Magic Flute Diaries concept for a film inspired by Mozart’s "The Magic Flute" emerged from a number of sources. Director, writer and producer of the film, Kevin Sullivan, became interested in the city of Salzburg after his daughter travelled there with her school orchestra to attend Mozart’s 250th birthday celebrations. Sullivan was also inspired by Andrew Lloyd Webber’s stage musical, "The Woman in White", which used three-dimensional backdrops in its London production. Though Sullivan claims not to be an opera buff, he had always had a love for Mozart’s "The Magic Flute". Due to the impossibility (budget and time constraints) of filming on-location
The Smurfs and the Magic Flute version was released by Morningstar Entertainment in 2008; it was later re-released by Shout! Factory on 14 August 2012. The film was also released to DVD in Canada by Vivendi Entertainment on 22 November 2011. It is the UK dub sourced from PAL masters that is available on DVD. The film was released to both DVD and Blu-Ray in the UK on 11 October 2010. For reasons unknown, the Netflix and VUDU service in America currently streams the PAL-formated UK dub. Of "The Smurfs and the Magic Flute", animation historian Jerry Beck wrote in his "Animated Movie Guide": Is the