A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

The Smurfs and the Magic FluteEarning money with a musical instrument is possible on the right subway platform.Mind you, the musician in this animated movie is making money through magic.When the king's jester Peewit (Cameron Clarke) gets a hold of a magical flute that can make people spontaneously dance when played, he attracts the attention of a merchant McCreep (Mike Reynolds), who steals the wind instrument to rob villagers.Now, Peewit and a knight's squire named Johan must use a wizard's spell in order to convene with the mystical blue-skinned forest creatures that first forged the flute if they hope to change McCreep's tune.Written and directed by the Smurf's creator Peyo, this 1976 hand-drawn feature from Belgium set the standard of what would go on to become the 1980s Saturday morning cartoon phenomenon; mostly because it feels like three episodes pieced together.Incidentally, when Smurf's hear the magic flute played they turn rabid.Green Lightvidiotreviews.blogspot.ca

The Smurfs and the Magic Flute (1976): Dir: John Rust / Voices: Cam Clarke, Mike Reynolds, Robert Axelrod, Michael Sorich, Ron Gans: Junk food animation so unappealing that like the flute it would likely put children to sleep. The first problem is that with the exception of Papa Smurf all of the little blue people look alike. In the Saturday morning cartoon they were given distinguishing identities but not here. Hefty had a heart tattooed on his shoulder. Handy wore overalls. Baker wore the obvious hat. Brainy wore classes. Vanity had a pink flower in his hat. And Clumsy looked sloppy. None of that distinction exists here. In fact the adult characters are more interesting than the little blue people, which is a kick in the ass in terms of marketing. Story is simple with repetitious animation. A magic flute falls into the wrong hands and a couple of humans seek help from the Smurfs in making a new one. Director John Rust directs with as little ambition as possible. The villain McCreep is perhaps the most interesting character. He steals the flute and uses it to rob people. Perhaps he should have used it to steal the screenplay for a decent rewrite. Knight Johan and his sidekick Peewit counter him until the last note is sprung from the second flute. Great cartoons are detailed in animation and personality. John Rust's film could only be improved if tossed in a fireplace. Score: ½ / 10

I thought that the characters were really funny and all had great personalities. The animation in My opinion was crisp, clean, and really clear. Not to mention beautiful! Most of the characters in this show are hilarious like the Looney Tunes characters that we all love. in My opinion these characters are the funnies and talented ever seen. In fact, The things that goes on in this series' cartoons are in My opinion nuts which that is what makes them hilarious! There are so many to like and laugh at and the silly things they do! If you like the original Looney Tunes and animated films then I strongly recommend that you watch this movie today!

Hello from Barcelona. Yes, this is a great movie. The smurfs don't appear until minute 35 or so but never mind. Johan and Pewee characters are lovely and we know they will meet smurfs later so never mind. The film is 74 minutes long, not 89. Michel Legrand songs are really beautiful and brilliant. All children will love this film and many not so children... Smurfs are drawn much better than the terrific Hanna-Barbera cartoon shows. Here they are just smurfs as they must be, not some kind of bad project bad drown and with no gracefulness. We see Peyo WAS in this movie. If you know the book of this film then you must watch this it. I wonder why it doesn't exist on DVD. There are some smurfs official DVD's in France but this movie is not available yet and I don't understand why if this is the only smurf film ever. I think you can find it in USA, UK, France, Germany, Belgium and Netherlands, but always in VHS format. In some countries it is long deleted since lots of years ago but easy to find in eBAY for example. It's nearly impossible to find in Spain 'cause it was only for rent. In Catalonia there are the catalan version which is just adorable. So...we want this movie on DVD today!! And you must watch it right now!! Joan from Barcelona