Smelliville parents guide

Smelliville Parent Guide

This really stinks!

Overall C

Digital on Demand: The people of Smelliville want to pave over the stinky local dump but a new family of garbage-eating creatures have just moved in.

Release date July 30, 2021

Violence A
Sexual Content A
Profanity B+
Substance Use A-

Why is Smelliville rated PG? The MPAA rated Smelliville PG for rude material, language, and brief smoking

Run Time: 84 minutes

Parent Movie Review

Smelliville is a town with a problem: the local dump stinks so badly that tourists have stopped coming, which is forcing local businesses to close their doors for good. Luckily, the mayor’s wife (Tracey Grey) has a plan. She has hired a businessman named Mr. Hammer (Tom Zahner) to build a wellness temple over the dump. Unfortunately, the dump has some new residents, the Ogglies, a family of garbage eating creatures just looking for a home. After befriending the Ogglies, the mayor’s son, Max (Ben Young), must find a way to save the Ogglies’ home, while also saving his town.

Part of me is compelled to just write a one sentence review for Smelliville: it’s gross and badly made and has no substantial positive messages so please don’t waste your time. That’s all this movie deserves in my opinion. However, out of respect for Parent Previews, but not for this production, I will endeavor to elaborate.

Firstly, this movie is gross. The writers rely heavily on farts and burps for “laughs”, but even for immature audiences, it ends up being a bit too much. I just felt vaguely queasy for most of the (mercifully short) runtime, and I usually have a strong stomach! On top of the cringe-y potty humor, the movie suffers from terrible animation and even worse voice acting. I understand the constraints of budgets on animation quality, so I’d be willing to overlook that if the acting or story were any good. None of the voice actors are even passably acceptable in this production. I’ve heard better acting in middle school English classes and those kids aren’t being paid to perform! I’m not 100% sure whether this film was done in English originally or if it was dubbed. The mouths don’t match the words all the time, but they do match often enough that I think we can chalk it up to the poor animation, not dubbing.

Lastly, and perhaps most egregiously, this story has no clear positive message. There’s sort of a theme about not judging by appearances, but that doesn’t really come up until the very end and makes no sense plot wise. I assumed there’d be some sort of environmental message, since the dump is a main plot point, but no; the good guys want to keep the large open-air garbage dump how it is. I’m no doctrinaire conservationist, but aren’t those kinds of dumps extremely bad for the environment? At least the bad guys want to plant some grass and trees. The antagonists are also trying to save the local economy so small businesses don’t have to close. Sure, it all works out for the town in the end, but that wasn’t the protagonists’ intentions; it just kind of happened. There are also a few lines of dialogue that are blatantly sexist, which only deepened my fart-induced discomfort.

In closing, there’s no reason at all to watch Smelliville. If you want some kid-aimed media with environmental messaging or themes around not judging by appearances, there are far better options out there. Save yourself the nausea-inducing combination of bad acting, cheap animation, and endless burping. I went through it so you don’t have to. Don’t let my sacrifice be in vain.

Directed by Toby Genkel and Jens Meller. Starring Ben Young, Lily Held, Tracey Grey. Running time: 84 minutes. Theatrical release July 30, 2021. Updated

Watch the trailer for Smelliville

Smelliville
Rating & Content Info

Why is Smelliville rated PG? Smelliville is rated PG by the MPAA for rude material, language, and brief smoking

Violence: There is mild cartoon violence. A boy is accidently knocked unconscious. A man flies through the air and hits the ground.
Sexual Content: A married couple briefly kiss.
Profanity: Insults such as nincompoop, nutcase, and freak. There are nine uses of mild expletives.
Alcohol / Drug Use: A character smokes briefly. A woman constantly uses “anti-stress drops”.

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Smelliville Parents' Guide

Why do the Ogglies have to keep moving towns? What happens when the townsfolk get to know them?

Loved this movie? Try these books…

This film is based on a book series written by Erhard Dietl. It begins with The Ogglies of Smelliville.

There’s a surfeit of books for kids that teach young readers not to judge people based on external qualities. Patty Lovell and David Catrow are the author and illustrator of Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon, a charming picture book about an unusual looking child with a robust sense of self that allows her to overcome the school bully.

In The New Bear at School, poor Boris desperately wants to make friends but his teeth and claws scare his classmates. Carrie Weston and Time Warnes have created a charming picture book with a message about encouraging empathy and kindness.

Steve Seskin’s Don’t Laugh at Me illustrates a song that urges kids to treat others with respect and compassion and to bring an end to bullying.

For a fun twist on the fairytale genre, kids can read Ten Big Toes and a Prince’s Nose. Written by Nancy Gow and illustrated by Stephen Costanza, this story tells the tale of a princess with big feet and a prince with a big nose who are constantly overlooked by people who can’t see beyond their unusual features – that is, until they meet each other.

Home Video

Related home video titles:

If it’s a strong environmental message you’re after, the obvious choice is The Lorax with its plea for humans to look after the environment. Pixar’s Wall-E also provides a strong warning about the dangers of over-consumption and pollution.

In Shrek and Shrek 2, an ogre must overcome prejudice and violence on the road to his happily-ever-after.

Luca is the story of a sea monster who transforms into a human on land. Along with another buddy from under the sea, he learns about prejudice, loyalty and persistence and the local townsfolk learn not to judge based on appearances.