Dupuis Edition et Audiovisuel along with Peyo Productions presents The Smurfs, a new 3D animated series directed by William Renaud. The 52×11 minute stories will be aired from 9 May 2021 in France on TFOU.
Dupuis Edition et Audiovisuel is well-established in animation production and audiovisual adaptations of comic strips. The Smurfs presented in development at the 2018 Annecy International Animation Film Market will be back soon on screen.
The Smurfs heralds the revival of the famous little blue creatures on television. They are a team of daring and inventive Smurfs alongside Smurfette with punchy dialogues. The series will be a joyful entertainment for both girls and boys belonging to the age group six to 10 years. It will also allow older children to enjoy the essence of comics.
The adventures of the characters were first created by Peyo in 1958, later transferred to the screen in 1959. The small screen begins with Dupuis, followed by the American studio Hannah Barbera (Tom and Jerry, Scooby-Doo, Whack Races), then the big screen with great success. However, they have not been adapted for Television previously.
The producer Caroline Duvochel said, “For Dupuis Édition et Audiovisuel, which was involved in the first animated adventures of the Smurfs back in the 1960s, it is extremely exciting to revisit this universe in this ambitious new series, alongside Peyo Productions and in collaboration with TF1.”
She further added, “This is a key project for our studio, in which all the teams have been particularly involved. We are immensely proud to be able to contribute to bringing today’s children these new 3D images showing the marvelous adventures of these characters, full of kindness, mischief, and sparkle, things we need so much of now.”
TFOU director of youth programming Yann Labasque said, “We are delighted to welcome the Smurfs to TFOU for new adventures, each one funnier than the last. this comedy/adventure series has its rightful place in our schedule as the world of these friendly little blue creatures and their incredibly special language fits perfectly with TFOU’s mischievous yet caring tone, by giving the series consistent and powerful exposure on all its platforms, the TF1 group acts as a unique and strong sounding board for the franchise, whose license is already managed by TF1 Licences.”
Peyo Productions and IMPS (distribution) founder and president and Peyo’s daughter Véronique Culliford said, “I am happy to be able to continue my father’s work once again by co-producing a new Smurfs TV series. And this, almost 40 years after the world-famous original series. You will discover Smurfs in 3D effect, like in the last film The Smurfs and the Lost Village, with a lot of humour and lots of adventures full of twists and turns. This co-production has the best actors on the market and will enchant both young and old for decades to come! “
Distributed internationally by IMPS, the series made its world premiere on RTS in Switzerland and RTBF and VRT in Belgium in mid-April and is now preparing to move into France and Germany before conquering the whole world.