I'm pretty sure NPH is the main and only reason we had THE SMURFS 2.
Actually, no.
The first Smurf movie was a surprise hit (being the only kid friendly movie released at the time), and it actually killed in Europe, where the Asterix movies (the live action ones, that is) are actually considered
worse. So they didn't have the problem of us screwing with the formula. Smurfs merchandise leaped off the shelves within a week of the film's debut. It brought the franchise back, actually.
Too bad I can't say the same for the second (though it also did well in Europe). And the sad thing is, they actually made the second film
good. I think they're still planning the third one, but it's hard to tell considering it did poorly compared to the first. But then again, the first one didn't have Planes, Turbo, and Percy Jackson as competition. None of these did that well, at least in the US... Turbo doubled its budget overseas. And Disney's going to call Planes a win.
As for NPH in Smurfs... well, considering all these other human focused adaptions of cartoons and comic strips, it was refreshing to see someone actually
act in that kind of film, instead of passionlessly bumbling around for a paycheck. *&^% Yogi Bear movie was ruined by the
terrible casting choices outside the Yogi and Boo Boo voice actors.