Review: Smurfette gets her due in ‘Smurfs: Lost Village’
Hollywood is so enamored of existing intellectual property, sequels, reboots and franchises that a 60-year-old joke from Belgian cartoonist Peyo continues to be recycled, refurbished and redone. Its latest form: “ Smurfs: The Lost Village .” “Les Schtroumpfs” were born when Peyo made up a word for salt, and the little blue dudes have lived on through comics, Hanna Barbera Saturday morning cartoons, and all the way to the big screen. In this latest feature film featuring the Smurfs, veteran animation director Kelly Asbury steers the ship, while writers Stacey Harman and Pamela Ribon spin an identity tale about one of the most unique Smurfs, Smurfette (Demi Lovato). Smurfette always felt like an outsider within the oppressive patriarchy of Smurf Village, struggling with her lack of descriptive name. “What is an ‘-ette’?” she ponders. That tells us nothing about her. Helpfully, a young boy in the pre-release screening audience shouted “it means girl.” (Rigid gender divisions are ...