With The Love Guru as his only previous feature film credit, The Daily Show correspondent and The Bugle co-host John Oliver has a hit to his credit with The Smurfs.  Unfortunately for the British comedian, it was a minor vocal role as Vanity Smurf, who was not one of the little blue creatures to make the interdimensional trip to contemporary New York City.  While Oliver may be reasonably pleased with the success of The Smurfs, Sony Pictures is apparently thrilled, as the studio has set a return date for Peyo's creations: a sequel is now scheduled for August 2, 2013.

Filmmaker Raja Gosnell is no stranger to directing movies based on beloved cartoon characters but his animation to live-action pedigree doesn’t stop there. Gosnell began his career as an editor and worked with legendary director Robert Altman on the groundbreaking 1980 film Popeye, which was one of the first of its kind. He would eventually go onto a successful career as a feature film director with popular projects under his belt such as Never Been Kissed, Big Momma’s House, and Beverly Hills Chihuahua. But it was his work behind the camera on Scooby-Doo, and its sequel Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed that made him the perfect choice to direct his latest film ... The Smurfs.

The film, which opened last weekend and earned an impressive $36.5 million in its debut, takes the classic Peyo created characters and uproots them from their magical village to the mean streets of present day New York. While the movie draws most of its inspiration from the Belgian artist’s books, it also pays respect to the classic Hanna Barbera produced Saturday morning cartoons that many fans grew up with in the ‘80s. All of your favorite characters appear in the film including Papa Smurf (voiced by comedy legend Jonathan Winters), Smurfette (voiced by musical sensation Katy Perry), and Brainy Smurf (voiced by SNL's Fred Armisen), as well as their archenemy the wizard Gargamel and his evil cat Azrael. The plot revolves around Gargamel, played by Hank Azaria, discovering the Smurfs' village and chasing six of them into a magical portal that transports them all to the Big Apple. Once there, our Smurf heroes seek the help of a young married couple (How I Met Your Mother’s Neil Patrick Harris, and Glee’s Jayma Mays) in order to find their way home and along the way, the Smurfs end up teaching the expecting couple what it means to be a real family.

Opening in theaters on July 29th is the new 3D family film The Smurfs, which blends CGI animation with live-action to bring the classic '1980s Saturday Morning cartoon to the big screen. The movie features all your favorite Smurf characters including Papa Smurf, Smurfette, and Brainy as they leave their magical village to escape from the evil Gargamel and find refuge with a young married couple in present day New York City. The film stars Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother), and Jayma Mays (Glee) as expecting parents who help the little blue ones on their adventure, and comedian/actor Hank Azaria (The Simpsons) as the wizard Gargamel who is hot in pursuit of the tiny blue creatures. The film also boasts a who's who of talented performers that lend their voices to the animated characters including comedy legend Jonathan Winters as Papa Smurf, musical sensation Katy Perry as the beautiful Smurfette, Anton Yelchin (Star Trek) as Clumsy Smurf, Alan Cumming (X2: X-Men United) as Gutsy Smurf, George Lopez (Rio) as Grouchy Smurf, and Fred Armisen (Saturday Night Live) as Brainy Smurf.

IAR's very own Jenny Karakaya recently had a chance to sit down with several members of the cast in New York City including Neil Patrick Harris, Jayma Mays, and Hank Azaria to discuss the new film, their roles, acting opposite characters that are not actually there, Azaria's unbelievable transformation into Gargamel, and the legacy of The Smurfs. 

To watch our exclusive interview with Neil Patrick Harris, Jayma Mays, and Hank Azaria about The Smurfs, please click on the video player above. 

SYNOPSIS: 

In the Middle Ages, the evil wizard Gargamel (Azaria) discover the Smurf's village and chases them into a wooded area. The Smurfs get scattered and Clumsy Smurf (voiced by Yelchin) wanders into a "forbidden" grotto and some of the other Smurfs follow. Since it's a blue moon, a magical portal within the grotto transports them into present-day Central Park in New York City. They take shelter with married couple Patrick and Grace Winslow (Harris and Mays) and try to find a way back to their village before Gargamel finds them. 

The Smurfs "smurf' into theaters on July 29th!

Successfully navigating through the rough roads of Hollywood can be a difficult endeavor for anyone but traditionally it is especially hard for child actors. For every Natalie Portman, or Leonardo DiCaprio there is a Lindsay Lohan or a Macaulay Culkin. But of all the child actors to pursue a career in their adulthood no one has been more successful in crossing over than actor Neil Patrick Harris. He began his career in the late ‘80s as the star of the beloved TV series Doogie Howser, M.D. before eventually reinventing himself as a popular Broadway actor in such musicals as Rent and Cabaret. But it was his role as the wicked yet loveable Barney Stinson on the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, as well as playing an exaggerated version of himself in the Harold & Kumar films, that has put the actor back on the map in Hollywood. Since then Neil Patrick Harris has lent his voice to several popular animated projects including Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore, and Batman: Under the Red Hood, as well as appearing in fan-favorite director Joss Whedon’s musical web series Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, and becoming Hollywood’s go-to-guy for hosting awards shows like the Emmys and the Tonys.

