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For the 50th anniversary of the Smurfs, 15 ‘Celebrity Smurfs’ were auctioned off in Brussels Town Hall yesterday. The total benefit of this auction, held in favour of UNICEF, sums up to 124.700 euro.

Smurf Top 3
To celebrate 50 years of creativity the Smurfs set off for a Happy Smurfday Euro Tour in the beginning of this year. Since then the Smurfs have visited no less than 15 European cities. In each country a special ‘Celebrity Smurf’ was created. Yesterday, on the actual birthday of the Smurfs, these ‘Celebrity Smurfs’ were auctioned off in favour of UNICEF. The highest bid went to the Surprise Smurf (14.000 euro), a unique black Smurf signed by Peyo’s family. Schtroumpf Sympathix, a creation of Albert Uderzo (13.000 euro) and the United Smurf of Benetton (12.000 euro) complete this top 3. ‘Rester Femme’, designed by Axelle Red and the only Smurfette in the gallery was worth 4.500 euro.

Total benefit for UNICEF
Also during the Happy Smurfday Euro Tour, little white Smurf figurines have been sold in favour of UNICEF. More than 30.000 were sold, good for a total revenue of more than 150.000 euro. In total more than 274.700 euro goes to UNICEF, and as such the Smurfs contribute to UNICEF’s educational programs.

50 Years of Smurfs - 10/06/2008 > 16/11/2008

Fifty years after their birth, the Smurfs remain among the most popular characters ever created by a Belgian comic strip author.
Born out of Peyo’s imagination, they made their début in Spirou Journal in the autumn of 1958, in a Johan et Pirlouit story: “La flûte à six trous”. To honour this anniversary – which is celebrated the world over – the Belgian Comic Strip Centre will invite visitors to consider Peyo’s work from a new and original angle: it is because of their individual weaknesses that the Smurfs discover their strength…Through numerous exceptional documents lent by Peyo’s family, the exhibition aims to show its visitors how the work of this comic-strip legend – a true alchemy of clarity, lucidity and effectiveness supported by a base of sincere storytelling – has followed the writers of tales of days gone by.

Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation are bringing a live-action/animated “Smurfs” project to the bigscreen.
Sony obtained film rights to the blue-colored characters from Lafig Belgium via Jordan Kerner ("Charlotte’s Web"), who is producing. David Stem and David Weiss, who wrote the second and third installments in the “Shrek” franchise, are in negotiations to pen the screenplay.

Kerner secured film rights to the Smurfs property in 2002 and had been developing a 3-D CGI feature at Paramount/Nickelodeon, which has an option to co-finance the Columbia/SPA incarnation and distribute internationally. The Melrose studio has yet to make a decision on its role in the film.

Best known in the United States for the long-running Hanna-Barbera cartoon, the Smurfs were created in 1958 by Belgian cartoonist Pierre Culliford, known throughout the world as Peyo. The Smurfs, originally called “Les Schtroumpfs” in French, were created for a Belgian series of comic books, first as minor characters. The villagers, known for their blue skin and small statures, spawned a line of statuettes, games, toys, theme parks and a hit TV series, which ran as part of NBC’s Saturday-morning lineup from 1981-90.

Kerner said the genesis of the current project began during a holiday conversation with Sony Pictures Entertainment chairman-CEO Michael Lynton, who grew up with “Les Schtroumpfs” in the Netherlands. “He relished them as I do and suggested that it should be a live-action/CG film,” he said. “(Studio topper) Amy (Pascal) felt equally that there was potentially a series of films in the making.”

Kerner has been working closely on the project with Lafig CEO Hendrik Coysman and Veronique Culliford, the daughter of Peyo.

“Smurfs” marks SPA’s first hybrid film—a subgenre that proved popular given the success of 20th Century Fox’s “Alvin and the Chipmunks”—and is the first project to go into development since Hannah Minghella was named prexy of production for the division in April. SPE digital production prexy Bob Osher said the studio plans to rely on SPA for the film’s character animation, and Imageworks—which was recently taken off the sale block—for its visual effects.

“The Smurfs are one of the best-known franchises, and among the most beloved collection of characters in the world,” Columbia co-president Doug Belgrad said. “We’re very excited to introduce a new generation to Papa Smurf, Smurfette and the other smurftastic Smurfs in all of their ‘three-apple-tall’ glory.”

Sony will launch a licensing effort around the classic Smurfs characters at this year’s Licensing Show beginning today in New York.

Ben Haber will oversee the development of the script for Kerner Entertainment. Haber and Paul Neesan are exec producing the film.

Stem and Weiss’ credits also include “The Rugrats Movie” and “Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius.”

It is possible to buy a Smurf figurine:

- in the Netherlands : www.unicefshop.nl (“kindercadeaus”)

- in France : boutique.unicef.fr (“jeux & jouets – kids”)

- in Belgium : www.unicefshop.be

During the whole year 2008, the Smurfs will celebrate their 50th anniversary!

Please find all the 50th anniversary information on the special website: http://www.happysmurfday.com