atkinson, MR. BEAN) is the hornbill who serves as Mufasa’s top advisor and sometimes babysitter to Simba. Nala (Moira Kelly, CHAPLIN) is Simba’s best friend and the lioness arranged to be his bride. Rafiki (Robert Guillaume, TV’s BENSON) is the baboon shaman. Sarabi (Madge Sinclair, COMING TO AMERICA) is Simba’s mother, who suffers greatly under the rule of Scar.

These characters are brought to life through spectacular character animation. Watch how Scar walks. He almost slithers like a snake. It’s in perfect contrast with Mufasa who walks tall and encapsulates leadership and power. Part of the reason the hyenas make the audience uneasy is because they move in twitches and low prowls like they might pounce at any time. The wildebeest stampede is intense, creating a frightening sense of chaos. A fight scene between lions is clearly not based on a Snagglepuss cartoon, but a nature doc. And try to keep a dry eye as Simba confronts the death of his father.

Directors Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff find the perfect balance between drama and comedy. Taking a page from Shakespeare, they even mix in the high and the low comedy. It takes great skill to make an epic film about regicide and incorporate a flatulent warthog in it to lighten the mood. In addition to the crop of amazing young animators they collaborated with, they received an Oscar-winning score from Hans Zimmer and Oscar-winning music from Elton John and Tim Rice. “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” won the Oscar, but “Circle of Life” and “Hakuna Matata” were nominated as well. Each was as memorable as the next and serve as emotional highlights.

With the recent theatrical re-release in 3-D taking the box office crown, the last appeal is evident. Parents are taking a new generation to see this modern classic. They only reason I bring this up is because it says something about quality. When you tell a story that doesn’t talk down to children then you are truly making a family film. It also proves that animated films create a perfect avenue to explore difficult life tragedies. People were up in arms over the death of Bambi’s mother’s death, believing their children would be traumatized. The generations raised on that film didn’t have the same problem with Mufasa’s death. In no way do I suggest that one film created such cultural shifts, but it’s something to think about. Kids are stronger than you think. Just take Simba for instance.

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The economy of storytelling is the most impressive element of this slight animated feature. Following the poor performances of PINOCCHIO, BAMBI and FANTASIA, the lavish production values were toned down. Less spectacle but not less character. This story of an elephant with jumbo ears fills the big top with emotion in only 64 minutes.

When the stork delivers Mrs. Jumbo’s baby son, her fellow elephants label him with the name Dumbo, because of his giant ears. The ridicule he receives only makes the shy little pachyderm even more bashful. Like any good mother, Mrs. Jumbo defends her child from tormentors, but her actions are not taken favorably by the circus management. Dumbo, whose real name in Jumbo Jr., is now left to fend for himself as the circus decides to put the silly looking animal in the clown act, so people can laugh at him more.

The story is instantly recognizable to the inner awkward child in all of us. The naive elephant is presented as eager and inquisitive, but also clumsy. Those ears do get in the way. He gains a guardian in the tough Timothy Q. Mouse (Edward Brophy, FREAKS), who serves as the film’s Jiminy Cricket. As is the case with many awkward children, Dumbo needs to find his talent. For those who know isn’t his talent a nice dose of ironic justice?

The character animation is such an essential part because two of its primary characters do not talk. But much is communicated in the body language between Mrs. Jumbo and her son. The trunk touching scene is full of emotion and we only see Mrs. Jumbo’s trunk. We’ve seen countless numbers of similar scenes in live-action films set at prisons where a parent is separated from their child, but do any of them carry the same emotional charge as this scene from DUMBO?

There is overblown controversy associated with the film as well. The crows Dumbo and Timothy encounter have been looked upon as offensive depictions of black people. They’re stereotypes at worst, but not blackface buffoons like some would make them out to be. In the end, they serve a key role in giving Dumbo the courage to embrace his unique gift (that they know something about) and get the best song in the film, “When I See an Elephant Fly.”

While one might have to bare through the dated music of the now cliche stork delivery scenes that start the film, once Jumbo Jr. arrives the film hits its stride. The pink elephant parade (a sequence that wouldn’t fly in children’s entertainment today) seems a bit like padding, but it does allow for some nice experimental animation to creep in. It’s this kind of free-form fantasy that animation does best.

