Are you ready to be scared blue this Halloween? The Smurfs: The Legend of Smurfy Hollow will make you smurf to the hills.
Deep in the woods Panicky Smurf has wrecked the cart carrying smurfberries back to the village. A trio of Smurfs have to wait until light to repair the wheel. As they roast smurfberries over an open fire, they swap ghost stories even though Panicky can’t handle the fear. Narrator Smurf (Oscar announcer Tom Kane) steps out from the booth to take the deliver the most frightening of tales. He’s ready to soil the white pants on Panicky Smurf with the truth about the Headless Horseman. The story goes from CGI characters found in the latest movie to the 2-D animated style used in the beloved Saturday morning series. During the golden harvest, Papa Smurf announces the start of the smurfberry hunt. Vanity Smurf (The Daily Show‘s John Oliver) thinks he’s going to win, but can he real dethrone multiple champ Brainy Smurf (Portlandia‘s Fred Armisen)? Also fixing to win is Gutsy Smurf (Alan Cumming). What is Brainy’s secret? He doesn’t fear going across the covered bridge into Smurfy Hollow. He doesn’t fear the Headless Horseman because the land is full of Smurfberries. But this might be the one time he needs to fear the undead creature.
The Smurfs: The Legend of Smurfy Hollow isn’t too shocking for little kids that like the blue creatures. There is an appearance from Gargamel (The Smurfs‘ Hank Azaria) and his cat Azreal that might cause discomfort in wee ones. The flaming pumpkin toss from the Headless Horseman isn’t too intense. The action is relatively short so this can be run at night without overriding bedtime. The ending has the moral laid out directly so kids can grasp it. It’s smurftastic.
The video is 1.78:1 anamorphic. The transfer looks good on both the CGI and the normal animation. The audio is Dolby Digital stereo. The mix keeps the music underneath the talking. There are also dubs in French and Spanish. The subtitles are English, French and Spanish.
No bonus features.
The Smurfs: The Legend of Smurfy Hollow is a Halloween tale involving the little blue creatures of the forest. It’s their take on the Headless Horseman story without it being too traumatizing for young viewers. It’s fun viewing during Spooky Season.
Sony Pictures presents The Smurfs: The Legend of Smurfy Hollow. Directed by: Stephan Franck. Screenplay by: Todd Berger. Starring: Fred Armisen, Hank Azaria, Alan Cumming, John Oliver and Melissa Sturm. Running Time: 22 minutes. Released: September 10, 2013.
