Smurfs Headed to Big Screen

Has it really been 50 years since the Smurfs came into our lives? I’m not that big on the Smurfs. More of a Scooby-Doo girl.

But yep, it’s true. The little blue gnomes were created in 1958 by Belgian cartoonist Pierre “Peyo” Culliford. They first appeared in a series of Belgium comic strips and were originally called Les Schtroumpfs in French.

According to a Reuters report, the little guys are celebrating their 50th birthday with a Hollywood movie deal announced yesterday by Columbia Pictures.

No word on who will star, although rumor has it that John Lithgow and Julia Sweeney will be involved, with Colin Brady directing, for a 2009 release date.

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The Sony Corp.-owned studio is in negotiations with David Stem and David Weiss, the writing team behind both Shrek sequels and The Rugrats Movie, to pen a Smurfs screenplay.

Word on the street is that the movie will blend live action and CGI technology, similar to the recent Alvin and the Chipmunks movie.

There are more than 100 Smurf characters — mostly male — who all share the Smurf moniker and a descriptive first name, i.e. Lazy Smurf, Grouchy Smurf, Brainy Smurf and Grandpa Smurf.

Where’s all the girls?! How can it be any fun with just boy Smurfs? Feel free to comment below, because like I said, I’m not all that familiar with the Smurfs.

Image: Amazon.com