But more importantly, what’ll Smurfette’s boobs look like in 3D?

A glimpse at the CG-animation for the first installment of the upcoming Smurfs trilogy was posted this weekend at ComingSoon.net, including a 10-second video detailing the production process (click here for “First Look”). The late 2008 release is meant to coincide with the cartoon’s 50-year anniversary.

I doubt I’ll see this movie, though I am curious about how the re-make of one of my favorite childhood cartoons will be handled. Already I’m wondering why director Colin Brady and producer Jordan Kerner signed on for an entire trilogy, when, to me, a single film would seem a sufficient start.

In this Nov. ‘06 interview, Kerner tried to shed some light on the reasoning, describing the project as: “the animated Lord of the Rings – through the world of these idiots. Because they’re sweet characters but they’re goofs. It’s a comic version, but still very heartfelt, version of Lord of the Rings – though not literally Lord of the Rings, but an epic story like that.”

So, not literally the Lord of the Rings, but pretty much just like it ‘cause they’re both trilogies about fictional creature societies. Awesome. I’m also digging that Kerner refers to the Smurfs as “these idiots.”

Kerner does say that the movies will examine more of Gargamel’s back story, which should be interesting. John Lithgow is rumored to be lending his voice to that part, which seems like a decent fit to me, also.