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The Smurfs: Holiday Celebration includes two holiday specials from The Smurfs television series. The DVD runs about 48 minutes, with subtitles available.
The Smurfs are undeniably cute, but they are also involved in action-adventure stories, so parents may want to watch with very little ones, as scary villains and creatures sometimes threaten the lovable blue guys. But don’t worry, a happy ending is always just around the corner.
In The Smurfs Christmas Special everyone in Smurf Village is preparing for the holiday by decorating and making a great Smurfy pudding. Arch-enemy Gargamel (voiced by Paul Winchell) teams up with an evil wizard, who tries to kidnap a human brother and sister who are visting the Smurfs. The two children believe that Papa Smurf is Santa Claus, and the Smurfs once again are able to foil Gargamel and his evil plans.
‘Tis the Season to be Smurfy is another nice tale about helping others. It’s Wild Smurf’s first Christmas, and the Smurfs are again decorating their village. Grandpa Smurf (voiced by Jonathan Winters) and little Sassette Smurfling visit the nearby human village to check out their Christmas celebrations. They run across both bad and good humans — a pickpocket and a nice but very poor old man who makes puppets. The man’s wife is ill and can’t leave their home, but she wishes for a Christmas like when she was a girl. Grandpa Smurf and Sassette want to help them, and go back home to convince the other Smurfs to join them in giving the couple a nice holiday. The Smurfs are at first resistant, too busy with their own Christmas preparations to think about others. Papa Smurf soon reminds them of the real meaning of the holiday, and the Smurfs soon find themselves cast in the role of Christmas elves.
Both stories are fun and even exciting, and young viewers and their parents will enjoy their visit to the Smurfs’ village. The only complaint would be that there are only two episodes on the disc. It would have been nice to spend more time with Papa Smurf, Smurfette, and even Gargamel.
