I typically see a lot of movies with my kids that I don’t review here. That’s not entirely out of laziness but more due to being uncomfortable critiquing something that was not necessarily designed for me. At some point for everyone though, you must step out of your comfort zone and do the right thing. For me, that point was taking my 4-year-old to see The Smurfs and hating it so badly that I must ward off any reasonable human being from seeing it. I’m not quite sure what irritates me the most: that I paid $15 for the two of us to see it, that it literally felt like the longest 90 minutes ever, or that I just indirectly contributed to the already announced sequel.

Much like a good chunk of our readership (at least I assume), The Smurfs were one of those childhood staples that were always around, whether on TV, on the racks of the video store, or on the shelves at the local Toys’R'us. Truth be told though, I could’ve cared less about a Smurfs movie because it was going to happen anyway and I wasn’t going to lose any sleep over “ruining” something I can barely remember from twenty years ago. Yet, those responsible for this pile of cinematic detritus created a farce so abysmally bad that I would crap on it regardless if it was a remake, a reboot, or an entirely original idea (if those exist anymore).

Things start fine with the blue-skinned, white pants-wearing Smurfs doing whatever their individual job entails whether that is fixing things, angrily commenting, or being uncoordinated. After Clumsy leads Gargamel to the village, the smurfs run for the hills while a few including Papa Smurf and Smurfette instead get consumed by a wormhole which transports them to New York City. Gargamel and Azrael follow so that Gargamel can extract the Smurf magic but is thwarted by the little blue things and Neil Patrick Harris. God, it hurts to recall these scant details.

Even though it has been out a few weeks, the showing my daughter and I attended was fairly full with families and kids. Yet, other than the movie, the only discernible noise from the audience was the creaking reclining chairs and the few who shuffled out of the theater early and did not return. I hope they snuck into a better movie. For a kid, this film will do just fine even though it lacks anything at all remarkable. I bet if you ask a patron under the age of 5 what their favorite part was, they’d merely say “the whole thing!” as there is little here to bother recalling after the credits roll.

As an adult, this was one of the most painful movies I’ve watched recently. Neil Patrick Harris has a few somewhat entertaining moments, Jayma Mays as his wife is dull and inconsequential, and the human-side of the story about Harris’ character worrying about his job and accepting his future as a father-to-be is overwrought and just simply boring. I feel I cannot lay too much blame on director Raja Gosnell as this was likely designed as a soulless cash grab from day one regardless of who was writing or directing it. Rather than plunking out an ungodly amount of money to see this movie, buy your kids some marbles or socks instead. They will thank you in the long run.

***I DID NOT SEE THIS FILM IN 3D.***

Given its competition, Kung Fu Panda 2 is probably the last movie on most people’s list to go and see right now. I sincerely hope not, as Kung Fu Panda 2 is very enjoyable, even better than its predecessor and will entertain adults and children alike.

In the first Kung Fu Panda, we met Po (Jack Black), a panda with a goose (James Hong) for a father and devoted fan of the Furious Five, a group of Kung Fu masters.  He defeated Tai Lung and attained the title of Dragon Warrior. In the sequel, China faces a new villain, a peacock named Shen (Gary Oldman). Shen has vowed to destroy Kung Fu and has developed a deadly weapon to help him accomplish this goal. While fighting a pack of wolves stealing metal for the weapon, Po notices a symbol and suddenly has a flashback of his mother. This prompts him to ask his father Mr. Ping where he came from, as clearly he could not have been born of  geese. He learns that this is true, but the story he is told does not reveal much more than him being found as a baby panda in a crate in the back of Mr. Ping’s restaurant. Mr. Ping took him in a raised him as his own. Still having many unanswered questions, Po is often distracted in his battles with Shen and his minions. This irritates Tirgess (Angelina Jolie) as she fears this is compromising their mission.

Panda 2 is one of those sequels that somehow vastly improves from the first film. The jokes are funnier, the story is darker and more complex, Jack Black is less Jack Blackier. There is a lot more fighting and action. It just really takes the awesomeness of the first film makes it exponentially better.

As an adult, this film is very satisfying. It is visually quite stunning. The jokes aimed for adults are quite witty. What grown ups will most appreciate is the much darker and deeper story line. It’s just as interesting than any live action film’s plot and ties together very nicely.

Even more impressive is at the same time, every kid in the theater was just as engrossed in the film as I was. It successfully captures the interest of both kids and adult at the same time, rather than alternating captivating one and alienating the other scene after scene.

Even though you kind of know what will ultimately happen in the end and even if it hadn’t ended on a cliffhanger, the film makes you want to see more of this story. The first film did a nice job of introducing us to these characters, and the sequel delves deep in to the character development of Po. In the first film, we know very little about him, other than his fanaticism for the Furious Five and his hilarious ineptitude.  This chapter starts telling us who he is and where he came from while simultaneously furthering his relationship with the Five on personal levels. I am very interested to see this progress.

I had a feeling I would enjoy this movie, but my expectations were exceeded. Thoroughly enjoyable and there isn’t anything not to like.