Smurfs: The Lost Village

Britons of a certain age will remember the Smurfs via a very annoyingly memorable song by Father Abraham which once heard is never forgotten no matter how hard you try. In other words I'm not a fan of the blue ones but since I want to expand my film watching experience I thought I'd see what the mainstream audience are watching at the multiplex. On top of that II did read the synopsis on this site:

In this fully animated, all-new take on the Smurfs, a mysterious map sets Smurfette and her friends Brainy, Clumsy and Hefty on an exciting race through the Forbidden Forest leading to the discovery of the biggest secret in Smurf history

Reading that I was instantly reminded of Tolkien's LORD OF THE RINGS . a film trilogy that I didn't expect much from but was totally blown away by this cinematic masterwork. Again I should guard my back by saying I wasn't expecting all that much from the Smurfs but went in with an open mind If I have a problem with SMURFS THE LOST VILLAGE it's that I found it totally forgettable. Of course it's difficult to empathise with blue dwarfs but even so I found myself wishing I had a better connection with the characters. It's also not helped by much of the story not taking part within the forbiddingly named "The Forbidden Forest" and wished the story elements had been much darker . That said the film is made as family friendly fare and that's the target audience rather than me