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We started, in 2011<\/span>, with the pop singer-songwriter Katy Perry stepping into the pearly-white high-heels of that most coveted role in the world of animated voice-acting: Smurfette. She managed to retain the role for the 2013<\/span> sequel, but then lost it to pop singer-songwriter Demi Lovato, who took the reins for 2017<\/span>\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>Smurfs: The Lost Village<\/i>. And now, in 2025<\/span>, we have yet another pop singer-songwriter lending their dulcet tones to essay the only female Smurf in existence.<\/span><\/p>\n Like the vaunted roster of famous actors who have played Hamlet, we will soon be able to namecheck that glorious lineage of actors who have tried their hand at Smurfette, with Rihanna stepping up to the plate for this latest incarnation. \u200b\u201c<\/span>I loved your Smufette,\u201d people will call from the jostling throngs outside a\u00a0gala premi\u00e8re, or from the front rows of a\u00a0stadium concert. We only have to imagine who next will be tapped up to play animation\u2019s most iconic lone female?<\/span><\/p>\n We mention this because the tagline \u200b\u201c<\/span>Rihanna is Smurfette\u201d appears to be the sole marketing strategy for this new piece of familiar filler fodder, its distributors obviously convinced that this is the only piece of information that potential viewers will need to know in order to convert them from \u200b\u201c<\/span>Smurf curious\u201d to \u200b\u201c<\/span>Smurf client\u201d. It\u2019s interesting to see that most of the reaction from her fans to this headline star casting is some variation of, \u200b\u201c<\/span>Rih-rih, why are you doing this instead of going back to the studio? It\u2019s been nine years since the last record!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Sad to say, however, that her voice acting in Smurfs is not going to scratch that particular itch, as she and her brethren head off on a\u00a0standard-issue inter-dimensional journey to prevent a\u00a0magic book from slipping into the hands of Gargamel\u2019s even-more-evil brother, Razamel. The plot is slipshod, the jokes are weak and the animation style offers very little to lodge into the memory. It has all the characteristics of one of those movies \u2013 that have become quite a\u00a0regular occurrence now \u2013 where the only reason for its existence is to fulfil a\u00a0contractual obligation and justify further retention of IP<\/span> rights.<\/span><\/p>\n Unlike the original Katy Perry-era films, which placed the animated Smurfs against live-action backdrops and alongside human actors, this one has occasional scenes of our lil\u2019 blue pals wandering through the streets of Paris or London, but it all looks like anonymous stock footage. It\u2019s such a\u00a0strange and alienating creative decision, and almost lends the film an experimental edge.<\/span><\/p>\n Elsewhere we\u2019ve got some weak, showtune-esque musical numbers, some wacky alternative animated inserts, and a \u200b\u201c<\/span>stop the bad guy from getting the thing\u201d storyline that even the majority of its pre-teen audience will have seen a\u00a0billion times before. This is so sub-par that it even had this reviewer secretly yearning for the Wildean-wit (relatively speaking) and toe-tapping musicality of the Trolls movies. And James Cordon, fittingly, gives his voice to a\u00a0Smurf who has no purpose in the\u00a0world.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nGet more Little White\u00a0Lies<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n