Columbia Pictures
Starring: Hank Azaria, Frank Welker
Also Starring: Mr. Krinkle, Vino, Cheetoh, Blaze and FG: The Riddler
Directed by: Raja Gosnell

Cat Out of the Bag Alert!  This review contains some spoilers for this film!

Synopsis: Peyo’s little blue creatures find themselves transported to New York City and followed by the evil wizard Gargamel.

Featured Feline: Azrael, Gargamel’s sidekick, is given as prominent a role as the evil wizard in this film. His part is achieved by a combination of live action cat actors and CGI plus vocalizations by Frank Welker. In still shots the difference is notable between the CGI and non-CGI shots but in the film it flows pretty smoothly between the techniques. In the films Gargamel understands what Azrael is saying, so they can actually converse.

We first see them in Gargamel’s cottage where the wizard is putting on a puppet show. Azrael misses his cue to attack the Smurf puppets.

Azrael is concerned when Gargamel wants to use magic to transport them to the Smurfs’ village. As usual he was right to be worried, as they both end up stuck in the wall.

The combative relationship between Gargamel and Azrael is similar to that in the cartoon series, with Gargamel seemingly not caring that much about the well-being of his furry companion. The first of a running gag occurs when they encounter the magical barrier surrounding the Smurf village. Not knowing if it is safe, Gargamel doesn’t hesitate to pick up Azrael and throw him through. He then asks, “Azrael … are you dead?” The cat answers back with a mew.

In this way they reach the village and cause havoc.

Escaping from the attack, some of the Smurfs find themselves in a cave with a vortex that opens up. To escape Gargamel and Azrael, Papa Smurf lets them go through. This is how they end up in New York City. Moments later Azrael appears through the hole and Gargamel calls after him, “Azrael … are you dead?”

The chase begins with Azrael going after the Smurfs, grabbing Smurfette by the hair.

Clumsy ends up in a box picked up by Patrick Winslow (Neil Patrick Harris) and Gargamel and Azrael lose them. But Azrael coughs up a hairball containing some of Smurfette’s hair and after setting up shop in the Belvedere Castle they begin their search for the Smurfs.

Using a business card he has found, Gargamel ends up at Patrick’s workplace called Anjelou, a cosmetics firm. Of course Azrael has to point it out to Gargamel, even though it is right in front of the man’s face.

After transforming Odile Anjelou’s (Sofía Vergara) mother, she wants Gargamel to work for her company. When she calls Gargamel a genius, Azrael laughs at him (Gargamel then stomps on his tail).

Odile takes Gargamel and Azrael to dinner where the cat eats Tim Gunn’s caviar and keeps eating off Gargamel’s plate as well (despite being thrown to the ground several times).

In what is the film’s unquestionably most tasteless gag, Gargamel relieves himself in an ice bucket, assuming it to be a chamber pot. Azrael understandably hides his face in his paws.

Gargamel and Azrael then spot the Smurfs in FAO Schwartz and take chase. Gargamel uses a leaf sucker to catch some Smurfs but then Smurfette tricks him into sucking up Azrael. Patrick then switches the machine from suck to blow and blows Azrael across the store.

Gargamel finally manages to use a rare Dragon Wand found at an old book store to capture Papa Smurf. This is because Papa Smurf sacrifices himself to save the others.

After tracking down Gargamel at Belvedere Castle, Smurfette goes to save Papa Smurf from Gargamel’s contraption to extract Smurf essence. Azrael appears and takes chase after her.

Smurfette eventually jumps on Azrael’s back and rides him like a bucking bronco. She then traps him under a heavy metal crate, the edge of which catches Azrael’s right ear, leaving his trademark nick.

In the end Gargamel swears revenge before being hit by a bus. “Are you dead?” Azrael calls after him, laughing.

A small tag is included which shows Gargamel lying in an alleyway with Azrael licking his face. “I wish I could quit you,” Gargamel says.

The head animal trainer on the film was Larry Madrid for Birds and Animals Unlimited. Six orange and white tabby cat actors were hired for the shoot but four did most of the work. The cat actors were reportedly Mr. Krinkle and Cheetoh (who also worked on the movie Within) as well as Vino, Blaze and FG: The Riddler (the FG standing for Frank Gorshin). Madrid also used a Burmese cat named GusGus as a motivation for making the other cats hiss on cue, since the other cats didn’t like him.

While fans of the original comics and even the Hanna Barbera animated series may find the movies too much of a departure from original canon to enjoy fully, the work done to bring Azrael to life makes these important in the history of cats on film.

Final Mewsings: Cat sidekicks really need to form their own union to demand better treatment.

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