This time, the blue folks face off with the evil wizard Gargamel when they are chased out of their village, through a magical portal, and into our world. Voila! They land bang in the middle of New York`s Central Park. Just three apples high and stuck in the Big Apple, the Smurfs must find a way to get back to their village before Gargamel tracks them down.

For those of you who aren't Smurf afficionados, here's a bit about their origin. In 1958, a Belgian artist named Pierre 'Peyo' Culliford created the Smurfs for a comic book.

The 'Schtroumpfs', as they were called, were immediately popular – generating a wave of letters to the editor demanding more – and over the next fifty years, they became nothing short of a phenomenon, coming to life in comics, books, television series, films, videogames, live shows, and figurines (over 300 million sold). And there are about a 100 different smurfs around!

So if your new to them, get inducted as a fan this July 29.

Text & images: Sify.com