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.

I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t want to take a trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. By all accounts it is one of the most beautiful and fun cities in the entire world. That is exactly the premise that 20^th Century Fox is banking on with their latest 3D computer-animated film Rio, which opens in US theaters today. In fact, the film opened internationally last weekend and has already earned $54.9 million worldwide. The movie is a dream come true for Ice Age 2: The Meltdown director Carlos Saldanha who was born and raised in Brazil and has been working on this project for a very long time. The film promises to be more of a musical than the Ice Age series was and will attempt to capture the magic, the culture, and the music that makes Rio the incredible destination that it is.

After digitally-animated cartoon characters in live action settings like Garfield  and Alvin and The Chipmunks, how can we be surprised that The Smurfs would leave their village, engaging in hijinks and making pop culture references in contemporary New York?  The Smurfs is directed by Raja Gosnell, who is also responsible for Scooby Doo, Big Momma's House, and Beverly Hills Chihuahua.  The first trailer, featuring no shortage of hot, nasty Smurf action, is out now, for your viewing pleasure.

A few days ago, 20th Century Fox opened its doors to the media for an early look at Rio, the latest animated adventure from director Carlos Saldanha (Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Robots). This Brazilian themed motion picture features the vocal talents of Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, Leslie Mann, George Lopez, Will i. Am and Jamie Foxx.

Synopsis: When Blu, a domesticated macaw from small-town Minnesota, meets the fiercely independent Jewel, he takes off on an adventure to Rio de Janeiro with this bird of his dreams. Rio will be presented in 3D animation when it hits movie theaters. Rio is directed by Carlos Saldanha (Ice Age, Robots, Ice Age: Meltdown, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs) and stars Neil Patrick Harris and Anne Hathaway.