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While the new Smurfs movie, starring Rihanna, packs a lot into its 92-minute runtime, there was a cut scene that director Chris Miller (Puss in Boots) wishes had made the cut.
Speaking to ClutchPoints about the latest Smurfs movie, Miller conceded that “there's always something that doesn't make the cut. In the case of Smurfs, there is a scene where some of the blue creatures hop into different dimensions while running from Gargamel (JP Karliak).
It is similar to the scene in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness where Benedict Cumberbatch and Xochitl Gomez's characters travel through different dimensions. In Smurfs, the various dimensions range from Mario homages to a 1-D drawing aesthetic.
There are about four of them in the movie, but there was another Miller wished he was able to include. If there is a sequel, expect Miller to find a place for it. He called it the “most memorable” thing left on the cutting room floor.
“I'll tell you — I would put this in the next one if we [get one] because it didn't make it in,” Miller teased. “There was a street art chase scene, like a graffiti chase scene. Ultimately, it's just like, Oh, it's great, but it doesn't work.
“I wanna show it,” Miller emphasized. “The reason why I love that is 'cause [when] I walk around LA, I see street art of Smurfs, and it always blows my mind. It's nothing like [what] Smurfs look like, you know what I mean? It's always abstracted, and that was really the whole inspiration for that sequence. In many ways, it's like, Let's show Smurfs in different ways and have fun with designs and be unexpected.”
Staying true to the look of the Smurfs
At certain times in Smurfs, the movie goes into the real world, blending the CGI characters and real-world environments. Still, the characters retain a look similar to the original comics. This was a conscious decision made by Miller, who wanted to deviate from Sony's 2011 and 2013 Smurfs movies. Those movies heavily leaned into “realistic” versions of the CGI blue characters being in the real world.
Instead, Miller wanted to create characters with a “flatness” and “volume.” His goal was to create worlds that felt “immersive” for fans.
“I saw those films [in 2011 and 2013] that you're talking about. The choice was made like, Let's go for realism,” Miller explained. “Ever since I saw the comics, even before those movies were made, I [was] like, [If I] ever get an opportunity to make a Smurfs film, they should look like the comics. They should at least possess the DNA of the comics and those Peyo designs.
“In this case, it's like, Let's make sure they feel handcrafted,” he added.
The “absurdity” of blending live-action and CGI
While Miller aimed to differentiate his films from the early 2010s Smurfs movies, there are some scenes where live-action and CGI collide.
These scenes were “absurd” to film, as Miller put it. They needed a still maquette puppet that was “three crab apples tall,” the same size as a Smurf in the real world, and then filled the streets with their extensive crew. For as crazy as it sounds, it allowed Miller and Co. to envision the scene for post-production.
“You get these crews of a couple hundred people on a city street with this little Smurf sitting there, and a camera and a huge crane, and you're just starting to think, Okay, that's what the Smurf looks like,” he said.
They would then shoot the shot needed before taking the maquette out. There is one scene in Paris that was particularly challenging to make. “It was a lot of big, flying cameras, and it's dynamic. But you're always going back to that maquette…it's crazy,” Miller concluded.
Smurfs will be released on July 18.
