Rihanna flaunts vocals as Smurfette in new ‘Smurfs’ movie

Rihanna as Smurfette in the new ‘Smurfs’ movie

Global pop star Rihanna is making her debut in the “Smurfs” franchise as she takes over the role of Smurfette in the upcoming installment of the film series.

On Thursday, Feb. 6, Paramount Pictures released the first trailer for “Smurfs,” giving fans a glimpse of Rihanna lending her voice to Smurfette.

The 2-minute-and-40-second trailer begins with Rihanna introducing the film before bringing the viewers to Smurf Village.

Rihanna delights with her rendition of Belinda Carlisle’s 1987 classic “Heaven Is a Place on Earth,” as her character confidently declares herself “the coolest Smurf in the whole village.”

The trailer also features an energetic party sequence, which the Smurf village is known for, to the tune of Rihanna’s “Don’t Stop the Music.”

However, the festivities take a dramatic turn when Papa Smurf is kidnapped, prompting Smurfette to lead the pack as they venture into the human world on a daring quest to bring her father home.

Aside from voicing Smurfette, Rihanna also serves as one of the producers of the film and has written original songs for its soundtrack.

“I tried to get the Papa Smurf role, but it didn’t work out,” the singer-actress joked at CinemaCon 2023.

The film is directed by Chris Miller and Matt Landon. Aside from Rihanna, “Smurfs” stars John Goodman, Natasha Lyonne, Nick Offerman, Octavia Spencer, Sandra Oh, Amy Sedaris, Nick Kroll and Kurt Russell.

The Smurfs franchise began in the 1960s with five black-and-white short films. The film series then continued almost 30 years later after a 2011 feature film and a 2013 sequel were released.

Live-action roles include Hank Azaria, Neil Patrick Harris and Jayma Mays, while the voice-over roles include Anton Yelchin, Jonathan Winters, Katy Perry and George Lopez.

A fully animated reboot titled ”Smurfs: The Lost Village” was then released in April 2017.

The new “Smurfs” movie is set to hit local cinemas on July 16.