DVD Review: The Smurfs Holiday Celebration

DVD Reviews, Reviews

Can the Smurfs really celebrate Christmas? The magical creatures are blue which means they should be into worshiping Krishna since he’s blue. But who in America wants to watch the Smurfs’ Hindu Holiday special? America suffered enough with the Wookie religious section of The Star Wars Holiday Special. Thus the Smurfs were allowed to enjoy the same festivities as Bing Crosby, Yogi Bear and Stephen Colbert. The Smurfs Holiday Celebration contains two of their seasonal offerings from their ’80s prime.

“The Smurf’s Christmas Special” (1982) brings snow to the little mushroom village. The Smurfs go nuts with the decorations. They make the Whos of Whoville look like Grinches. Evil Gargamel can’t stand the holiday. He comes up with a plan to destroy the Smurfs’ Christmas joy with his evil magic. He’s the Grinch with the cat Azreal taking the dog’s place. Two royal children get lost in the woods and chased by wolves. If Gargamel can capture the kids for an evil man, he’ll get the power to destroy the Smurfs. It’s the greatest gift ever promised. The only thing that can stop this evil is the power of the holiday.

“‘Tis the Season to Be Smurfy” (1987) brings more snow to the mushroom roofs. Wild Smurf and Sassette getto learn about the magic of the season. They have to bring joy to a dollmaker and his invalid wife. The big thing is Jonathan Winters voicing Grandpa Smurf. He ended up playing Papa Smurf in the big Smurfs movie.


There’s no need to deny the Smurfs the chance to feel the warmth of the Christmas season even with their chilling blue skin. The Smurfs Holiday Celebration renews our faith that any cartoon can relish the season as long as they look good in snow and can hang ornaments in comical ways.

The video is 1.33:1 full frame. The transfer aren’t too shabby with a decent enough resolution to project the holiday spirit. The audio is Dolby Digital mono. The sound is clean enough to hear all the Smurfs smurfing away. The subtitles are in English.

No bonus features.

The Smurfs Holiday Celebration give two specials that remind us that even little blue creatures can feel the magic of Christmas. They want us to know there’s more to the day than getting gifts. A blue Christmas doesn’t have to be a sad Christmas.

Warner Home Video presents The Smurfs Holiday Celebration. Starring: Papa Smurf, Brainy Smurf, Smurfette and Jonathan Winters. Running Time: 47 minutes. Released on DVD: October 4, 2011. Available at Amazon.com.

Joe Corey is the writer and director of "Danger! Health Films" currently streaming on Night Flight and Amazon Prime. He's the author of "The Seven Secrets of Great Walmart People Greeters." This is the last how to get a job book you'll ever need. He was Associate Producer of the documentary "Moving Midway." He's worked as local crew on several reality shows including Candid Camera, American's Most Wanted, Extreme Makeover Home Edition and ESPN's Gaters. He's been featured on The Today Show and CBS's 48 Hours. Dom DeLuise once said, "Joe, you look like an axe murderer." He was in charge of research and programming at the Moving Image Archive.