Update! Neil Patrick Harris has announced via his Twitter account that the character of Gargamel won’t be animated, he’ll be a live-action character – thus, Hank Azaria will be appearing in the film.

Veteran voice-over artist Hank Azaria (“The Simpsons”, “Anastasia”) will lend his lungs to the evil Gargamel in Sony’s “The Smurfs”.

The film, out August 2011, tells of an unexpected couple (Neil Patrick Harris and Jayma Mays) whose life is thrown a spanner when they encounter a group of squat blue critters living in New York City.

Azaria joins a cast that includes Jonathan Winters (Papa Smith), Katy Perry (Smurfette), Alan Cumming (Gutsy Smurf) and George Lopez (Grouchy Smurf).

There’s more at Entertainment Weekly…