Simply A Masterpiece

Just perfect...

best movie i've ever seen.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

The Smurfs and the Magic FluteEarning money with a musical instrument is possible on the right subway platform.Mind you, the musician in this animated movie is making money through magic.When the king's jester Peewit (Cameron Clarke) gets a hold of a magical flute that can make people spontaneously dance when played, he attracts the attention of a merchant McCreep (Mike Reynolds), who steals the wind instrument to rob villagers.Now, Peewit and a knight's squire named Johan must use a wizard's spell in order to convene with the mystical blue-skinned forest creatures that first forged the flute if they hope to change McCreep's tune.Written and directed by the Smurf's creator Peyo, this 1976 hand-drawn feature from Belgium set the standard of what would go on to become the 1980s Saturday morning cartoon phenomenon; mostly because it feels like three episodes pieced together.Incidentally, when Smurf's hear the magic flute played they turn rabid.Green Lightvidiotreviews.blogspot.ca

The Smurfs and the Magic Flute (1976): Dir: John Rust / Voices: Cam Clarke, Mike Reynolds, Robert Axelrod, Michael Sorich, Ron Gans: Junk food animation so unappealing that like the flute it would likely put children to sleep. The first problem is that with the exception of Papa Smurf all of the little blue people look alike. In the Saturday morning cartoon they were given distinguishing identities but not here. Hefty had a heart tattooed on his shoulder. Handy wore overalls. Baker wore the obvious hat. Brainy wore classes. Vanity had a pink flower in his hat. And Clumsy looked sloppy. None of that distinction exists here. In fact the adult characters are more interesting than the little blue people, which is a kick in the ass in terms of marketing. Story is simple with repetitious animation. A magic flute falls into the wrong hands and a couple of humans seek help from the Smurfs in making a new one. Director John Rust directs with as little ambition as possible. The villain McCreep is perhaps the most interesting character. He steals the flute and uses it to rob people. Perhaps he should have used it to steal the screenplay for a decent rewrite. Knight Johan and his sidekick Peewit counter him until the last note is sprung from the second flute. Great cartoons are detailed in animation and personality. John Rust's film could only be improved if tossed in a fireplace. Score: ½ / 10

This is a real classic: fantastic story by Peyo, classy animation (far superior than Hanna & Barbera's) and great characters. For all the people complaining about the Smurfs not being the main characters, you just don't get it right. This was not meant as a Smurf's story, this was a Johan and Pirlouit story. In this story the Smurfs made their first appearance ever, and they were really meant as secondary characters. Only, they became so popular, that Peyo had to start the Smurf's comic book series, as well. So, blame it on the American distributors that marketed this as a Smurf film, while it's actually a fantastic Johan and Pirlouit story.

Many adults forget that children used to the animated series "the Smurfs" may be disoriented by "The Smurfs and the Magic Flute". I don't forget how confused I was when my parents brought this home from the video store. First off, none of the usual human characters in the animated series appear in the movie. (Missing is Gargamel, among others). The biggest difference is that the voices of the smurfs are completely different than they are in the show, and only a fraction of the personalities in the show are represented. The voices have an eery and, frankly, annoying sound effect on them, making them sound even more chirpy and otherworldy than they ever did on TV.These inexplicable inconsistencies are coupled with some basic faults: The smurfs do not appear until 20 minutes into the film, long after your kids have left the room or turned on the X box. The story is hard to follow and uninteresting. The magic Flute amounts to nothing more than an oddity for "hardcore" smurf fans.