Blue or red Where have the Smurfs' communist roots gone?

Smurfs, a new Paramount Pictures CGI spectacle directed by Chris Miller, has received an all-round critical panning and faltered at the box office.

- Philip Oltermann

Smurfs, a new Paramount Pictures CGI spectacle directed by Chris Miller, has received an all-round critical panning and faltered at the box office. But it has reminded viewers of the utter strangeness of the three-apples-tall characters originally conceived by the Belgian artist Pierre "Peyo" Culliford in 1958.

In the film, James Corden voices No Name Smurf, who experiences existential angst because unlike the other inhabitants of Smurf Village - Brainy, Grouchy, Hefty et al - he does not "have his own thing", a skill or character trait that makes him stand out. This special trait is eventually identified as "magic" and No Name is pressed - by a serenading Rihanna-voiced Smurfette - to realise his inner USP.

An identity crisis might be a relatively novel experience for the motormouthed British actor, but it is certainly a first in the 67-year history of Peyo's blue cosmos. In fact, it may be a contradiction in terms: to be a good Smurf, in the communist vision of the original comics, was to never elevate yourself above the collective.