Now, the actor can be seen on the silver screen once again, this time acting opposite fellow ‘80s icons the Smurfs in their new 3D live-action/CGI family film aptly titled … The Smurfs, which opens in theaters on July 29^th. Based on the comic books created by Belgian artist Peyo, as well as the extremely popular Saturday morning cartoon, the film tells the story of the tiny but magical blue creatures that live in an enchanted forest and battle with an evil wizard named Gargamel (Hank Azaria), as well as his twisted cat Azrael. When Gargamel discovers a way into the their hidden village the Smurfs barely escape with their lives and six of their clan, including their leader Papa Smurf (voiced by Jonathan Winters), Smurfette (voiced by Katy Perry), Clumsy (voiced by Anton Yelchin), Gutsy (voiced by Alan Cumming), Grouchy (voiced by Goerge Lopez), and Brainy (voiced by Fred Armisen), accidentally fall through a magical portal that relocates them to present day New York City. While hiding from Gargamel, who also fell through the portal, they meet Patrick (Harris) and Grace (Glee’s Jayma Mays), a young married couple that are expecting their first child. Grace and Patrick agree to try to help the Smurfs find their way home and in the process, the little blue ones teach the married couple what it means to be a family.

This weekend, The Smurfs becomes the latest theatrical film to use cutting-edge CGI technology to bring nostalgic cartoon figures into the realm of live-action.  Previous films fitting this description include Alvin and the Chipmunks, Garfield, and Scooby Doo, which was actually directed by The Smurfs helmer Raja Gosnell. 

While the little blue forest dwellers whose name serves as noun, verb, and adjective are most identified with the NBC animated series that held the rapt attention of children every Saturday morning, the creatures began their fictitious existence more than 50 years ago as Les Schtroumpfs, a comic strip created by the Belgian artist Peyo in 1958.  In that sense, The Smurfs could then sort of be considered a comic book movie.

Though they're usually seen in the tiny, fantastical Smurf village, for their first cinematic outing, the Smurfs make their way to New York City via an interdimensional portal.  There, they impose themselves on a married couple played by Neil Patrick Harris and Jayma Mays.  Of course, their wizard nemesis Gargamel (Hank Azaria) follows them to the Big Apple and promptly gets up to his dastardly business.  At a recent press conference here in Los Angeles, all three actors joined Alan Cumming, who voices Gutsy Smurf, to discuss working with digital creations, Smurf collecting, baldness, and the enduring place of The Smurfs in popular culture.

in 2006, writer-director George Miller tried his hand at an animated feature was Happy Feet, starring a bunch of adorable digital cartoon penguins and the voices of Elijah Wood, Hugh Jackman, and Robin Williams.  The unexpectedly allegorical family film became a big hit, principally because of the musical numbers, which re-appropriated familiar pop hits in an exuberantly stylish fashion.  The first teaser trailer for Happy Feet Two has shown up online, and it assures audiences that the 3D sequel will have no shortage of pop music, cute baby penguins, and general cleverness.

Synopsis: The Smurfs make their first 3D trip to the big screen in Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures Animation's hybrid live-action and animated family comedy, The Smurfs. When the evil wizard Gargamel chases the Smurfs out of their village, they're forced through a portal, out of their world and into ours, landing in the middle of New York's Central Park. Just three apples high and stuck in the Big Apple, the Smurfs must find a way to get back to their village before Gargamel tracks them down.

There's an entire scene in season one of HBO's The Wire in which all the dialogue between detectives Jimmy McNulty and Bunk Moreland consists exclusively of variations on the F-bomb.  A feature film version of the 1980's animated series The Smurfs should, by all rights,  include a similar scene with no dialogue other than the all purpose noun/verb/adjective/adverb "smurf."  Based on the second trailer for The Smurfs, no such scene is likely to be included.  Instead, it looks like the film will contain plenty of Neil Patrick Harris expertly mugging, digital smurfs playing Rock Band, and Gargamel's laughing cat.  Check out trailer numero dos right here.

Last week, the filmmakers behind the true-life mafia film Gotti: Three Generations, which has John Travolta signed to play John 'The Teflon Don' Gotti, held a press conference in New York, where The Godfather was invoked a number of times.  Though she was not officially on board, Lindsay Lohan attended, and she was revealed as being in talks for an unspecified role that was clearly Victoria Gotti, with whom Lohan attended.  On Monday this week, director Nick Cassavetes left the project, and now EW reports that Lohan will not be appearing in Gotti: Three Generations.

Less than a week after attending a press conference talking up the true crime ensemble Gotti: Three Generations, director Nick Cassavetes has exited the project.  The film, a chronicle of the relationship between Gambino crime family head John 'The Teflon Don' Gotti and his son John Gotti Jr, has John Travolta attached to star as the elder Gotti, along with Joe Pesci as his right-hand man.  Lindsay Lohan is also in talks to play an unspecified role that is almost certainly reality television personality Victoria Gotti.