Did you know Rihanna is Smurfette?
I suppose every generation needs a Smurf film, and in 2025, Paramount Animation has brought a new one to the screen. Forget the rest of the highly acclaimed cast; in 2025, we are more concerned with Rihanna as Smurfette.
Written by Hailey Passmore
Forget John Goodman voicing Papa Smurf and Hannah Waddingham voicing one of the evil wizards – Jezebeth – the creative team behind Smurfs decided to make Smurfette (Rihanna) and No Name, played by James Cordon of all people, save the day. No one asked for this reboot to be made, and no one, apart from maybe the littlest of kids, would actually enjoy this while watching it. Sure, it has, maybe one or two moments that could be considered entertaining, but overall, this film is a rip-off of The Smurfs (Gosnell, 2011) and somehow even worse.
A change of pace from The Smurfs, in this new adventure, there are new stories introduced with background from the original 1980s animated series. While yes, Smurfette remains the creation of Gargamel (JP Karliak), in Smurfs, he has help from his younger brother Razamel (Karliak). The Smurfs have a deep-rooted history that they never knew about before. They are destined to be the guardians of the universe and many years before, 106 to be exact, Papa Smurf (John Goodman) and his two brothers – Ken (Nick Offerman) and Ron (Kurt Russell) – went head-to-head against the evil wizards – Asmodius (Octavia Spencer), Jezebeth, and Chernobog (Nick Kroll) – to stop them from using these magic books to take over the world. Of course, Papa and his brothers saved the day. That is, until the present day, when No Name (Corden) messes everything up, trying to come up with a “thing” to be known for.
Sometimes you have to admire the change in animation styles, but making three-dimensional animated Smurfs run through the real world when it was already done 14 years ago seems a bit unnecessary. There was definitely a glossier style to the Smurfs in this reboot, which somehow took away from their original nature. Perhaps it could have been more nostalgic or reminiscent of the original television show if they had chosen to have two-dimensional drawn Smurfs running down the streets of Paris. That could have created a comedic laugh or two.
Do not get me wrong in the slightest when I talk about how unnecessary this new Smurfs film is. However, there is one moment that some Smurfs fans could appreciate. In the opening credits of the film, the creative team takes the time to reminisce on what the Smurfs are all about – their individual names and “talents”. Even though this is done by bringing in a musical number relevant to the current decade, making it “for the kids”, it can be semi-enjoyable for the adults in the room. That seems to be the problem with family/kids’ movie reboots nowadays: they take something classic and remake it so that it resonates with the youth of this generation. While I may be part of the ‘youth’, I disagree with the need to have things try to be relevant. Sometimes, nostalgia – even if it may not be nostalgic for the kids – is the best way to preserve the importance of the original, while making it new or rebooting it.
Well, thank Smurf it ended. For a simple 92-minute film, it still felt like it went on too long. Let’s just hope the studios don’t have any future plans for any more Smurfs films – stealing actors that are way too talented to be voicing Smurfs. Smurfs is currently in cinemas, and unless it brings in the kids, it might not be there for long.
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