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The Smurfs: The Legend of Smurfy Hollow DVD Review

 
  • Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
  • Language: English
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Rated: G (General Audience)
  • Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
  • DVD Release Date: September 10, 2013
  • Run Time: 22 minutes



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            It is quite clear from the spooky content in this single 22-minute Smurfs special that The Legend of Smurfy Hollow was made as a Halloween short better suited for release in October rather than September. I imagine that the initial plan was for this short special to help get a little more from the box office release of the Blockbuster CGI sequel for these popular animated blue creatures from the 1980s. It still seems to be an attempt to boost box office, but the September release shows how little confidence there is in the attention span of young audiences. In one month’s time there will be other films to pillage for home entertainment.

     

            The film version of these beloved little creatures utilizes cutting edge computer generated interfacing to bring them to life while the original cartoon from the 1980s was the traditional hand-drawn 2D animation. This 22-minute short special utilizes both, although does a much better job at imitating the hand-drawn animation than the computer generated images. The computer generated images bookend a hand-drawn story told around the campfire. It has the typical moral message of a Smurf cartoon, paired with a mildly spooky storyline following in the tradition of the headless horseman.

     

            The one saving grace of this rushed short is the inclusion of many of the actors who lent their voices for the features films as well. Hank Azaria provides his voice for the animated version of Gargamel while Alan Cumming, Fred Armisen and Anton Yelchin all reprise their roles as Smurfs, Gutsy, Brainy and Clumsy. There are no special features and it almost seems as though this could have simply been a bonus on the feature-film home release, making this a purchase only necessary for die-hard fans.   

     

           

    Entertainment Value: 5/10

    Quality of Filmmaking: 4/10

    Historical Significance: 2/10

    Disc Features: 0/10

     

     

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