The Smurfs™ Honored With Historic Handprint Ceremony at Grauman's Chinese Theatre

CULVER CITY, Calif., Dec. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Papa Smurf, Smurfette and Clumsy Smurf from Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation's The Smurfs ™ were honored today with a Handprint Ceremony at Grauman's Chinese Theatre, cementing their Hollywood legacy. The Smurfs ™ , now available on 3-Disc Holiday Blu-ray + DVD Gift Set, Blu-ray 3D™, DVD and digital, join Hollywood's legends after celebrating more than 50 years of entertaining fans of the franchise.

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"The Smurfs have been an important part of pop culture for the last 50 years. It seems only appropriate that their legacy be acknowledged by the Grauman's Chinese Theatre," said Bob Osher, President, Sony Pictures Digital Productions.

The film, directed by Raja Gosnell (Scooby Doo) and starring Neil Patrick Harris (TV's "How I Met Your  Mother"), Jayma Mays (TV's "Glee"), Sofia Vergara (TV's "Modern Family"), and Hank Azaria (TV's "The Simpsons") as Gargamel, features the smurf™-ect voices of singing sensation Katy Perry as Smurfette, George Lopez (Rio) as Grouchy and Jonathan Winters (The Flintstones) as the original Papa Smurf.

The Smurfs were first introduced to the world in 1958 as comic book characters called "The Schtroumpfs," created by Belgian artist Pierre "Peyo" Culliford. An immediate sensation – they generated a wave of letters to the editor demanding more – and over the next fifty years, they became nothing short of a phenomenon, coming to life in comics, books, television series, films, videogames, live shows, and figurines (more than 300 million sold). The characters' cross-generational appeal has only grown as children who grew up on The Smurfs are now parents themselves, introducing their children to The Smurfs for the first time.

Now available, The Smurfs™: A Christmas Carol DVD is an all-new mini-movie, exclusive to the 3-Disc Holiday Blu-ray + DVD Gift Set and starring the Smurfs™. Based on the timeless holiday classic, The Smurfs™: A Christmas Carol is available for a limited time only. Blu-ray special features also include a one-of-a-kind Smurf™-O-Vision: Second Screen Experience. Experience the Smurfs™ taking over your television and iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch! While you watch the movie, Smurfs™ will appear on-screen to sing, dance and do all kinds of Smurf™-tastic things! The adventure also extends to your second screen device where you will be able to interact and engage with the Smurfs™, Gargamel and Azrael – popping bubbles, dropping smurfberries, zapping Gargamel, and much more!

The Smurfs™ Executive Producers include Ezra Swerdlow, Ben Haber, and Paul Neeson. Story by J. David Stem & David N. Weiss. Screenplay by J. David Stem & David N. Weiss and Jay Scherick & David Ronn. Produced by Jordan Kerner.

About Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is a Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) company. Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production, acquisition and distribution; television production, acquisition and distribution; home entertainment acquisition and distribution; worldwide television networks; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of entertainment in more than 142 countries. Sony Pictures Entertainment can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.sonypictures.com.

About Sony Pictures Animation

Sony Pictures Animation produces a variety of animated entertainment for audiences around the world. The studio is following its worldwide comedy hits, the 2011 hybrid live action/animated family blockbuster, The Smurfs (3D) and the 2009 mouth-watering Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (3D), with the family comedy Hotel Transylvania (3D) in Fall 2012. The division is also in production with Aardman Animations on two feature films, the CG-animated family comedy Arthur Christmas (3D) in theaters November 2011 and the stop-frame animated high-seas adventure, The Pirates! Band of Misfits (3D) in March 2012. Open Season 3, the third adventure in Sony Pictures Animation's successful Open Season franchise, was released on DVD and Blu-ray January 2011. In 2007, Surf's Up received an Academy Award®-nomination for Best Animated Feature Film. Sony Pictures Animation is an operating unit of Sony Pictures Digital Productions.

About the Chinese Theatres

Since 1927, Grauman's Chinese Theatre has been the home of the most important, star powered red carpet movie premieres and special events, where Hollywood's biggest and brightest talents have come to watch their movies. The most famous movie theatre on the globe is world-renowned for its unique forecourt of the stars, featuring cement hand and footprints of major movie stars, from Marilyn Monroe to Brad Pitt, and numerous stars from all eras of Hollywood. In addition to being a major international tourist destination, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, and its six adjacent cinemas, the Chinese 6, are everyday working movie theatres, hosting millions of moviegoers year round. Grauman's Chinese Theatre was declared a historic-cultural landmark in 1968, and there has always been a restoration program in process to maintain the theatre's beauty. With its current, on-going facelift and new added amenities and event spaces, guided by a new and vigorous ownership team, Grauman's Chinese Theatre and its famed "hands in cement" forecourt will continue to be the preferred location for tourist visits and the entertainment industry's most prestigious red carpet premieres.

SOURCE Sony Pictures Home Entertainment