I might be biased, but the ’80s really had to be the best decade for cartoons. How can you beat My Little Pony, He-Man, the Care Bears or, best of all, the Smurfs? Execs at Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation must agree, because they’re bringing our little blue friends to the big screen in a live action/animated version (a similar treatment as Alvin and the Chipmunks). Though the details are still being worked out, I’ve got a few casting suggestions for who should voice some choice Smurf Village inhabitants:
Papa Smurf = Alec Baldwin. As I re-watched some old Smurfs clips on YouTube, I couldn’t help but notice that the Smurf patriarch has a voice that strikes both wise and whimsical notes. Does that remind anyone else of 30 Rock’s "wise" but whimsical boss Jack Donaghy? Or is it just me?
Smurfette = This one’s obvious, but the flirty she-Smurf would be best served in the capable hands of Jennifer Tilly — a toned down Jennifer Tilly. This is a kids movie.
Gargamel = I’m assuming this character will be played by a real person, so the proper voice and a passing physical likeness are in order. Ricky Gervais is my choice. They have a similar look (which could be punched up with the right makeup) and he would be able to reproduce Gargamel’s garbled accent.
What do you think PopWatchers? Do you have any casting suggestions for your favorite Smurf?
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I just wanted to agree that the 80’s rocked for cartoons and toy tie in ads made to look like cartoons. The Thundercats and Robotech (the Macross saga anyway), Transformers, Gi Joe, M.A.S.K, the Beverly Hills teens, even GEM and She-ra were fun to watch after school.
Saturday mornings brought us Galaxy High (my favorite teen drama to this day), Saturday Supercade, the Pole Position series, and Nickelodeon provided us with Danger Mouse (Speaking of characters that should be voiced by Ricky Gervais, where the heck is the DM remake? Gervais would make the perfect Penfold).
I won’t watch the smurfs, but will soon have a daughter, which means in the next few years I’m destined to watch the straight to dvd sequel.
nah not alec baldwin. i say papa smurf should be voiced by morgan freeman!
Papa Smurf: Samuel L. Jackson
Smurfette: Amy Poehler
Gargamel: Alan Rickman
Yes, Tilly would be a good Smurfette — but I also suggst Kristin Chenoweth (Wicked, West Wing, Pushing Daisies) – think she would be great! And yes, DEF Alan Rickman!!
As much as I love the smurfs (I still have some of the figurines I collected as a child) I really don’t want to see this made into a crappy, fart joke filled movie. The movie producers have already ruined Scooby Doo, He-Man, Garfield, Alvin and the Chipmunks, and Underdog. However, if they decide to go through with it, keep it animated. Please don’t add any live action to it.
Having said that, I think Hugh Laurie would be perfect to voice Grumpy Smurf.
I think Paul Giamatti for Gargamel.
EP Sato, I love you!!! You remember Beverly Hill Teens. Whenever I used to mentioned that cartoon to people, they tell me it never existed. (Although, now you can catch it on YouTube, y’all.) I used to watch it every afternoon when I got out of school at the house of the lady who lived across the street from my grandma.
I hated when it disappeared!! I still remember the stupid theme song 20 years later.
This could be cool or really bad. Why dont they just make a new cartoon? Jennifer Tily as Smurfette. That is a good choice but she would have to tone it down. Unless they wanted to make her a slut. LOL Come on one woman with a hundred guys? She had it made. hahaha.
Ep Sato – your mention of Beverly Hills Teens took me down memory lane! i always wanted to be Bianca (minus the chip on her shoulder).
as for the smurfs…i always pictured danny devito as gargamel and kristen chenowith as smurfette would be delightful (good eye, kim in kentucky!).
PAPA SMURF: Gene Hackman
SMURFETTE: … For some reason, I can see Jennifer Aniston doing a memorable job.
GARGAMEL: Steve Buscemi
TAILOR SMURF: Mario Cantone
BRAINY SMURF: Christopher “McLOVIN!!” Mintz-Plasse
As a kid, I was totally addicted to the Smurfs (why? Um, I already said I was a kid).
