Smurfs: The Lost Village (2017)

[esteban²]

Sony Pictures Animation, 2016

As most of the BRcom-members already know, there's a new Smurf project in the making.

On his blog, director Kelly Asbury stated he needs another year to deliver the quality he wants to get out of this project. And Sony Pictures Animation will give him the time he asked for. So the new Smurfs movie moves from summer 2015 to summer 2016.

He had more to say:

"Remember, this is not a sequel nor a prequel. It’s a whole new Smurf adventure! As a director, I’m very grateful to be given the proper time to make the movie I want to make and not have to compromise the quality on any front. Quality is a huge priority and it is no small task to achieve, especially on an animated feature."

"So, it will be coming out internationally in July 2016 and in the USA on August 5, 2016, one year later than originally planned when this project was initially conceived as a live action / animation hybrid SMURFS 3. This is a great thing for my team and me, since we are performing such a major re-imagining of the Smurf universe into a more Peyo look. We have lots of story, visual development, character designs and rigs, environments, assets, props…everything…and we need this added new production time to “get all our Smurfs in a row” and make the best movie possible."

The last quote is the most important one, imo. I'm the very first to confess I didn't like how Sony Animation ... well, raped the material they got in their hands. I actually feel a kind of

Some people might not know about it, since they grew up with the TV-series and all the other late stuff that came out; But the original source material is wonderfull stuff for all ages. The comics by Peyo were simply amazing in many ways. I'm not kidding, without any doubt, it's great stuff. The layered adventures were written in a clever way delivering on so many levels. While it all started with the great characters, the stories were smart and surprising, including life lessons, comedy of all kind (satire, physical jokes, winks for grown-ups) and still suited for children, without making the mistake of downtalking to them. The balance was just perfect.

It's not the first time I stated that the movies would have been great in the hands of Pixar, since all of the things you can find in their best movies are right there ... in the Peyo comics. So I actually am excited someone is finally telling Sony Animation to do this the right way. Fully animated, keeping up the spirit Peyo left behind in his art.