It has taken more than two decades, but finally our favourite blue skinned friends will be making their debut in world cinema, with the expected release of Smurfs 3D next year.

It was during the early 1980s when the little blue dwarfs made their Saturday morning television debut, and now rather than being drawn, the characters will be digitally 3D animated for the feature film.

The movie is now currently in pre production phase and is expected to be the first out of three films made.

While nothing too big has been given away in regards to the plot, it is expected to include some of the big name characters like Gargamel and Papa Smurf

Producer, Jordan Kerner, gave a bit of info when he said the story of Gargamel will be explored in the film.

“What his back story really was. There’s an all-powerful wizard… there’s all sorts of things that get revealed as we go along,” he said.

Kerner also mentioned some sort of strange connection to Lord of the Rings,

“The animated Lord of the Rings, through the world of these idiots,” Kerner said.

“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.”

John Lithgow, Julia Sweeney and Wallace Shawn are all expected to be working in the film, which is directed by Colin Brady.

The film is expected to be given a PG rating.