As a kid, I was a big fan of The Smurfs. I’m not saying it was the best Saturday morning cartoon, but I’d put it in the top 10 of those that I watched on Saturday morning when I was growing up. Maybe top 5.
So I got very nostalgic when I heard that Paramount and Nickelodeon were making a Smurfs CGI film scheduled to come out in 2010. I was skeptical, because I was concerned about some remakes of other Saturday morning cartoons. Garfield and The Chipmunks were both pretty much destroyed by the Hollywood ‘hit’ machine, and the last thing I wanted was for the Smurfs to be next on the list.
My fears were allayed somewhat when I saw some of the pre-liminary mock-ups of the CGI effects showing the Smurf Village. (I’d really prefer it be traditional 2-D animation, but I know that isn’t going to happen.)
Not bad at all!
I think I would be happy with the result based on this preview image. However, based on a rumor posted on Boing Boing blog, my hopes for a good Smurfs film, even a decent Smurfs film, is going up in smoke.
Apparently, someone is working on a live action Smurfs film. Live action. Not animated. Not CGI. Live action. That is, with live actors. This is terrible news for fans of The Smurfs, because I see no way that this will not be a complete and total disaster. No matter who is cast for these roles, the actors aren’t going to measure up to their animated counterparts. That is the problem with live-action versions of cartoons. See The Flintstones for an example The only exception to this rule would be Scooby Doo, and even then the film-makers had the common sense to make Scooby Doo CGI.
It gets worse. There is no sugar-coating this news. Casting rumors? John Lithgow as Papa Smurf, and Wallace Shawn as Gargamel. Absolutely garbage choices. I won’t be seeing this movie. I won’t be renting this movie. I pity anyone who ends up watching it. I took the liberty of putting together some mock-ups of what I think this film will end up looking like.
I can't imagine the real thing looking much better...
Inconceivable, indeed...
I have no words. If these rumors are true, this film is going to smurfing smurf.
