'The OddSockEaters' DVD: Eastern European Smurfs

Omnibus Entertainment gets 2019 off on a delightfully quirky foot (pun) intended with the January 8 DVD release of the animated family film "OddSockEaters." This tale of the Czech equivalent of The Smurfs is based on the book series by Pavel Strut.

The following YouTube clip of an "Odd" trailer nicely conveys the themes and the tone of of this offbeat film. 

The titular sock-consuming creatures arguably are cannibals in that they closely resemble their food source; having their own communities and living under the radar of humans prompts the comparison to The Smurfs. As a featured review of this film notes, covert habitation of our homes and taking one sock from a pair introduces an aspect of the literary characters The Borrowwers. 

Big Boss is the Papa Smurf of one OddSockEaters community; the law that he enforces to impose order includes requiring taking only one sock per pair. The assertion regarding his code of ethics is that he shares the pair with the humans. Supplies of these goods include private homes, stores, and laundromats. 

The conflict that is at the center of the film relates to troublemaker Spike; this malcontent is a former member of the gang of Big Boss. He forms his own group after facing the wrath of Big Boss for taking both socks during a heist.

Innocent young Hugo gets drawn into this when the "fading away" of his grandfather leads to this boy going to live with Uncle Big Boss and his twin cousins.

The Gargamel of the franchise is a nutty professor, who is the only one who can see the titular creatures and believes that they exist. His constant efforts to capture one of these little guys reflects his obsession regarding proving their existence and enjoying the resulting fame and fortune.

Hugo coming along at a time that the gang war between Big Boss and Spike is heating up leads to our little blue buddy embarking on an undercover rescue mission to the lair of the Blades whom Spike leads. There even is a Smurfette in the form of Bladette, who fully is a member of the family.

All of this builds to comic mayhem as the world of Big Boss unravels around him; there are large stakes, frantic chases, and unlikely alliances.

This kid-friendly film ends with age-appropriate morals. The characters who are redeemable learn about what really is important in life and those beyond saving pay for their crimes.

The bottom line is that the kids will enjoy the characters, the music, and the adventures.  Aforementioned goofiness of the story and Euro-style animation will entertain the adults, including parents who face endlessly watching this movie,