Film Preview: Smurfs: The Lost Village (2017)

Page Revisions:

(December 4, 2016) Original
(March 19, 2017) New Trailer (#3) / New Posters (#2-#7)
(April 2, 2017) New Posters (#8-#11)

Release Date:

April 7, 2017

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “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.”

Poster Rating: B- / B / C+ (4) / B- / C+ (4)

SEE ALL POSTERS BELOW
Review: (#1) Peaking under the big blue screen is an interesting concept that doesn’t come off well. There’s far too much blue space. That said, the vibrant colors and layout of the poster’s lower portion more than makes up for the incongruities.

(#2) It’s probably the best we’ll get for this animated film. There are plenty of details, both foreground and background, to set the viewer’s mind at ease regarding some of the production’s quality as well as its premise. (#3-#6) The generic background to these character posters doesn’t add much richness to the combined design and the foreground isn’t that supportive either. (#7) There’s still plenty of color and detail here, but it’s less interesting than design #2.

(#8-#11) These new character posters are interesting in their uniqueness, but they seem like they are par for the course.

Trailer Rating: C- / B- / C+

SEE ALL TRAILERS BELOW
Review: (#1) A terrible trailer that doesn’t get the audience excited and showcases a gag that will become annoying upon repeat viewings. (#2) An interesting story presents itself in this fully animated trailer that brings to our attention a glaring issue that Smurfette is the only female in the entire Smurf Village. The prospects of a strange new ancestor or species is fascinating. There’s even Gargamel and Azrael for your viewing pleasure.

(#3) Keeping the other smurfs under wraps provided a very interesting mystery, but this trailer not only ruins that, but hints at and then reveals that this other village is the gender opposite of the Smurf village we’ve all come to know and love. Whether that means anything in terms of the film’s pointed political satire remains to be seen.

Oscar Prospects:

The only category where an early-year release doesn’t hurt a film’s Oscar chances in Best Animated Feature. While it’s unlikely that Peyo’s creation will score an Oscar nomination against more potent forces, it will at least be on the shortlist for whatever good that will do.