The Smurfs Tagged Articles at Cinematical

I'd like to think that someone was tapping into the liberty caps when they decided to make a live-action/animated movie of the Smurfs. It would, in so many ways, be fitting. Or at least an excuse. But in reality, studios just seem to find something irresistible about CG + live action, or animated characters becoming live action. The Cat in the Hat, The Chipmunks, Scooby Doo...

It may have taken a long time to get to this point, but now Variety reports that the guy who brought us Beverly Hill Chihuahua and Scooby, Raja Gosnell, is primed to direct Smurfs for a release on December 17, 2010. Between his involvement and the writers -- J. David Stern and David N. Weiss from Shrek 2 -- they've come up with the script that is being polished by Audrey Wells (George of the Jungle) -- I'm sure this is one of those projects that will make the old fans groan, yet seem to attract an immense audience that paves the way for even more reboots. Muppet Babies, Pound Puppies, Care Bears, oh my!

All of that snarkiness aside, I will probably see this sucker in the theaters if they take a cue from ex-Cinematical writer Christopher Campbell and cast Abe Vigoda. That would be the stuff of legend!

Paramount family division Nickelodeon Movies is set to make feature films based on the cute and highly collectible toys manufactured by Kidrobot, according to Variety. The homogeneously shaped yet heterogeneously decorated toys, which are smooth, cartoon-like action figures adorned with limited-edition designs created by well-known international artists, are to star in a series of films mixing animation and live-action. The studio will work with Kidrobot owner W!LDBRAIN, the animation studio that also produces the show Yo Gabba Gabba! for Nick Jr., and original owner/creator Paul Budnitz, who still functions as president of Kidrobot. Two years ago, when W!LDBRAIN bought stake in Kidrobot, the company's main goal was to produce TV series, feature films and direct-to-video projects involving the toys.

Unlike many toys-turned-movies, though, the Munny and Dunny (and Labbit, etc.) figures from Kidrobot have no backstory, so producer Scott Aversano (Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events), who heads the Nickelodeon and MTV film labels, is seeking a screenwriter to come up with something involving kids who are somehow transported into the "edgy world" populated by the creatures.

The retro revivals just keep coming. Variety reports that Columbia Pictures and Sony Animation are bringing The Smurfs to the big screen. David Stem and David Weiss, the authors behind the last two installments of Shrek, are in talks to pen the screenplay. No word yet on director, release date, or plot outline.

A Smurfs movie has actually been in the works since 2002 at Paramount/Nickelodeon (we first reported on it back in 2005), but producer Jordan Kerner has brought the rights over to Sony. The original plan was to make it a 3-D CGI feature which, frankly, sounds terrifying to me. Sony Animation plans to make it a combination of live action and CGI, like Alvin and the Chipmunks. I'm unsettled by the idea of seeing them in CGI, as I think their charm primarily comes from their classic animation. Chipmunks can be (relatively) cute in CGI, but Smurfs?

I guess it's never fun to be fired, but I bet it's worse when there is a full-page press release about it. Variety reports that Colin Brady has been replaced by David Bowers to direct the feature film version of the classic manga, Astro Boy. The announcement was made by Imagi Entertainment's Co-CEO & Chief Creative Officer, Francis Kao, and there was no official reason given for the switch. It doesn't look like Imagi has really 'traded up' all that much with their choice of director. Brady was a newbie director with only one film under his belt, and Bowers' last film was Flushed Away.

Created in 1951 by "God of Manga," Osamu Tezuka, Astro Boy tells the story of a young robot boy who fights crime and technology gone wild, as well as the usual manga struggles of humanity versus technology, and of course, what it means to be human. Michael Lachance's script will focus on "a young robot with incredible powers created by a brilliant scientist in the image of the son he has lost. Unable to fulfill the grieving man's expectations, our hero embarks on a journey in search of acceptance, experiencing betrayal and a netherworld of robot gladiators, before he returns to save Metro City and reconcile with the father who had rejected him."

It's too bad that Brady won't get the chance to direct the boy in the red boots, since he seemed pretty keen on the whole thing back in November. But I wouldn't feel too bad for Brady; the visual effects master has already scored the job of directing another classic kid's tale, The Smurfs. Astro Boy is scheduled for release in 2009.