FishbowlNY has learned that a film deal has been signed to bring the Smurfs to the big screen that will include a massive, Viacom-funded media blitz. IMPS — the Belgian company that holds the copyrights to the beloved characters — has reached an agreement with Nickelodeon Films (Paramount Pictures/Viacom) to develop a computer-animated Smurfs film for worldwide distribution. Jordan Kerner (Charlotte's Web, Inspector Gadget) will be producing. The formal agreement ends years of speculation over a possible resurrection of the beloved children's franchise.

But these new Smurfs will be different. Smurfette is getting a lot of female company. A lot more. At a press conference on Monday, IMPS head Hendrik Coysman explained that the new Smurfs will be gender balanced:

"There have been dramatic changes in socio-cultural values in the past 20 to 25 years [...] One of these is girl empowerment. There will be a greater female presence in the Smurf village, and this will, of course, be a basis for new stories. This will probably turn upside down certain traditional situations within the village.

By that, we assume he means that those damn Smurf jokes are coming to an end.

Despite the fact that The Smurfs cartoon has been off the air for nearly 20 years, the Smurfs are big money: Royalties generated for the brand range from $5 to $12 million annually.

(Image via X-Entertainment)