Studio to Make Donation to City Parks & Recreation Department As Stars Walk the Blue Carpet for the First-Ever World Premiere in the Heart of Screenland

CULVER CITY, Calif., March 31, 2017 — (PRNewswire) — In celebration of tomorrow's World Premiere of Smurfs: The Lost Village, the first-ever World Premiere of a film to be held in Culver City, the home of Sony Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation, the city of Culver City will be declared to be America's Official Smurfs Village, with a street renamed for the three-apple-high heroes.  As part of the celebration, Sony Pictures Animation will make a donation to the Culver City Department of Parks and Recreation.  The theme of the premiere, "Give Back to Your Village," follows the Smurfs' timeless messages of peace and living in harmony.

The film premiere will be attended by the cast, including Demi Lovato (voice of Smurfette), Joe Manganiello (voice of Hefty Smurf), Ariel Winter (voice of SmurfLily), Jack McBrayer (voice of Clumsy Smurf), Danny Pudi (voice of Brainy Smurf), Meghan Trainor (voice of Melody Smurf and performer of the original song "I'm a Lady"), and Jeff Dunham (voice of Farmer Smurf), and by the filmmakers, including director Kelly Asbury, writers Stacey Harman and Pamela Ribon, and producers Jordan Kerner and Mary Ellen Bauder Andrews.  Véronique Culliford, daughter of Pierre Culliford (also known as Peyo), creator of the Smurfs, will also be in attendance.

Joining them will be several dignitaries from Culver City, including Mayor Jim Clarke, Vice Mayor Jeff Cooper, Councilmember Göran Eriksson, City Attorney Carol Schwab, Police Chief Scott Bixby, Fire Battalion Chief Rob Kohlhepp, and CCUSD Superintendent of Schools Dr. Joshua Arnold, as well as several Culver City businesses, who have given back to Culver City by "blue-tifying" their businesses to celebrate Culver City and the coming of Spring with the Smurfs, and schoolchildren, who have participated locally by planting flowers throughout the city.

The donation will be received by Daniel Hernandez, Culver City Director of Parks, Recreation and Community Services.

Commenting on the announcement, Kristine Belson, president of Sony Pictures Animation, said, "Culver City is home to Sony Pictures – we shop locally and eat at all the amazing restaurants throughout Culver City; we participate in community and volunteer events; and have initiated and sustained many programs that support Culver City schools and the community.  We could not be more thrilled to be part of what makes Culver City a great place to live and work – and tomorrow's celebration is a wonderful way for us all to come together."

Culver City Mayor Jim Clarke added, "We're proud of our neighbors at Sony Pictures, who have always proven to be wonderful members of our community – we're grateful for their donation and thrilled to be celebrating the World Premiere of Smurfs: The Lost Village with them.  Culver City has been the Heart of Screenland for 100 years, and in that time, so many classic movies have been filmed here, but tomorrow will be the very first time that we have been honored to host a World Premiere.  This event is a special occasion for us."

Véronique Culliford added, "I'm so proud that Culver City has been named America's Official Smurfs Village.  Our friends at Sony Pictures have always welcomed us with open arms and it's always been a wonderful pleasure to visit Culver City."

About "Smurfs: The Lost Village"

In this fully animated, all-new take on the Smurfs, a mysterious map sets Smurfette and her best friends Brainy, Clumsy and Hefty on an exciting and thrilling race through the Forbidden Forest filled with magical creatures to find a mysterious lost village before the evil wizard Gargamel does.  Embarking on a rollercoaster journey full of action and danger, the Smurfs are on a course that leads to the discovery of the biggest secret in Smurf history! The feature is directed by Kelly Asbury, produced by Jordan Kerner and Mary Ellen Bauder Andrews, and written by Stacey Harman and Pamela Ribon, based on the characters and works of Peyo.

About Sony Pictures Animation

Sony Pictures Animation produces a variety of animated and family entertainment for audiences around the world.  The studio is following its worldwide comedy hits—the record-breaking monster comedies Hotel Transylvania and Hotel Transylvania 2, the hybrid live action/animated blockbusters The Smurfs and The Smurfs 2, and the mouth-watering Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs movies—with the fully animated reboot Smurfs: The Lost Village in April 2017; a surprising and comic take at the secret world inside our phones with The Emoji Movie in August 2017; the inspirational The Star in November 2017; Hotel Transylvania 3 in July 2018; and an animated Spider-Man feature from the minds of directors Chris Miller and Phil Lord in December 2018.  The studio, in conjunction with Aardman Animations, has produced two critically acclaimed feature films:  the CG-animated family comedy Arthur Christmas; and the Academy Award® nominated stop-frame animated high-seas adventure, The Pirates! Band of Misfits.  In 2007, Surf's Up also received an Academy Award® nomination for Best Animated Feature Film; a sequel entitled Surf's Up 2: WaveMania is now available on digital and DVD.  The division, whose first feature film Open Season led to a very successful movie franchise including the brand new Open Season: Scared Silly now available on digital, DVD and Blu-ray, was founded in 2002.  Sony Pictures Animation is a division of the Sony Pictures Motion Pictures Group.

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SOURCE Sony Pictures Animation

Contact:

Sony Pictures Animation Jean Guerin, SVP, Media Relations, Sony Pictures Entertainment, 310.244.2923 Web: http://www.sonypicturesanimation.com