USA Today just made the first official look at The Smurfs available. In addition to this, the first trailer for the film is set to come out on Thursday.

The USA Today article discusses how The Smurfs find their way to New York. Apparently, in the the opening scene, Gargamel finds the Smurfs' village and then scatters them into the woods.

"Unfortunately, Clumsy goes the wrong way into a forbidden grotto where a few other Smurfs follow," says director Raja Gosnell (Scooby Doo). "Because it's a blue moon, there's a magical portal that transports them to Central Park."

Returning home gets a bit more tricky as Gargamel goes after them. The trio that is pictured - along with Smurfette, Brainy and a new character, the brave Gutsy - find solace with a husband and wife (Neil Patrick Harris and Glee's Jayma Mays).

It seems that eating the Smurfs was something Gargamel always wanted to do, but the filmmakers jettisoned that idea.

"We all wondered whether we would be making a family version of Sweeney Todd," jokes producer Jordan Kerner (Charlotte's Web).

The way the story is now, Gargamel wants to capture the Smurfs to use them as charms, "whose mystical essence will make his inept magic more powerful - and dangerous."