Children's films may be the roughest cinematic mountains to conquer. The filmmakers must focus on 2 viewpoints at constant odds with one another: children, who discover enjoyment in simplistic tales and extensively painted humor, and their parents, who need a reasonable grounded hook, emotional core and smart jokes to have them from nodding off. Not an simple job.

To view this successful blend performed by a 3-D, animation/live-action hybrid adaptation of a rather irritatingly sweet animation from the '80s…well, it's both a surprising and pleasant surprise. The Smurfs transcends latest property-grabs like Garfield, Alvin and the Chipmunks and Marmaduke by taking on the cartooniness, relishing in the fact that it can pull off anything by using adorable little blue people.

Smurfs takes the model utilized by 2007's Enchanted, kicking things off in the colourful, fantasy realm of Smurf Village and rapidly getting its cheery, naive heroes to the horrifying city of New York. After Clumsy Smurf by accident leads the Smurf-obsessive Gargamel (Hank Azaria) to the secret mushroom haven of his brethren, the bumbling black sheep of the Smurf family discovers himself and a few clan members, Papa, Brainy, Grumpy, Gutsy, Smurfette at the wrong end of a Blue Moon-induced worm hole. The team (together with Gargamel and his cat) end up face-planted in NYC's Central Park, where they meet Patrick Winslow (Neil Patrick Harris), yes man to the cosmetic titan Odile. This sets the competition in motion-the Smurfs enlisting the aid of Patrick to discover a way back home, Patrick looking for the ideal ad campaign for Odile's new make-up line and Gargamel questing hungrily for a couple of drops of Smurf essence.

If Smurfs has been merely a barrage of fart jokes and pop culture references the film would not click, but by providing each of his heroes something to do, director Raja Gosnell inserts the movie with a useful dose of heart. Together with Clumsy's mission to be more than his name demands, Harris' Patrick also has his own issues to get over. Namely, getting ready to be a Papa Smurf to the kid he is going to have with his wife Grace (Glee's Jayma Mays). Harris and Mays get their roles here seriously, going all out once they have to run after the adventurous Smurfs around town in one slapsticky sequence after another, but they put as much into their smaller scenes. One moment where Papa Smurf sits Patrick down for a "Dad talk" even has weight-a close to difficult job for a "kids" film.

But let's not get too sappy: the film is funny, that's the truth. Azaria makes a living bringing animation heroes to life-he's a cause why The Simpsons has been on for over 20 years-and his goofy Gargamel antics are influenced. A repeating gag where the evil wizard constantly steps through ventilation steam grates probably read fine in writing, but Azaria understands how to play big and will not let any moment of physical comedy to lazily fall through the cracks. Then again, Harris nails the straight man role and appreciates that spending time with Smurfs is just as weird as you'd imagine.

With solid children's flicks being a rare event, Smurfs is a breath of fresh air, a movie that believes in its own simple message while at the same time being self-aware of its cartoonish history. The movie's a smurfy good time, however it requires a specially smurfy Smurf to let go of cynical baggage and smurf it.