The new CG/live-action blended Smurfs movie (somehow, we always imagine an ominous crack of thunder rumbling every time we invoke its name) has been gathering up cast members and voices. And now it has a performer for its villain, Gargamel in The Simpsons’ Hank Azaria.
Gargamel, for anyone too young or not Smurfy enough to remember, was the evil sorcerer who wanted nothing more than to capture the little blue creatures to use in his potions and alchemical experiments. He’s usually accompanied by sidekick cat Azrael and is always defeated by the Smurfs in the cartoons. According to fellow star Neil Patrick Harris' Twitter feed, Azaria will be playing Gargamel as a live-action character, not voicing a cartoon.
And one other person has joined the cast, also as a human: Jayma Mays, currently to be seen as germophobe guidance counsellor Emma on Glee, has signed on to play the wife of Neil Patrick Harris’ lead character. The pair are dealing with her pregnancy when their lives are changed through meeting the tiny blue creatures.
Raja Gosnell (there’s that thunder sound effect again) starts shooting the movie next month in New York.