★★☆☆☆

THE decision to go fully animated as opposed to following in the live-action/CGI hybrid footsteps of the last two Smurfs movies merely takes it out of the frying pan of the cringe-worthy and straight into the fire of lightweight mediocrity.

You know where you are right away with The Smurfs: a bright blue-coloured world of peppiness and purity, populated by the likes of Grouchy Smurf, always grumbling about one thing or another; Nosey Smurf, who can’t keep out of everyone’s business and even Table Eating Smurf who, well, you get the idea.

The thin plot regurgitates familiar identity crisis beats: where does this leave Smurfette (pictured, and voiced by popstar Demi Lovato)? She isn’t a pure-blood Smurf but was created as an evil spy by the dastardly wizard Gargamel (Rainn Wilson) before the overwhelming goodness of the Smurf way of life transformed her.

She sets out on a journey with Brainy (Danny Pudi), Clumsy (Jack McBrayer) and Hefty (Joe Manganiello) in tow through the Forbidden Forest which leads to the titular village which is full of all manner of surprises and potential answers that were thought lost forever.

The beautifully animation makes it easy on the eyes and it is nice to see a child-friendly movie with a positive message for young girls. But it’s all too formulaic, saccharine and hyperactive for its own good, repeating its Smurfs versus Gargamel chase mentality ad nauseam and peppering everything with the kind of lame jokes and limp puns – “Prepare for Gar-mageddon!” – that are groan-worthy in the extreme.

Just because it’s aimed squarely at a very young cinema audience doesn’t mean they deserve something so utterly by-the-numbers.