Fully animated Smurfs reboot announced

The new movie is scheduled to hit cinema screens on March 31, 2017 and promises to be closer to the original Peyo comic books than Sony's previous two attempts.

Sony's 2011 "The Smurfs" and its 2013 sequel "The Smurfs 2" mixed animation with live action and, in the case of the latter, Katy Perry, but according to director Kelly Asbury this hybrid approach is being dumped in favor of traditional animation for the next installment, as is any connection with the films that have preceded it.

As Asbury explained in his blog: "Since this new film has no connection to the previous live action hybrids, we have a whole new world to create and it is critical to me and my crew that we deliver a movie that will enchant families and fans worldwide for years to come."

The third Sony-produced Smurfs installment had been scheduled to land in 2016 but thanks to the new date Asbury promises the extra time will give him and his team the chance to deliver "the best movie possible without compromising -- I could not be more happy!"