MUMBAI: The shooting of Columbia Pictures‘ and Sony Pictures Animation‘s live-action/computer animated hybrid 3D family comedy The Smurfs 2 has commenced.

The sequel has the evil wizard Gargamel create a couple of mischievous Smurf-like creatures called the Naughties that he hopes will let him harness the all-powerful, magical Smurf-essence. But when he discovers that only a real Smurf can give him what he wants and only a secret spell that Smurfette knows can turn the Naughties into real Smurfs, Gargamel kidnaps Smurfette and brings her to Paris, where he has been winning the adoration of millions as the world‘s greatest sorcerer.
 

It‘s up to Papa, Clumsy, Grouchy, and Vanity to return to our world, reunite with their human friends Patrick and Grace Winslow, and rescue her. The rest forms the crux of the film.
Announcing the launch, Kerner said, "We‘ve brought the entire live-action and voice cast into the sequel. It‘s a real thrill to ‘get the Smurf village back together‘ for another adventure. The same holds true for the crew. We are so deep in talent we know a fine film will result. It‘s like visiting with old friends - just some slightly smaller than others."

The film produced by Jordan Kerner and directed by Raja Gosnell and stars Neil Patrick Harris (Patrick Winslow), Jayma Mays (Grace Winslow), Sofia Vergara (Odile) and Hank Azaria (Gargamel). The film will have many crew members from the original film reuniting including DoP Phil Méheux, production designer Bill Boes, editor Sabrina Plisco, costume designer Rita Ryack and visual effects supervisor Richard R. Hoover. The film has visual effects and animation by Sony Pictures Imageworks Inc.