I’d probably go and see the movie (in disguise. just kidding).
Rupert Everett as Vanity Smurf. C’mon.
I grew up in the 80’s, and I hated the Smurfs. I mean I REALLY hated them. Just looking at them made me want to puke. Only way I’d see a Smurfs movie would be if lots of Smurfs carnage was promised…
Now that Auselio is working for EW, why isn’t he doing this Pop Watch? I thought he was the one with the huge Smurf fixation.
Smurfette, a single girl among a colony of men and what about the tom boy? I never quite understood that, maybe that will be the plot.
Orville, you took my post!
Vegas, Just to clarify, Smurfette was actually created by Gargamel to spy on the Smurf colony…she later realized that she wanted to be part of their community and then Papa Smurf cast a spell on her to make her “nice.” She then changed from black hair to blond hair and stayed with all the boys. There was a pre-teen smurf that came in later seasons who was a chick too…and now this 30 year old will hang her head in shame.
I adoreed the Smurfs when I was a kid and I actually named my cat Azriel after Gargamel’s and his personality followed suit, so first I vote for my cat as Azriel. I second Alan Rickman as Gargamel. I love him when he is evil. But come on people who actually believes anyone even B+ list will want to play a Smurf. Will they still be blue?
Ricky Gervais all the way!!! Although, don’t you think your new co-worker, Michael Ausiello would be a little more qualified to lead this discussion?!?!
I think the young smurf everyone is forgetting was Sassette Smurf. She was younger than Smurfette and had red hair.
I don’t know about this? I used to collect Smurfs, and I can’t see the cartoon being done as a movie because the original voices (Alan Young, Kip King (one of the original founders of the California comedy troupe “The Groundlings”), June Foray, Paul Winchell,etc)stick to your brain. The Chipmunks voices were executed well because all you had to do was speed up Justin Long’s voice. So what are they going to CGI next? Maxie? Snorks? Gummi Bears?
How about NOT making a movie based on the Smurfs or any other TV series, and coming up with original stories and characters. I don’t think I’ve seen a truly original movie that surprised me since “The Sixth Sense” – yes, that was a long time ago, but Hollywood’s lack of interest in bringing me original stories has contributed to my lack of interest in paying $10.50 or whatever it is now to go see a first run movie in the theater.
Marie, I am SO with you. when will gen X’s obsessive-self-reflective greenlighting end? Do we really have to remake every TV show/movie/toy concept that ever appeared in the ’80’s before this stops?
Thank you…1980s, 1960s ANY time period…I love my tv, and I enjoy it, and I WATCHED the Smurfs as a kid, but I don’t want to see it rehashed into a mediocre movie and be expected to pay my hard earned cash to see it – anybody heard the phrase “cable movie”? I wish the people who greenlight these movies would show some cajones and back something original and creative for a change – and then how about supporting it with some advertising so I KNOW it’s in the theater and can catch it in the first one or two weeks it’s out before it is pushed back onto the tiniest screen available or pulled out of the theater completely for something like “Speed Racer”???? OK, my rant is done…
Lithgow has to be Gargamel…
Alan Rickman would make a great Gargamel!
I am a child of the 80s, and I am pretty sick of this remake/redo/live action of originals. I get enough of it in music. Please someone send the producers of this film copies of The Flintstones movie so they can think really hard about funding this. I just can’t bear to see the marketing like they did with my beloved Chipmunks. How about just releasing the Smurfs on DVD? I would totally be fine with that.
I haven’t laughed so much in a long time as I have with this article, just the name GARGAMEL did it LOL!!! Perfect castings, specially Jennifer Tilly and Alec Baldwin!!!
Brainy Smurf: Rainn Wilson. PS Did anyone watch the “bloopers” from Juno and decide that Rainn Wilson and Jason Bateman are just awful human beings?
Hefty Smurf: The Rock. How awesome would that be? Or Vin Diesel. INSANE.