Four More Join "The Smurfs" Cast

Movie News

Four More Join "The Smurfs" Cast

By our guest blogger, Matt Jussim

Jonathan Winters, George Lopez, Katy Perry and Alan Cumming have all joined the cast of "The Smurfs" film for Sony Pictures.

According to Variety: The foursome is in various stages of talks to lend their voices to Sony's live-action/animated "Smurfs" movie.

The 84-year-old Winters, who voiced multiple characters on the long-running Hanna-Barbera cartoon version of "Smurfs," will play Papa Smurf. Pop singer Perry is in talks to portray Smurfette, Alan Cumming is taking on Gutsy Smurf and George Lopez is onboard as Grouchy Smurf.

Neil Patrick Harris has already signed on as the project's live-action character.

Raja Gosnell is directing the Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures Animation hybrid pic from a screenplay by David N. Weiss & J. David Stem and Jay Sherick & David Ronn. Jordan Kerner is producing.

The Smurfs were created in 1958 by Belgian cartoonist Pierre Culliford, better known as Peyo, and have spawned a number of print and small screen incarnations worldwide.

I’m usually wary of animated/live action films because they tend to turn out like “Garfield” and not “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” but I’m hoping that “The Smurfs” will be an exception.

It was one of my favorite cartoons as a kid, and the having Neil Patrick Harris as the lead is an excellent way to start. The voice talent so far looks good as well. I think it’s very cool that Winters is on after voicing on the original series, and both Cumming and Lopez should be funny in their respective roles. I also like the choice of Kay Perry, who could ad some ‘spunk’ to Smurfette.

“The Smurfs” will be released in 2011.