This is really smurfin’ news.
(That’s the Smurfs thing, right? They use their name as an adjective? I’ll be honest, I kind of hated the Smurfs as a kid. I’m not a Smurfologist by any means.)
However the Smurfs roll, they’re getting a major new animated movie, one that Paramount just announced was coming from Nickelodeon Movies in the years ahead. They also made a major casting announcement, saying that none other than Rihanna will be voicing the character of Smurfette. In addition, the press release claims “she will also write and perform original music and serve as a producer for the film.”
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The upcoming movie, based on the original Smurfs comics by Peyo, will be directed by Chris Miller, who previously directed Shrek the Third and the first Puss in Boots. The previous three big-screen Smurfs movies all came from Sony Pictures. The first two, The Smurfs and The Smurfs 2, were live-action hybrids, with the Smurfs as animated characters alongside human beings (like Hank Azaria as the evil Gargamel). The final part of the trilogy, Smurfs: The Lost Village, was a more straightforward animated film (albeit with 3D animation rather than the traditional 2D style of the old Smurfs television cartoon.) In those movies, Smurfette was voiced by Katy Perry and Demi Lovato.
Although best known for her musical career, Rihanna has appeared in numerous movies, including Battleship and Ocean’s 8. She was recently nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song for “Lift Me Up,” which appeared on the soundtrack to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Rihanna’s Smurfs film, which is currently being referred to as Untitled Smurfs Animated Film, does not yet have a release date.
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