Paramount Pictures and Paramount Animation are bringing a beloved franchise back to the big screen with an all-new animated feature film, Smurfs. Directed by Chris Miller, the film features an all-star voice cast including Rihanna, James Corden, John Goodman, Nick Offerman, Dan Levy, Natasha Lyonne, Sandra Oh, Jimmy Kimmel, Xolo Maridueña, and many more.

Miller has directed many animated features, including Shrek the Third and Puss in Boots. The former grossed over $808 million worldwide at the box office, with the latter surpassing $554 million. In Smurfs, he was tasked with crafting a story of the Smurfs as they search for Papa Smurf, who was kidnapped by the evil wizard Gargamel.

“The biggest theme that resonates with me is that here you have a group of blue creatures living in the woods in an idyllic situation,” Miller tells Nerd Reactor. “It’s a safe environment. It’s happy. It’s bright. It’s really quite beautiful. And everybody there has been sort of preordained with, ‘You’re this, you’re this, you’re this.’ Everyone has their identity.

“There’s one Smurf that doesn’t. No Name Smurf, properly named, who is obsessive about, well, ‘I can’t fit into this world unless I know who I am. I’ve got to find my identity. I’ve got to nail it down. And then I’ll belong.’ That’s the expectation. That’s his want, his desire, and he finds it. He’ll land on who he is.”

The film does focus on individuality, but more importantly, it’s about helping each other out, and No Name Smurf gets help from Smurfette and the others.

“Everyone needs to know and feel confident about who they are, but really it’s more about the community,” Miller explained. “The power of a community, the power of a larger family. And that is the Smurf’s superpower in this movie. It’s when they discover what it means to be a Smurf. It’s undefeatable.”

Smurfs will release in theaters on July 18, 2025.