Smurfs

At the beginning of the entire universe, there were four magical books. These four magical books were responsible for being in control of everything that went down on earth. They also contained powerful spells and, in the wrong hands, these spells could cause a lot of trouble. Speaking of trouble…

We all know about the smurfs. Each Smurf has a name and something they are well known for (e.g. Papa Smurf, Brainy, Worry, Vanity, etc.). But there’s one smurf who really doesn’t know what he’s good at, and boy has that caused a lot of trouble for the other smurfs. Papa reminds this smurf, dubbed No Name, that some Smurfs take longer to find out what they’re best at and that No Name just has to be patient. No name wants a real name now though.

As No Name frustratingly walks into the forest he comes in contact with one of the magical books that the smurfs were told to protect. This magic book, it seems, gives No Name powers, including opening portals. The opening portals part is a problem though, as you don’t know for sure what is on the other side.

For instance, on the other side of one portal is the evil wizard Gargamel, the sworn enemy of the smurfs who wants to capture them and drain them of their magic. You know who’s worse than Gargamel? His brother Razamel. Razamel, in comparison, makes Gargamel look like a saint. Razamel wants to capture Papa Smurf to interrogate him on where the magical book is located. His vision? To collect all 4 magical books and use them to call upon all sorts of darkness and evil to cover the earth.

As No Name is showing off his powers, he opens a portal and Razamel, it seems, is able to easily locate the smurfs village, and he captures Papa Smurf

It’s up to No Name, Brainy, Smurfette, Vanity, Hefty, Worry, Grouchy—and a turtle—to find and rescue Papa Smurf before it’s too late…

I’ll full on admit I’m a kid at heart. It’s part of why I love being a music teacher, I get to be an adult, yes, but also a little silly. I realize that this “kid at heart” personality, when it comes to movies, perhaps makes me a little naïve as to what is deemed a great children’s movie because, at my core, I’m laughing at even some of the childish moments on the screen (within reason of course).

This brings me to the “Smurfs.” The Smurfs have had so many movie adaptations it’s been hard to keep track. Some adaptations have made me downright go “Ugggg” as many times the majority of the humor is potty humor and there isn’t any real substance, and though I’m a kid at heart, the potty humor is a bit much.

In a couple adaptations, there have been some more “adult theming” such as innuendos and adult humor (nothing overly offensive) that tends to go over children’s films: jokes and statements that either make you, as the adult, go “Oyyy that’s not good” or go “Heh heh, that’s pretty funny.” The interesting thing is that this is supposed to be a CHILDREN’S MOVIE not an adult movie.

With the 2025 version of the smurfs, sure there is some children’s humor in the film, but a lot of the dialog and humor is directed at the adults. For example, there is one scene where No Name realizes what to call himself and the name is all curse words, bleeped out on screen. My friend and I, in that moment, looked at each other like in absolute shock that this was permitted in, again, a “CHILDREN’S FILM”

The other main issue I have with this film is the disjointed nature of the main plot. At one moment we’re looking at the group of smurfs searching for Papa Smurf, then within a minute or two it goes back to Razamel and his assistant, then back to the group and there were moments where the dialog never felt finished or that the scene was cut off far too scene. I wanted certain moments to be drawn out further, to develop, to build upon the overall story. At times, again, it felt rather unfinished.

The pacing, which coincides with the overall plot, is also a problem. The film moves far too quickly, even for a children’s movie. I get that children don’t have very long attention spans, but they can pay attention when things are moving at a semi-fast speed (and of course, having moderate amounts of humor helps too).

To the film’s credit, when the film slows down, it can actually be quite humorous (as I said, what I find humorous the average person would just cringe at or yawn) and when it comes together, mainly towards the end, the story brings some strong messages of identity, family, bravery, etc.

Again, the content is a bit concerning, particularly the language itself. Here is what to look out for.

Content of Concern

VIOLENCE: A smurf is flown in the air and lands in some bushes. This same smurf is tossed around a few times. Someone shoots magic around a room and it nearly hits people. Someone talks about how they love the sound generated before a Smurf expires. The clumsy smurf is seen tripping over himself multiple times. Some smurfs are seen being chased by a human. Someone states “No one comes back from Razamel’s castle alive; the moat is made of bones.” Someone puts their hand under a smasher at the request of a wizard. Razamel is seen using magic to destroy a town. One smurf is sucked into a vortex. A wizard turns other wizards into being stuck inside a water dispenser. In a montage, of sorts, clay smurfs are throwing their clay body parts at someone. A smurf is seen being zapped. Smurfs are threatened to be squashed during an interrogation.

VULGARITY: In one of the most shocking moments in the film, a smurf curses out loud. While the curse words are bleeped out, it’s safe to say that they’re most likely the f-word and the s-word, if you catch my drift. For this reason, and that reason alone, I changed the movie rating from Average (what I was originally going to give this film) to Offensive.

PROFANITY: Someone states, “What the shell?” (twice). Other phrases include: “you don’t know smurf,” “Smurf that,” “Welp they’re all gonna die,” Geez, and “Kick A** Smurf”

SEXUAL CONTENT/NUDITY/POTTY HUMOR: Someone states they “smurfed their pants.” A smurf tells another smurf, “We’ll always have Paris.” A character is hit and his clothes fall off. A smurf is seen shirtless.

OCCULT: Razamel and even Gargamel are seen casting spells at times. No Name uses magic on several occasions.

OTHER: Someone mentions a scream machine runs on smurf screams. Razamel states he put a family member’s ashes in his assistant’s drink, to which the assistant becomes sick and throws up behind Razamel’s desk.

Main Theme

The main theme of this entire movie is the message of belonging, whether it’s No Name with the rest of the smurfs or Gargamel and his treatment by his own brother, Razamel. In the film, No Name struggles with having gone likely years not knowing what his strength is, what his value is.

As Christians, we know what we’re worth in God’s eyes and that is everything. We are worth everything to Him. He finds us more precious than silver and gold. He tells us to find our identity through Him. God has predestined us to act according to His will and to find our worth through Him. He calls us to love and abide by Him and by doing this we know what our purpose is. Scripture reminds us of the following…

“We are unique in God’s eyes.”

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” —Psalm 139:13-16

“God made us in His own image”

“Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground “ —Genesis 1:26

“God chose US and continues to chose US”

For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he[b] predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will… to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. —Ephesians 1:4-6

Final Thoughts

“Smurfs” (2025) is a conundrum in and of itself. While it tries to deliver some strong messages regarding bravery, true to yourself, finding your identity/worth, courage, and lifting others up, some of this gets lost in all the confusion and chaos. Young children won’t mind the craziness and many of these young ones and young at heart actually enjoyed the film and walked away happy.

I walked away confused. There are moments I enjoyed and moments I went “Oyyy.” Maybe I’m not such a kid at heart after all. Then again, I’M not the target audience. The moments of levity help balance the really serious undertone the film occasionally takes, but there’s still a LOT that needs to be fixed, especially the swear and curse words that appear in a few moments.

It is because of the potty humor and the use of curse words (NEVER appropriate in a children’s film) that I rated this Offensive and do not recommend this film to Christian families. You’re better off watching the original smurfs television series. And on that I say, “Smurf ya later everyone.”

• Violence: Moderate
• Vulgar/Crude language: Moderate
• Profane language: Mild
• Nudity: Mild
• Sex: Mild
• Occult: Mild
• Wokeism: Minor
• Drugs/Alcohol: None

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.