How a small Spanish village turned itself blue to celebrate a Hollywood blockbuster
In short: When Sony Pictures brought The Smurfs to life in 2011, they premiered the film in Júzcar, Spain. The residents painted their entire town blue, using 4,000 litres of paint. The transformation was so successful that the village voted to keep the color, attracting over 80,000 tourists in six months.
The 2011 film The Smurfs, directed by Raja Gosnell, marked the first live-action/animated hybrid installment of the franchise. The project had a long gestation period, beginning in 1997 when producer Jordan Kerner first contacted the licensing agent Lafig Belgium. After five years of negotiations, Kerner secured the rights, eventually partnering with Sony Pictures Animation and Columbia Pictures in 2008. The production, which cost $110 million, required extensive technical innovation to integrate the CGI characters into real-world environments. Cinematographer Phil Meheux used 7.5-inch models to guide actor eyelines, while 268 Sony Pictures Imageworks employees dedicated approximately 358,000 hours to the animation process.
The film’s narrative follows the Smurfs as they are transported from their village to New York City, where they encounter a couple played by Neil Patrick Harris and Jayma Mays. Hank Azaria portrayed the antagonist Gargamel, a role that required grueling physical transformation; he spent roughly 130 hours in the makeup chair across 50 sessions. To maintain the film's aesthetic, the production team built a two-thirds-scale replica of Belvedere Castle and sourced rare parts for the 'Smurfalator' from flea markets and online marketplaces like eBay.
Despite receiving negative critical reviews, the film was a commercial success, grossing $564 million worldwide. It held the title of Sony Pictures Animation's highest-grossing film until 2023 and remained the top-earning live-action/animated hybrid until 2025. The film also left a lasting mark on its premiere location, Júzcar. While Sony initially intended to restore the town to its original white, the influx of 80,000 tourists convinced the residents to maintain the blue paint, cementing the village's status as a real-world Smurf destination.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: The Smurfs (film)
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