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Author
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Topic: Smurfs Theme Park being built in China!
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Squeaky Smurf
Hering Smurf
Member # 2416
Member Rated:
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posted 09-10-2010 03:20 PM
Though being somewhat difficult to go to China , positively it's really great learning the little blue guys shall be given a theme park! ![[Smile]](smile.gif) ![[Smurfette]](graemlins/smurfette.gif) ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif) ![[Cool]](cool.gif)
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Keep on always smurfin'!!
Posts: 7507 | From: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Registered: Jul 2008
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Smurfy1For2
Blue Believer
Member # 1224
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posted 09-10-2010 08:32 PM
Thanks Rocker Smurf!! Here is the article:
by Leigh Caldwell
Papa Smurf and his band of blue men (and one sexy Smurfette) are headed to China.
The Wall Street Journal reports today that a $2.9 million Smurfs theme park is set to open in three to five years in Chengdu China.
Chengdu is best known for its pandas, but there's a movement there to smurf up the tourism numbers, and this new theme park is part of the plan.
The Smurfs were dreamed up in 1958 by Belgian cartoonist Peyo. At the height of their popularity in the 1980s, the Smurfs pulled in 42 percent of Saturday morning cartoon audiences in the United States.
But then they smurfed out of view in most of the world. A Smurfs theme park in France struggled to survive during the 1990s, and while the park is still there today, the Smurfs are not.
The WSJ says since the Smurfs 50th anniversary in 2008, the Smurfs seem to be making a comeback. There are new Smurf toys on store shelves and the classic series has been released on DVD. A live-action/animation hybrid Smurfs movie starring Neil Patrick Harris and Katy Perry is set to be released in 2011.
Here is the Wall Street Journal article:
by Laurie Burkitt
A Macy's Smurf balloon makes its way down New York’s 7th Avenue
during the Thanksgiving Day Parade.
A new wave of blue-collar workers is joining the push to develop Western China: the Smurfs.
The beloved, animated blue creatures — famous for their white caps, cheery theme song, and proclivity for using the name of their race as a verb — are moving to Chengdu, where development firm Chengdu Teda Sino-Europe Construction and Smurf-brand owner IMPS plan to open a Smurf theme park, according to a report from DTZ Asia Property Market Update.
With investment of 20 million yuan, or about $2.9 million, the theme park is set to open in three to five years, according to DTZ. It’s part of a bigger plan to build tourism in Chengdu, where pandas are one of the biggest attractions.
The Smurfs emerged in 1958 as the brain-child of Brussels-born cartoonist Pierre Culliford, more commonly known as Peyo. Their immediate popularity resulted in a regular cartoon strip for European audiences in 1959 and an animated movie in 1975. After 1981, when U.S.-production company Hanna-Barbera created the Emmy-winning cartoon, the Smurfs earned their status as global icons. NBC ran the series until 1989, pulling in 42% of Saturday morning TV audiences, according to Time Magazine.
The Chinese development won’t be the first theme park for the blue imps. The Big Bang Schtroumpf (French for Smurf) opened in France in 1989, though due to lackluster attendance it closed after two seasons. The park later reopened under different ownership, yet, to avoid shuttering the park, it shoved the Smurfs and their high licensing fees out in 2003.
So why build a Smurf attraction in China?
If this were a few decades ago, the answer might be politics. After all, in certain circles, it is believed that the Smurfs were a Communist plot. What better fit than Maoist China would there for a beings who wear the same clothing, live in a cooperative, and contentedly work for a common goal under the authoritarian leadership of a man whose white beard bears a striking resemblance to that of Karl Marx.
These days, the more likely answer is commerce. Since their 50th anniversary in 2008, the Smurfs have been singing their way back into the markets, and Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation plan to release a hybrid live-action, animated Smurf movie next year, starring Neil Patrick Harris and Katy Perry. Toy manufacturer Jakks Pacific Inc. is selling plush Smurf toys and DVDs. A Smurfette line of lipsticks and eye shadows went on sale last year at cosmetic retailer Sephora.
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u wished u rocked as i
Posts: 1971 | From: Fairfield, VA | Registered: Nov 2005
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