Ubisoft Tackles Smurfs Movie Game

Ubisoft has always closely attended the movements of the film industry, and now it'll hail the August release of the Columbia/Sony pictures 3D Smurfs flick with the release of a video game based on the film. It's a family-friendly film, so understandably the game will launch on the Wii and DS "family of hand-held systems" in conjunction with the film in Summer 2011 -- Ubisoft didn't indicate whether it planned a 3DS launch for the game, which would be a potentially-apt tie-in with a 3D CGI movie. The film revives the odd nostalgic cast of blue-skinned, small cartoon characters and their enemy, an evil villain Gargamel. In the movie, the Smurfs end up displaced from their magical realm, struggling to evade Gargamel in New York City and get home. "We're thrilled to be working with Lafig Belgium and Sony Pictures on the Smurfs license," says Ubisoft worldwide licensing VP Christian Salomon. "Our ongoing partnership with Sony Pictures Consumer Products allows us to create fun and entertaining video games based on some of the most popular family films." The Smurfs were created by Pevo in 1950, initially through comic books and later through an animated TV shows and movies. The cartoon show in particular was a hit with 1980s babies, who bought up stuffed toys, figurines and even musical tie-ins based on the little gnome-like community.