I’ve been posting all original content up till now, but here’s a bit of news I couldn’t resist sharing:

Classic children’s cartoon characters The Smurfs are heading to the big screen for their 50th anniversary.

Studios Columbia and Sony have scooped the film rights to the original 1958 Belgian comic book series - which later became a TV show.

The as-yet-untitled film will combine live action and animation.

“We’re very excited to introduce a new generation to Papa Smurf and the other Smurfs in all of their glory,” said Columbia president Doug Belgrad.

The film is due to be written by David Stem and David Weiss, who penned the second and third Shrek movies.

The Smurfs are best known in the English-speaking world through their 1980s Hanna-Barbera cartoon series.

But the small, blue characters first appeared 50 years ago and were created by Belgian cartoonist Pierre Culliford, known as Peyo.

Via BBC News

What’s your thought on this? Personally, I think when they do these remakes, they ought to retain the original style, i.e. 2D animation. I hate the “updated” versions of classic characters — they’re classic for a reason! I think it’s insulting to today’s kids to assume they need to be given characters dressed in funky clothes or using bathroom humor to enjoy a movie. And computer animation is fantastic for effects and for some movies, but when it’s used for everything it just looks lazy. 

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