Collider's own Steve Weintraub is in Las Vegas for Licensing Expo and, while touring the convention, managed to snap a few pictures of the promotional booth for The Smurfs which contains all sorts of new teasers, figures, and posters for the upcoming film and second season of the Nickelodeon show. The Las Vegas Licensing Expo is a yearly, in-person licensing trade showcase where all the biggest brands in entertainment and beyond are present and attendees can mingle, build relationships, tour the showcases, attend special keynotes, and secure brand rights for their products.
The Smurfs' presence at Licensing Expo comes on the heels of Paramount and Nickelodeon's announcement of a bevy of projects under the Smurfs banner that are underway through their animation divisions. With the promo booth, we get our first proper advertisement for the Pam Brady-helmed Smurfs animated movie slated to release on December 20, 2024. At this stage, there isn't much to go off for the film, though it will be a collaboration between Nickelodeon and Paramount and Belgian companies LAFIG Belgium and IMPS for a musical adventure featuring the tiny titular blue folk.
Aside from the film, the booth also teases the new season of Nickelodeon's The Smurfs animated series with a new promotional poster featuring Smurfette, Papa Smurf, and more preparing for a much wilder Season 2. Nickelodeon's series began as a continuation of the Sony Pictures Animation film Smurfs: The Lost Village, though its second season will have them involved in body-swapping and time travel shenanigans. There's no release date yet for the new season, though it's certain to come well before the film is released.
The new promo materials were also accompanied by a cavalcade of figures and memorabilia to satisfy any Smurfs fan. While there's a whole display of figures of all the best Smurf characters, the most mesmerizing has to be the gold, silver, and bronze Smurf statuettes placed in the midst of it all. Basked in a glow from the display lights, they stand out as a gaudy, yet admittedly cool setup commemorating the classic franchise.
Created by Belgian artist Pierre Culliford, aka Peyo, The Smurfs has long reigned as a popular family franchise since its inception as a comic strip. From major film adaptations to plenty of small-screen cartoons, Peyo's little blue creatures have been a staple brand that still has a long future ahead of it. More projects in the franchise are on the way beyond the planned continuation of the series and the new film too. Although there's no information on what could come next, more Smurfs content could follow the film as early as 2025.
Stay tuned here at Collider for more from Licensing Expo and from The Smurfs and check out our images below.
