The Smurfs Reboot: New Animated Series Ordered at Nickelodeon
Take that, Gargamel: The Smurfs are getting a brand-new series at Nickelodeon, the children’s cable network announced Thursday.
The blue crew will populate The Smurfs, a CG-animated reboot that will introduce a new generation of kids to Papa Smurf, Smurfette, Clumsy, Hefty, Brainy and the rest of the the popular cartoon characters who live in mushroom-shaped homes in the forest.
The original series, which went by the same name and which was based on a Belgian comic by Peyo, aired Saturday mornings on NBC from 1981 to 1989. This iteration is produced by Peyo Productions and Dupuis Edition & Audiovisuel. Alvin!!! And the Chipmunks‘ Peter Saisselin and Amy Serafin will write, with William Renaud (Casper’s Scare School) directing.
“The Smurfs have entertained generations of kids and families globally, and we are thrilled to bring these identifiable characters, their stories and universal themes of cooperation, sharing and caring for their community to Nickelodeon,” said Layla Lewis, senior vice president, Global Acquisitions and Content Partnerships, via statement.
In recent years, The Smurfs have been the subject of three animated feature films: 2011’s The Smurfs and its 2013 sequel, The Smurfs 2, as well as 2017’s movie reboot Smurfs: The Lost Village.
Are you psyched to hear that Papa Smurf & Co. will be back? Sound off in the comments!
My childhood heroes and friends! This geek can not wait!!!!
Nooooooooooooo!¡!
*cries in smurfberries*
Not enough diversity. Cancel it!
How did Ausiello not write this piece?!
That’s exactly what I was just going to ask. My guess is he passed out when he heard the news…
I picture as being more of a happy sob than passing out
Um… I’m right here, y’all. I can hear you.
Speak of the Smurf and he will come.
Ok but seriously are you excited?
@Damen: omgeee literally came here to say the same thing! lolz
I just can’t get over the fact that toi changed the real name… “Smurfs” seems so simple and weird ! :)
Huh? They didn’t really change the name. In French it was “Les Schtroumpfs” and in Dutch “De Smurfen”. When Stuart R. Ross came across them in Belgium he wanted to aquire the rights for North American distribution as well as branching out the property. He then entered into an agreement with Peyo and Dupis. Peyo even served as a story editor or supervisor for the show. I think he’s even credited as the creator. So I don’t know who the “they” is you’re referring to. Most of the original French comics had Le, La, or Les followed by “Schtroumpfs” or some variation of it like “Schtroumpfette” or “Bébé Schtroumpf”. Marvel released some comics under the title “Smurfs” but I’m not sure that constitutes a name change.
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And if you believe Peyo’s story about the origin of the word it would translate to “the schtroumpf”. So the “the” has been around for a long time.
I’d rather a Snorks reboot. Bring back Tooter!
Second this ⬆️
I loved the Snorks. I believe they were billed as the Smurf’s “cousins”. I still have a few toys from my childhood.
I can’t wait until Michael Ausiello has some kind of cameo/guest role!
I love the Smurfs. But I don’t get Nickelodeon. If things like this would come on regular channels that would be great to.
Not a fan of it being in CGI (if you’re going to reboot, keep it ‘old school’). They don’t look right CGI. Also, how did Michael Ausiello not write this story???
Let’s just pray that this falls on the first Thundercats reboot and not the latest one
Um, someone needs to check and see if Michael is ok bc I find it highly suspicious that, being the editor in chief, he allowed anybody else to write this story.
I hope that Nickelodeon doesn’t remake the series as the crude, unfunny, unpleasant, infuriating live action/CGI movies.
I loved “The Smurfs” cartoons as a kid.
How enraging it was to have Smurfette portrayed in the movies as a dumb, coarse bimbo, Papa Smurf as a lecherous bore, and Brainy, Hefty, and Clumsy as rapping idiots. Nobody needed a Smurf named Passive Aggressive Smurf.
Spare us the Hollywood actors (or “actors” in Katy Perry’s case) collecting easy, cheap paychecks.
Give today’s youth “The Smurfs” like our “Smurfs.” With heart, intelligence, humor, joy, adventure, happiness, love, and learning.
No time traveling, no Raja Gosnell involvement.
Please let this new “Smurfs” tv series be Smurfy!
No. Everything must be cynical now. You will comply!
I’m Smurfy with glee over this development.
Why doesn’t this article mention that it’s in fact a European reboot that has been worked on since 2018? All Nickelodeon has done is receiving the rights to air those new episodes in the US. It’s not like it’s a reboot they envisioned or have a say in. It’s a co-production from France, Belgium (who also overseas production) and Germany.
Because according to other articles I’ve read the deal isn’t just a simple matter of Nickelodeon having the airing rights. From the articles I’ve read this is going to be a three-way partnership between them and, LAFIG Belgium and IMPS. Back in 2017 , Ketnet, KiKA, Ouftivi, and TF1 were announced to have all signed on as co-production partners but is that still the case? Given that two of Nick’s SVPs are going to be overseeing the series’ production as well as the new CP licensing and the show will air in the US *before* any international markets it would appear a new deal was struck. I could see Viacom dumping loads of money into this if that meant they would be getting more control of the property than anybody else other than Belgium’s Peyo Productions and France’s Dupuis Edition & Audiovisuel.
That’s just where the article gets a bit wrong. The new animated series is already in post-production. So there hasn’t been given any series order by Nickelodeon itself. They just financed themselves a huge license package – without a doubt.
Where the Deadline report or the Nickelodeon quote also gets a bit off … Nickelodeon won’t air this show on all international markets. France, Belgium and Germany will air the show on their channels – and they won’t have to wait for the show to air in the US before anywhere else. The CEO of Kika already tried to clarify reports by Variety and Deadline, that the children’s channel is owning all rights for the German market and that they can decide on their own accord when to air the new series. They currently plan to air the new series in the first quarter of 2021 – since it’s in post-production.