MushroomVillage.com was in attendance at the 23rd annual Intl. Licensing & Merchandising Expo held on June 10-12 2003 at the Jacob K. Javits convention center in New York City. It was quite a show! I especially enjoyed the area showcasing cartoon characters and am pleased to report a number of 80's icons were present and making comebacks - Strawberry Shortcake, My Little Pony and the Care Bears were each "in attendance" and ready to strike up new licensing and merchandising deals - and so were the Smurfs!

IMPS (International Merchandising, Promotion & Services), which handles licensing rights to the Smurfs name and image on behalf of Studio Peyo, was present at the show, as they are each year. They had a 10 foot x 10 foot pavilion and used large, wall-sized vinyl banners to enclose a semi-private conference space with a meeting table. On the table was some paperwork and the new 2003 "New Generation" Smurf PVC's made by Schleich. Each of the "walls" featured Smurfy artwork and was marked (c) 2003 IMPS. The first said "The Smurfs" in the typical "Smurf" font. Another wall said "I love them!" with a normal Smurf holding a flower. Another said "I hate them!" with grouchy standing next to flowers looking rather stomped on. The last wall was the most interesting!

"NEW!" is printed at the top. On it, a normal Smurf steps through a frame of a film strip. A new film perhaps? The Smurf is a computerized, vector graphic model on one side of the film strip, and as he is stepping out on the other side, he is "fleshed-out," in "3-D."

I introduced myself and asked what this poster was about. An IMPS rep confirmed that there *is* a new Smurf movie in the works! I asked if it was the live-action musical that had been rumored on the net. He thought this was very funny! "No," he said, "It will be an animated movie, of course." I wondered if the rumored musical was a joke (it was first published on April 1st) but I was not disappointed to find out it was untrue! A NEW ANIMATED MOVIE? THAT IS FANTASTIC !! Even better as far as I'm concerned!! (I later confronted ProductionWeekly.com about their information, and they admitted it was a hoax! There is no live-action musical in the works!!)

I told him I had found a press release from A&A Computer Systems stating they sold 3-D modeling software to IMPS, (as reported in the last issue of the Smurfy News), and asked if this was for the movie. I received only silence and a smile! He would reveal nothing else about the movie. He would not tell me what the movie is about. He would not tell me when it would appear in theatres. It is all top secret!!

Remember, this was also confirmed by an A&A rep who said "The company that owns the Smurfs is planning to make a 3D series and/or feature film. They are based in Belgium and have bought Discreet 3ds max and Alias | Wavefront Maya 3D software from A&A Computer systems to make this production. They are now in pre-production and already made a pilot film, but nothing has been released yet, it's still all top secret. The press release last year is the only official announcement A&A was allowed to spread. I'm sorry, that's about all I can share, but I can assure you the 3D Smurfs are gorgeous and you'll be seeing more of them later on..."

My interview continued...

MV: "Are there any companies currently manufacturing or distributing licensed Smurf items in the US? Can we have a list of suppliers?"
IMPS: "There is no list, because there are none right now."
MV: "What about Kalan [a prior US manufacturer of Smurf school supplies, patches and stickers]?"
IMPS: "They did not renew their license."
MV: "I used to get the "Smurf News" from IMPS [their publication which reports each year's licensing deals] but have not gotten it lately?
IMPS: "It has not been published for two years, we've been too busy."
MV: (thinking "busy, eh? With what?") "Will there be any US Smurf merchandise produced in the future, or will it be just the movie?"
IMPS: (laughing) "Of course! It will be big, we always do things big! There are a lot of people, like you, who want to see the Smurfs come back to America!"

When is this going to happen? Guess what? That's a secret too!

At this time, IMPS politely requested that we end our chat, as several business-suit clad men showed up with briefcases - it was time for their first scheduled appointment. Was it a potential US licensing deal on the table? I hope so, and I hope it was the first of many!

Basically, what I left the show understanding is that there is definitely a new Smurf film in the oven. It is definitely an animated film. From the look of the banner, the A&A press release, A&A's comments and IMPS' reaction to our question, I am guessing that the animation will probably be computer-generated 3D-type animation, much like "Toy Story," or the recent hit "Finding Nemo." The film could be a major component of a reintroduction of the Smurfs character to the American market. IMPS is working on licensing and merchandising deals that would be behind any products produced for the American market and had appointments scheduled during this expo.

MushroomVillage.com member Andrew Somer also attended the show and spoke with IMPS. Andrew reported "[IMPS] said not to expect a movie to be out in 2004. Sometimes studios buy the rights to a movie idea and do not produce it for many years afterwards." Surely this is a complex process - but things are looking up for American Smurf collectors, who have been waiting years for this to happen! FINALLY, 80's kids across America will be able to introduce a new generation to one of the most beloved characters of all time!

As always, we ask all our members to keep their eyes and ears wide open!! Report any and all Smurf happenings to MushroomVillage.com so that all our world-wide members stay informed! We will certainly report more as we learn it!