Since the Belgian comic strip debuted in 1958, the Smurfs have launched their own cult '80s cartoon, released several albums, and spawned videogames, figurines, and theme-park attractions. There was even a Smurfs on Ice show. But this weekend they hope to blue away the box-office competition when a live-action 3-D movie is released, featuring Neil Patrick Harris, Hank Azaria, and the voices of Katy Perry, Jonathan Winters, and George Lopez. Not that the franchise isn't without controversy. There are some critics who view the adorable Smurf village as a metaphor for a "Marxist utopia," with Brainy Smurf representing Leon Trotsky and the bearded Papa Smurf as a stand-in for Karl Marx himself.
Which is just smurfing ridiculous.