India, July 7 -- The tiny blue denizens of Smurf village are coming back for a brand-new adventure in the upcoming Smurfs retelling. The film franchise is up for revival ten years after the first film, The Smurfs, arrived in 2011. Since then, the 2013 film Smurfs 2 and the 2017 film Smurfs: The Lost Village also made their way to theatres, finding relative success. Directed by Chris Miller and Matt Landon, the latest film is not just another lavishly mounted summer release; it also marks the return of Grammy-award-winning artist Rihanna to the music scene. Apart from Rihanna voicing Smurfette and lending new original music for the film, the voice cast is stacked - John Goodman, Kurt Russell, Nick Offerman, Sandra Oh, Marshmello, Daniel Levy, and more form the star-studded line-up. Ahead of the film's release, Sandra Oh exclusively shares her childhood connection with Smurfs.
This isn't Sandra Oh's first rodeo in Smurf Village
Actress Sandra Oh, best known for her long-running role in Grey's Anatomy, plays the stealthy and aptly named Moxie Smurf, leader of an underground cell of Smurf activists living in Paris. Moxie might be one of the new characters introduced in the film, but for Oh, the role came with nostalgia for the original comic book run. The Belgian comic series by artist Peyo was released all the way back in 1958, and the Smurfs first appeared in the French comic series Spirou. The actress grew up in Canada, reading the comics in the original French. "The memories go deep," she muses.
Calling herself an "OG" fan, Sandra shares, "In one of my first school plays, I was a Smurf and sang a little song. So I am an OG Smurf fan (laughs)." Further opening up about the mass appeal of Smurfs that makes them a hit with children and grown-ups (Rihanna recently revealed that she hopes to get "cool points" with her kids for doing this film), she says, "I think there's something in their shape that is pleasing to children. Or maybe it's because they're blue."
In Smurfs, Papa Smurf (Goodman) is mysteriously nabbed by evil wizards Razamel and Gargamel. Smurfette must lead a daring mission into the real world to save him. The film will release in theatres on July 18, 2025.