The Smurfs 2 is a 2013 American 3D live-action/computer-animated comedy film loosely based on The Smurfs comic book series created by the Belgian comics artist Peyo. It is the second film in the Smurfs film series and a sequel to the 2011 film The Smurfs, produced by Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, Kerner Entertainment Company, and Hemisphere Media Capital, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. The film is directed by Raja Gosnell, who helmed the first, with all the main cast returning. New cast members include Christina Ricci and J. B. Smoove as members of the Naughties, and Brendan Gleeson as Patrick Winslow's stepfather. The Smurfs 2 was released on July 31, 2013 to generally negative reviews from critics for poor attempts at humor, characters, plot, screenplay and perceived lack of fidelity to its source material, despite some audiences considering the film as a slight improvement over its predecessor while most critics considered it as its predecessor all over again.