Smurf’s up! Today is the opening of Paramount’s new animated film Smurfs (posters of which trumpet the rather prosaic tagline “Rihanna is Smurfette”). This will be the Belgian comic book characters’ fifth big-screen appearance since 1976’s Smurfs and the Magic Flute and follows Sony’s two live-action/animation blends and 2017’s Smurfs: The Lost Village reboot.
It’s too early to say if audiences will come out to watch the three-apple-high protagonists in yet another cinematic adventure. A quick look at Hollywood’s past, however, demonstrates that moviegoers have no problems rooting for–or against–characters decked out in various shades of azure, baby blue, cerulean, cobalt blue, electric blue, midnight blue…okay, you get the idea.
So, put on your old grey bonnet with the blue ribbon on it, while we offer a once-in-a-blue-moon photo gallery of some–but not all–of the most unforgettable blue movie stars (not to be confused with stars of blue movies). And no, little Bonnie Blue from Gone with the Wind doesn’t count:
Nikko (Pat Walshe) and the Flying Monkeys, The Wizard of Oz (1939)
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The Genie (Rex Ingram) and the Silver Maid (Mary Morris), The Thief of Bagdad (1940)
The Road Runner, Fast and Furry-ous (1949)
The Chief Blue Meanie, Dreadful Flying Glove, Max, and other assorted Blue Meanies, Yellow Submarine (1968)
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Gonzo (Dave Goelz) and Sam the Eagle (Frank Oz), The Muppet Movie (1979)
Max Rebo, Return of the Jedi (1983)
Mac (Jeff Goldblum), Earth Girls Are Easy (1988)
Genie (Robin Williams), Aladdin (1992)
Calli (Ann Magnuson), Cabin Boy (1994)
Dr. Victor Fries, aka Mr. Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger), Batman & Robin (1997)
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Mystique (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos), Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming), and Beast (Kelsey Grammer), X-Men (2000)/X2: X-Men United (2003)/X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
James P. “Sulley” Sullivan (John Goodman), Monsters, Inc. (2001)
Stitch, Lilo & Stitch (2002)
Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), Finding Nemo (2003)
Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) and the Na’vi, Avatar (2009)
Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup), Watchmen (2009)
Megamind (Will Ferrell), Megamind (2010)
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Nebula (Karen Gillan), Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace), and Yondu (Michael Rooker), Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Inside Out (2015)
Genie (Will Smith), Aladdin (2019)
Sonic (Ben Schwartz), Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)
Jaimie Reyes (Xolo Maridueña), Blue Beetle (2023)
Are you feeling blue that we overlooked your favorite cerulean-colored character? Let us know about it in the comments below.