If you grew up in the ‘80s, there’s a strong likelihood that The Smurfs were a part of your childhood, and there have been a couple of attempts to dip back into that nostalgia for the next generations. That latest effort, the new Smurfs animated movie, hits the 2025 movie calendar on July 18, and the critics are here to help parents decide if they should plan on taking the kids to the theater this weekend.
Directed by Chris Miller and written by Pam Brady, Smurfs features an ensemble voice cast and original music by Rihanna. The nine-time Grammy winner also stars as Smurfette alongside Nick Offerman, Natasha Lyonne, Sandra Oh, Octavia Spencer and many more. Despite those collective talents, Johnny Oleksinski of the New York Post gives the movie zero stars, calling it one of the worst movies of the year and saying: “I Smurf-ing loathed it.” The critic says of the animated musical:
