The Smurfs 2

Daddy issues abound—among both humans and smurfs—in Raja Gosnell's inevitable sequel to his 2011 hit featuring the cuddly little blue folk that Belgian artist Peyo created more than half a century ago. The story finds several smurfs, led by Papa Smurf (genially voiced by Jonathan Winters in his last film role), venturing into the “real” world on a mission to deal with villainous wizard Gargamel (Hank Azaria), who has kidnapped Smurfette (Katy Perry). Gargamel intends to compel Smurfette to reveal a secret formula that will allow him to turn some gray smurf-like critters he's created—the Naughties—into full smurfs and then transfer their magical essence into his wand in order to conquer the world. Gargamel tries to convince Smurfette that he's her real father, while Papa Smurf seeks help from his old human pal Patrick (Neil Patrick Harris), who is struggling with the demands of fatherhood while also resisting attempts by his affable stepfather (Brendan Gleeson) to build an emotional bond. Lots of comic episodes follow, which include one character being transformed into a duck for a time. Young children may enjoy the slapstick Saturday morning cartoon quality of this tale that resolves with typical smurf sweetness, but most will find this to be insufferably bland. Optional, at best. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include the character featurettes “Daddy's Little Girl: The Journey of Smurfette” (6 min.) and “Animating Azrael” (4 min.), deleted scenes (4 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is the 2013 short “The Legend of Smurfy Hollow” (22 min.), the production segments “The Naughties! The Tale of Hackus and Vexy” (6 min.), “The Puurrfect Companion: Azrael's Tail” (5 min.), and “Evolution of the Naughties” (4 min.), and bonus DVD and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a decent extras package for an undistinguished family film.] (F. Swietek)