Sci-Fi Film and Television Developments

The Smurfs

6/16/10 – USA Today reported that a live-action comedy about those little blue forest-dwellers, Smurfs, is being shot in New York, through computer animation and eventual 3-D projection. A trailer debuts today; the film arrives in August 2011.  During the opening scene, set in that original time, Gargamel discovers the Smurfs' magical village and scatters them into the woods.  "Unfortunately, Clumsy goes the wrong way into a forbidden grotto where a few other Smurfs follow," says director Raja Gosnell. "Because it's a blue moon, there's a magical portal that transports them to Central Park."  Returning home is more complicated as Gargamel pursues them. The trio pictured — along with Smurfette, Brainy and a new character, the brave-to-a-fault Gutsy — take refuge with a husband and wife (Neil Patrick Harris and Glee's Jayma Mays).  Eating the Smurfs was always Gargamel's unfulfilled goal, but that's one idea the filmmakers decided to scrap. "We all wondered whether we would be making a family version of Sweeney Todd," jokes producer Jordan Kerner. Now, Gargamel simply wants to capture the Smurfs to serve as charms, whose mystical essence will make his inept magic more powerful — and dangerous.  You'll see the Smurfs "as fully living, breathing creatures," Gosnell says. "They're little mammals. They're vulnerable little creatures in our big modern world."  Heart is important in the film, but also a sense of humor. The Smurfs are so sweet and innocent that their clash with cynical city life was devised to provide some contrast and edge.  Dad and Mom may be amused by the out-of-the-mouths-of-babes naiveté of the characters, who speak the blunt truth that little kids sometimes do. "They see (Harris) putting on a tie, and wonder whether it's a leash. Then they think he's a merchant of beautiful cloth, or that he deals in sales — as in 'sail' boats," Kerner says. "He has to admit he wears it because everyone else wears it, and that's not something they understand."

3/29/10 - Sofia Vergara has been cast in The Smurfs, the Raja Gosnell-directed adaptation of the ’80s cartoon series that Columbia Pictures will release in summer 2011. Vergara will portray Odile, a powerful executive at a high-end French cosmetics company who is the boss of the live-action character played by Neil Patrick Harris.  Jayma Mays and Hank Azaria also are cast in the movie, which begins shooting in New York in the next week.

3/17/10 - Jayma Mays will star as the female human lead in The Smurfs, directed by Raja Gosnell, according to The Hollywood Reporter.  Hank Azaria has been cast as the voice of Gargamel, the sworn enemy of the Smurfs.  Mays is playing the pregnant wife of the already cast Neil Patrick Harris, the film's other human lead.

3/5/10 - Katy Perry, George Lopez, Jonathan Winters and Alan Cumming will lend their voices to the upcoming live-action/animated Smurfs movie, according to Variety.  Perry will likely voice Smurfette, with Lopez taking on the part of Grouchy Smurf; Winters voicing multiple characters and Cumming bring Gutsy Smurf to life.  Neil Patrick Harris has already been cast as the lead live action character in the film.  Smurfs will begin production later this month and will hit theaters in July 2011.

7/9/09 - Raja Gosnell has signed on to direct the live-action/animated hybrid Smurfs movie for Columbia Pictures and Sony Animated, according to The Hollywood Reporter; the story is a secret but is expected to feature well-loved characters such as Papa Smurf, Smurfette and the villainous Gargamel.

06/12/08 - Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation have obtained the film rights to the Smurfs cartoon franchise from Lafig Belgium. Jordan Kerner is producing the film, which will combine elements of live action and animation. David Stem and David Weiss are in negotiations to write the screenplay.  Best known in the United States from the long-running Hanna-Barbara cartoon, the Smurfs were created in 1958 by Belgian cartoonist Pierre Culliford, known throughout the world as Peyo. The Smurfs, originally called "Les Schtroumpfs" in French, were created for a Belgian series of comic books, first as minor characters. The villagers, known for their blue skin and small stature, spawned a line of statuettes, games, toys, theme parks and a hit TV series, which ran as part of NBC's Saturday-morning lineup from 1981-90.  “The Smurfs are one of the best-known franchises and among the most beloved collection of characters in the world," Columbia co-president Doug Belgrad said. "We're very excited to introduce a new generation to Papa Smurf, Smurfette and the other smurftastic Smurfs in all of their 'three-apple-tall' glory."

12/31/06 - This one is getting serious.  We've heard this story more than once that a Smurf film is in progress.  It was a fun cartoon as a kid but looking back now, there's a lot to be answered...such as why did I ever watch that ridiculous cartoon?  Can't imagine this film being any better.  No word on dates yet.

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