The Smurfs

"Smurf happens."

2011 1h 43m EN

😐

5.8

MID

★5.8TMDB · 4,101

AnimationFamilyAdventureComedyFantasy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When the evil wizard Gargamel chases the tiny blue Smurfs out of their village, they tumble from their magical world and into ours -- in fact, smack dab in the middle of Central Park. Just three apples high and stuck in the Big Apple, the Smurfs must find a way to get back to their village before Gargamel tracks them down.

“Smurf happens.”

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Cast

Hank Azaria
Gargamel
Neil Patrick Harris
Patrick Winslow
Jayma Mays
Grace Winslow
Jonathan Winters
Papa Smurf (voice)
Katy Perry
Smurfette (voice)
Anton Yelchin
Clumsy Smurf (voice)
Sofía Vergara
Odile Anjelou
Tim Gunn
Henri

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Raja Gosnell
Writers: David N. Weiss, David N. Weiss, David Ronn
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America, Belgium

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

$110M budget — tentpole studio territory.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 5.1× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 15 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United States of America, Belgium.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Smurfs (Theatrical) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Raja Gosnell, shot by Phil Meheux. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Heitor Pereira. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Sabrina Plisco shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Raja Gosnell directs. Phil Meheux behind the camera. Heitor Pereira scores. Sabrina Plisco cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America, Belgium. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1$110M budget — tentpole studio territory.
2Made its money back 5.1× over at the box office.
3Released 15 years ago.
4International production across 2 countries: United States of America, Belgium.
5Part of the "The Smurfs (Theatrical) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6Directed by Raja Gosnell, shot by Phil Meheux. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Heitor Pereira. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Sabrina Plisco shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Hank Azaria and Neil Patrick Harris and Jayma Mays carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "Smurf happens.".
11IMDB entry: tt0472181 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 10 themes, including "moon", "magic", "based on comic", "blue".
13Released under 13 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Phil Meheux
Original score: Heitor Pereira
Editing: Sabrina Plisco
Production design: Bill Boes
Costume design: Rita Ryack
Makeup / hair: Todd Tucker
Stunt coordinator: G.A. Aguilar
Runtime: 103 min · 1h 43m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $110,000,000
Box office: $563,749,323
Return: 512% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: The Smurfs (2011)

Part of

The Smurfs (Theatrical) Collection

An American CGI/live-action film series based on The Smurfs comic book series created by the Belgian comics artist Peyo and the 1980s animated TV series.

Also by

Raja Gosnell

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Kamurai2020-09-21
★ 6/10
Decent watch, probably won't watch again, but can recommend. I grew up watching The Smurfs, the CG Smurf animation is actually pretty good, but there is something about how they're personalized that rubs me the wrong way. Either the delivery is just different enough from the cartoon, or there is something about the Smurfs being in a modern world that I entirely disapprove of, or both. This reminds me a lot of "Yogi Bear" where in a movie, the title character(s) should be the main focus and the most enjoyable characters. It might have actually worked against them to put Neil Patrick Harris and Jayma Mays in this. I don't think they "upstaged" the little blue creatures, but they were, by far, the best parts of this movie, and their story was strong enough it could have been a movie to its own...in fact, I'm sure if I looked hard enough, I could find a "work is hard, I'm about to get fired, and we're about to have a baby" movie. For something as unique as the Smurfs, the movie puts a lot of money into it not being anything special. They could have saved a lot of money by making it a "girl running from her angry boyfriend" movie. They also have NPH specifically degrading the Smurfs for their general positivity in the same manner as the villain: this makes the audience villainize the lead protagonist in this movie, as the Smurfs are relegated to little than hostages in the human movie. Now, it's not to say that there isn't a certain level of charm to the Smurfs, but it's definitely not the Smurfs I remember, and having such a goofy villain is really all that saves the movie, and even then they go too far with some of the situations he is in.
RealZero2025-07-02
★ 7/10
Overall a cute and nice movie that mostly lives by the interaction of The Smurfs and their arch-rival Gargamel. A group of Smurfs are transported to New York, because, where else would a magical portal lead, right? :-D Along with Gargamel and his cat Azrael. From there, the movie basically consists of two storylines: The Smurfs' tries to get back home while fighting Gargamel and Azrael, and the personal challenges of Patrick and Grace Winslow, the other human protagonists, as they try to keep Patrick's job and plan for their upcoming baby. And this is also where the quality and rating, to me personally, is split: The Smurfs all have a fitting and fun personality. Smurfette is really kind and cute, Gutsy is absolutely fun, Papa is a great...Papa and Clumsy learns that, despite his clumsiness, he's a great person. It's silly, fun and Hank Azaria does a really great job as Gargamel. Seeing him trying to fit in with New York is even more silly and fun than the Smurfs doing the same. And then, on the other side, are the Winslow's and their story about an exhausting, typical crushing capitalist job with a horrible boss. It's...mostly boring, more stressful than fun. And while the interaction and development between them and the Smurfs is nice, one thing is quite clear: These humans were not really needed. The main story would've totally worked completely without them, just with the Smurfs and Gargamel in New York with background actors. The actors aren't bad, but their story...doesn't matter. Still, I recommend the movie, because Clumsy is fun, Smurfette is friendly and cute, and Gargamel does a great job at being a fun and silly antagonist. Katy Perry does a great job at voicing Smurfette.