Who hasn’t been self conscious about something in their appearance at some point in their lives? This universal emotion is what is at the core of this simple story. Those big ears are a big metaphor for a big part of the human condition.

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From time to time a standard story can be lifted up by a great performance. Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan gives that performance in this Orwellian sci-fi adventure from MONSTER HOUSE director Gil Kenan. She makes the standard plot points seem new, because she makes us see them through her character’s fresh eyes.

Ronan plays Lina Mayfleet, a new graduate eagerly awaiting her assigned profession. She lives in an underground society where the government randomly selects jobs for its grads. She is hoping to become a messenger, who runs notes from person to person. I guess they forgot to preserve email in the future. Unfortunately she gets assigned as a pipe worker. Luckily, Doon Harrow (Harry Treadaway, CONTROL) gets messenger and is willing to trade. He has an agenda behind wanting the lowly job.

The reason their society is underground is because a catastrophic event on the surface left it uninhabitable. The builders of the society felt 200 years would be enough time to let the surface heal. They left the mayor in charge of a clock counting down the time and instructions on how to get back above. Each new mayor is to hand the information down, but over the centuries the information has been lost. Now it is decades past the 200 years and the underground society is running out of food and power. This has led to great corruption. Mayor Cole (Bill Murray, GROUNDHOD DAY) has too much power at stake to lead his people to the surface.

It’s curious that Doon is considered the main character when Lina is far more dynamic. Doon’s father Loris (Tim Robbins, BOB ROBERTS) once tried to find the way to the surface, but that just lead to tragedy. He wants to discover the truth about the surface because the real story has been twisted over time. Lina is an energy force that inspires him. She takes to their world with youthful enthusiasm. We buy this world because she so believes in it. But has she put her faith in a lie?

Kenan keeps this movie moving at a clip. There is nothing extraneous here. The teens race around decoding clues that will lead them up. But the obstacles they face are not easy. The crumbling city, mutated moles, water wheels and a railway chase are harrowing experiences for the young heroes. But they are determined. The world itself is a character taking ideas from Orwell and visual flare from Terry Gilliam and Rube Goldberg. Like I said there is no email, there aren’t computers in this future at all. It’s steampunk without the steam.

This simple family sci-fi adventure doesn’t take grand ideas from Orwell, but the vibe. It’s a kids up against a weasel adult adventure. And of course the fate of the world is at stake. While it’s not quite in the same league, it’s like a sci-fi GOONIES.

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Narratively the original HOODWINKED was a mess, but there were moments of general inspiration within cliché and tired routines. The sequel is just cliché and tired routines. The original was done independently on the cheap and looked it, but this one feels cheaper because it has no purpose other than to cash in on the surprise success of the original.

Unlike the mysterious RASHOMON-like plot of the first film, this picture is pretty straight forward. It’s perfectly structured as a “good” screenplay is supposed to be structured, but leaves no surprises along the way. Red (Hayden Panettiere, TV’s HEROES) is off training with the Sisters of the Hood, while Wolf (Patrick Warburton, TV’s SEINFELD) is manning the spy agency they now work for. After Red’s Granny (Glenn Close, FATAL ATTRACTION) is kidnapped by Verushka the witch (Joan Cusack, WORKING GIRL), Red is called back to investigate.

The plot moves along standard detective movie clichés from asking an informant and a gangster questions at the night club to the tradition of guess who really the bad guys are. Red is given a female empowerment storyline, which is tied into a working together theme involving Wolf. The entire idea of all the characters working for the spy agency waters down them all. The witty puns and riffs on fairy tales are replaced by punchlines that are just “throw out pop culture references” or gags that are so telegraphed that they cease to be funny. The singing goat suffers a great deal not from getting run over, but from really bad timing.

