One of the biggest surprises of last summer was the immense success of The Smurfs, which turned its 0m. into more than half a billion dollars. Needless to say, Sony greenlit the sequel fairly quickly following its success, with the release of The Smurfs 2 set for the height of summer next year.
Director Raja Gosnell is back behind the camera, and now EW have debuted the first look at two new additions to the film, Vexy and Hackus, created by Gargamel and referred to as ‘The Naughties’.
“In this sequel to the hybrid live action/animated family blockbuster comedy The Smurfs, the evil wizard Gargamel creates a couple of mischievous Smurf-like creatures called the Naughties that he hopes will let him harness the all-powerful, magical Smurf-essence. But when he discovers that only a real Smurf can give him what he wants — and only a secret spell that Smurfette knows can turn the Naughties into real Smurfs — Gargamel kidnaps Smurfette and brings her to Paris, where he has been winning the adoration of millions as the world’s greatest sorcerer. It’s up to Papa, Clumsy, Grouchy, and Vanity to return to our world, reunite with their human friends Patrick and Grace Winslow, and rescue her! Will Smurfette, who has always felt different from the other Smurfs, find a new connection with the Naughties Vexy and Hackus – or will the Smurfs convince her that their love for her is True Blue?”
Christina Ricci and JB Smoove lend their voices as the new additions, Vexy and Hackus, with much of the original cast returning for both the live-action and voice roles, headed up by Hank Azaria, Neil Patrick Harris, Jamya Mays, Sofía Vergara, and Brendan Gleeson for the former, with Jonathan Winters, Katy Perry, Fred Armisen, Alan Cumming, and Anton Yelchin leading the voices for the Smurfs, themselves.
Gosnell is directing from a script penned by Karey Kirkpatrick, David Rohn, Jay Schreick, J. David Stern, and David N. Weiss.
The Smurfs 2 will hit the big screen in 3D on 31st July, 2013, in the US and UK, which will see it released in the same week as RED 2, 300: Rise of an Empire, and The Internship. A pretty busy weekend, for sure, but with The Smurfs 2 being such a hot property, and getting the family vote, it could well take the lead. For now, here’s the first look at the naughty new characters.
