Review: The Smurfs “Who Nose?/Smurfy Secrets”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Who Nose?

Hefty is convinced that his nose is too big, so he decides to get a new one.

Smurfy Secrets

When Brainy learns that Gargamel is trying to transform into a Smurf, he and Storm put a new security protocol in place under the request of Papa Smurf. The Smurfs must share one of their secrets to prove their identity.

Our Take:

Its first episode, “Who Nose?”, sees Hefty Smurf attempting to get a nose job to impress Smurfette. Instead, it leads him to be transformed into a giant nose. The episode follows the formulaic storyline in which Hefty tries to change himself to win over Smurfette, and by that, I mean his nose. The only things that compensated for its predictability were its message about respecting yourself and the humor involving Hefty’s nose changes.

“Smurfy Secrets” is the second half-hour special of the season, following “The Pluffs” last month. So what kind of epic plot do we have for this latest two-parter? Why, it features Gargamel disguising himself as a Smurf, of course. But, more importantly, it involves Brainy and Storm being “Smurf Secret” officers to foil Gargamel’s plan. Unfortunately, this strategy quickly became a catastrophe, thanks to Jokey Smurf.

After “The Pluffs” offered a solid start to the show’s potential series of two-part specials, The Smurfs is looking to repeat that success with “Smurfy Secrets”. Sadly, it wound up being a minor step backwards from what the previous two-parter delivered story-wise. However, it’s not without its share of stellar slapstick, such as the secrets with the word “Smurf” in them and Gargamel attempting to transform into a Smurf.  

The only thing that I’m not a fan of aside from its unnecessary two-part structure is Jokey. The first part of “Smurfy Secrets” sees Jokey stealing Brainy’s journal of secrets and sharing them with the rest of the Smurfs. This resulted in Brainy and Storm taking the blame, even though Jokey performed this despicable action in plain sight. This is another episode that showcases Jokey as a difficult character to like, and I thought Chef Smurf was despicable at times. Papa forced Jokey to give back the pages at the end, but I think they could’ve picked a much better punishment for him.

Overall, it’s no secret that both episodes were enjoyable for their slapstick humor despite their shortcomings. “Who Nose?” offered a suitable message and plenty of nose-related comedy to overshadow its predictable story, while “Smurfy Secrets” would’ve been better off as a single episode. The two-part special has its moments regarding the humor and Gargamel’s mother, but it’s a far cry from “The Pluffs” due to its structure and Jokey’s irritating persona. Hopefully, the show will try to steer clear of Jokey’s pranks for at least a few episodes.