Feeling Blue? Join the exciting adventures of our stalwart crew as they join forces to rescue Smurfette, who knows a secret....

The opening credits feature pop-up pages in a child's book. Every child in the screening audience recognized them right away. In fact, other than the toddler who was instantly (and vocally) bored, the rug-rats seemed very involved; they were quiet and well-behaved. These opening credits, by the way, are the only time I felt the 3D was used to any special effect. It's lovely for the travelogue/story that follows, but it does NOT enhance the plot.

New Yorkers Patrick and Grace dash off to Paris to help their friends when Smurfette needs to be rescued. To me, the joy was to recognize Montmartre, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, the Champs-Élysées, Jardin des Tuileries, and Place de la Concorde, with a few more thrown in for good measure! (Like the ferris wheel that seems to come and go in Paris these days.)

We saw:

• * Neil Patrick Harris ("The Smurfs") as Patrick, the Smurfs' Number One friend who helps them when sweet little Smurfette is lured away by the evil wizard's cute henchmen.
• * Jayma Mays ("The Smurfs") is Grace, Patrick's wife, and mother to a four-year-old boy named Blue.
• * Hank Azaria ("The Smurfs") is Gargamel, the evil wizard who needs two things: 1) The Secret Formula, and 2) the "Essence" of a few Smurfs.
• * Brendan Gleeson ("The Guard") is Victor, Patrick's most UNwelcome step-father, who has all the finesse of a bull in a china shop.
• * Katy Perry (Lots of TV) is the voice for Smurfette.
• * An amazing Computer Generated cat. Technology wins again!

The Smurfs each have their own personalities and are portrayed by "name brand" actors. I won't go into that here, as there is nothing distinctive to note.

The message in this movie is that parents love their adopted children as though they are their own. Not a bad thing...