Smurfs, along with Care Bears, is arguably one of the icons of the 80s. It had a good run, then Hollywood decided to, well, ruin it with those live-action/CG hybrids. The first Smurfs movie from Columbia Pictures did alright, the sequel? Not so much. But did that stop Paramount from giving it a shot? Nope.
Simply titled Smurfs, the new movie hits theaters on July 18, 2025, brought to you by Paramount Animation, Marcy Media Films, LAFIG Belgium, and Peyo Company. And yes, it’s another live-action/animation mix, but at least Gargamel isn’t played by an actual human this time. However, he is now joined by his brother who isn’t called Gargamel, Jr. His incompetent wizard bro in this new movie is called Razamel.
Here’s what to expect: Papa Smurf (John Goodman) gets kidnapped, so Smurfette (Rihanna) leads the little blue squad into the real world to save him. Along the way, they’ll meet new friends and somehow end up with the fate of the universe in their hands.
The voice cast is stacked, featuring James Corden, Nick Offerman, Daniel Levy, Natasha Lyonne, Sandra Oh, Octavia Spencer, and even Kurt Russell—who is somehow involved in this Smurf saga.
Will this movie finally give the Smurfs the big-screen moment they deserve? Or are we in for another bizarre Hollywood experiment? Either way, Rihanna is Smurfette, and that alone is bound to get people talking.
Images: Paramount Pictures.
