<Review by: Sailesh Ghelani>

Directed by Kelly Asbury. Starring Demi Lovato, Rainn Wilson, Joe Manganiello, Jack McBrayer, Danny Pudi, Mandy Patinkin

Running time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Another franchise inspired from 80s cartoons, Smurfs hasn’t really been that successful and The Lost Village isn’t going to change that.

Feeling blue? Then don’t go watch Smurfs: The Lost Village. Even the kids are probably used to more fun and interesting animated films with Pixar and Illumination raising the bar so high.

What Sony is trying to do now is follow Disney’s lead and make a movie about a strong female character. Smurfette (Demi Lovato) is the only girl in the Smurf village and she doesn’t know what her ‘thing’ is. Brainy Smurf (Danny Pudi) is smart, Clumsy Smurf (Jack McBrayer) is well… clumsy and Hefty Smurf (Joe Manganiello) is strong. Of course, Smurfette isn’t a regular Smurf as the film explains her dark origins.

The evil wizard Gargamel (Rainn Wilson) and his cat Azreal and bird (Monty) are still plotting to capture the Smurfs and drain their magic. But wait, Smurfette accidentally leads them on a path to a lost village of Smurfs that may be easier to catch. They must be warned and Smurfette and her gang set off to find their cousins in the Forbidden Forest and warn them.

It’s all formula and bright and colourful, but it lacks an interesting story. The obvious ‘woman power’ theme isn’t as effective as recent Disney films like wonderful Beauty and the Beast and Frozen.

Voice talent that stands out are Jack McBrayer as Clumsy and Rainn Wilson as Gargamel. Unfortunately the script they have to deal with is weak and clichéd.

And the soundtrack seems misplaced as if they had a list of songs they could use and just had to dump them in the film. The track You Will Always Find Me In Your Heart is beautiful though.

Smurfs: The Lost Village should have gone directly to DVD.

PS: The cute glow bunnies and the snappy ladybug stand out.