The great Hank Azaria has signed-on to do the voice of Gargamel in the upcoming “Smurfs” movie. So I guess we now know that Gargamel will be an animated character. There had been rumors that the Smurfs’ enemy would be real-life in this movie, which is going to be a combination of live-action and animation.
Azaria is best known for his work on The Simpsons. “Smurfs” is schedule to be released on Aug. 3, 2011.
UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE
According to Neil Patrick Harris, who is also in the “Smurfs” cast, Azaria will be PLAYING Gargamel, not just voicing him. So Gargamel will be at LIVE ACTION character. I think it’s good this way, because villains work better in animation/live action combo films when they’re real people (such as in “Alvin and the Chipmunks”).