Warburton is still good as Wolf, but he is given far less to work with. Edwards’ Twitchy is more manic than the last film, which makes him far less appealing. Too much of a good thing syndrome. Anne Hathaway voiced Red in the original and Panettiere doesn’t bring the same pluck that the “now too big for cheap animation” Oscar nominee brought to the role. Nice additions are SNL’s Bill Hader and Amy Poehler as Hansel and Gretel. Their over-the-top German accents are funny in and of themselves.

The fact that the film was taken away from its original directors Corey Edwards, Todd Edwards and Tony Leech and handed over to Mike Disa might be part of the problem. Instead of being a passion project it became a work for hire project. And you can’t even blame Disa, because I’m sure he was working under tight constraints. This was a film that The Weinstein Company lost faith in somewhere during production and it shows on the screen. The film has a fitting title.

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I watched the animated SMURFS TV series religiously as a child. I was like many kids who grew up in the 1980s. Outside of the general facts – they’re blue, they’re names match their personalities, there is only one girl in the whole village – I don’t remember their adventures at all. For this live-action/animation feature, I wasn’t expecting much going in and I didn’t get much coming out. Like the TV series, I won’t remember much about this film either.

The Smurfs live an idyllic life in their magically protected village. The wicked wizard Gargamel (Hank Azaria, MYSTERY MEN) wants to steal their essence in order to increase his magic powers. Clumsy Smurf (who looks a lot like Dopey Dwarf) is left out of the Blue Moon festivities being planned because of what his name implies. In trying to help out, Clumsy (Anton Yelchin, STAR TREK) inadvertently leads Gargamel and his cat Azrael right to their village. On the run, Clumsy and four other Smurfs end up getting sucked through a vortex and land in New York City.

The three-apple-tall blue guys — including Papa (Jonathan Winters, IT’S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD), Brainy (Fred Arminsen, TV’s SNL), Grumpy (George Lopez, RIO) and Gutsy (Alan Cumming, X-MEN UNITED), — and gal Smurfette (Katy Perry) wind up at the apartment of marketing exec Patrick Winslow (Neil Patrick Harris, TV’s HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER) whose boss Odile (Sofia Vergara, TV’s MODERN FAMILY) has threatened to fire him if he doesn’t come up with a stellar new cosmetics ad campaign in two days. Making matters more stressful for Patrick is that his wife Grace (Jayma Mays, TV’s GLEE) is pregnant with their first child.

There is not a moment in this film that hasn’t been seen before. Every moment seems manufactured not inspired. The Smurfs’ conflict has no connection to that of their human friends and visa versa. The only time the two plotlines really cross is when Gargamel uses his powers to make an old woman look young and Odile wants to exploit his magic, but it’s all set-up and never developed. So many family films have the same conflict of the busy parent. THE SMURFS nor the Smurfs have anything to add to this issue. And one might think the humans were added to reduce the sugary effect of the cute blue creatures, but it’s actually the human story that gets stuck in sappy goo.

The writing is just going through the motions of a family film. Potty humor check. Pop culture references check. Self referential jokes to curb the silliness of the source material check. Family bonding check. The potty humor is as lame as it always is and actually elicited zero laughs from the crowd full of kids I saw it with. But smacking the bad guy in the face still works with the little ones. The script goes to that well to the point where Gargamel must have brain damage. For the dialogue for course Smurf is the most used word, but so much of the cliched dialogue is there simply to have the characters say something instead of having silence.

Voice work, for the most part, is one the film’s successes. Yelchin gives Clumsy the right innocence and Winters provides Papa with a dignified voice. But it is a crime to give the comedy legend the least funny role in the film. However, Lopez is wrongly cast as Grumpy, whose inane dialogue could make his name Bad Sitcom Smurf. For the live actors, Harris is good at physical humor, but he’s not given much to work with. Azaria is simply in family film villain over acting mode.

The saddest part is that so much talent was wasted on this product. The Smurfs are very well animated and look great in CG. The film would have been somewhat better if it didn’t send them to NYC. There has never been a live-action version of an animated show where they sent the cartoon characters to the real world that has ever worked, so why do they keep trying? Seeing real humans acting cartoony rarely works either, so why do they keep trying? This didn’t bring back fond memories of my childhood, because it didn’t make me give a smurf about any of it.

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