- Network: NBC
- Series Premiere Date: Sep 12, 1981
Summary:
The Smurfs are a group of over 100 bluish, three-apple tall creatures who live in the mushroom homes of Smurf Village. They are led by 543-year-old Papa Smurf (who doesn't look a day over 530). Their lives would be perfect were it not for the villainous Gargamel, a wizard who spends his days trying to capture them to eat, turn into gold, or for some other evil reason. Gargamel's cat Azrael adds to the menace, always looking for a smurfalicious snack. The single-emotioned smurfs, including Brainy, Jokey, Vanity, Grouchy and Clumsy, and others, were later joined by Grandpa Smurf, five Smurflings (who went back in time to become youngsters), and even Nanny late in the series. Gargamel, too, got a friend in the form of the unscrupulous Scruple.
In 1982, the Culliford characters Johan and his aide Peewit ("Peewee" to U.S. kids) were given their own segments during the expanded, 90-minute The Smurfs, but the two humans simply weren't as smurfy as their tiny friends, and thus did not last. Despite its incredible popularity, The Smurfs actually encountered some controversy. Some adults considered the show quite sexist in its use of the one original female character, Smurfette, who was created by Gargamel as a way to fool the other Smurfs. In reaction to the criticism, the siren was changed into a sweetie via some Papa Smurf magic, and later seasons brought further smurf femmes like Sassette and Nanny.
Perhaps the most memorable feature of the show was the use of the word "smurf" in every possible tense and construction. For instance, it wouldn't be unusual to hear a Smurf remark something like, "It's such a smurfy day, I think I'll go smurfing in Lake Smurf." In any case, the show won two Emmys as Outstanding Children's Entertainment Series and, in 1987, actually did a message episode. In an anti-drug show, Poet Smurf became addicted after rubbing a witch's magic orb, requiring the help of Papa and the gang to overcome his problem. The Smurfs hit the silver screen in 1984 with The Smurfs and the Magic Flute. The film was actually a dubbed version of an older Belgian Schtroumpfs feature, and our teeny weeny heroes didn't even appear until a ways in. The film flopped, but the cartoon continued to rule Saturday morning for the better part of the decade.
In 1989, in an attempt to save the nearly decade-old show, the producers had the Smurfs leaving Smurf Village to visit various times and locations. Fans were smurfed off. The show was cancelled after that...
Details
| Network: | NBC |
|---|---|
| Genre(s): | Comedy, Animation, Science Fiction, Kids |
| Creators: | Peyo |
| Seasons: | 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 |
| Cast | Credit |
|---|---|
| Danny Mann | Brainy |
| Joey Camen | Additional Voices |
| Marcelo Tubert | Various Voices |
| Keene Curtis | Additional Voices |
| Michael Lembeck | Additional Voices |
| René Auberjonois | Additional Voices |
| Clyde Kusatsu | Additional Voices |
| Dick Gautier | Additional Voices |
| Kenneth Mars | Various Voices |
| Frank Welker | Hefty Smurf |
| Frank Welker | Wild Smurf |
| Frank Welker | Wild Smurf |
| Phil Hartman | Additional Voices |
| Tress MacNeille | Various Voices |
| Russi Taylor | Additional Voices |
| Russi Taylor | Voice Of Puppy/Smoogle/Additional Voices |
| Russi Taylor | Voice Of Puppy/Smoogle/Additional Voices |
| Ray Walston | Additional Voice |
| Lennie Weinrib | Various Voices |
| Hamilton Camp | Greedy Smurf |
| Hamilton Camp | Harmony Smurf/ Greedy Smurf |
| Hamilton Camp | Harmony Smurf/ Greedy Smurf |
| Kath Soucie | Various Voices |
| Ruth Buzzi | Additional Voices |
| Ruth Buzzi | Additonal Voices |
| Michael Bell | Grouchy Smurf / Grouchus Smurfus |
| Michael Bell | Handy Smurf |
| Michael Bell | Handy Smurf |
| Michael Bell | Handy Smurf |
| Jennifer Darling | Additional Voices |
| Alan Oppenheimer | Vanity Smurf |
| Alan Oppenheimer | Vanity Smurf |
| Mary Jo Catlett | Additional Voices |
| George Takei | Various Voices |
| Henry Polic II | Various Voices |
| Barry Gordon | Brainy Smurf |
| Rob Paulsen | Various Voices |
| Alan Young | (Voice) Miner Smurf/Farmer Smurf/Scaredy Smurf |
| Alan Young | Farmer Smurf |
| Alan Young | Farmer Smurf |
| Don Messick | Azrael/ Papa Smurf/ Sleepy Smurf |
| Don Messick | Papa Smurf |
| Jack Angel | Additional Voices |
| Jim MacGeorge | Additional Voices |
| Ed Gilbert | Additional Voices |
| Avery Schreiber | Additional Voices |
| Jonathan Winters | Grandpa Smurf |
| Susan Blu | Nanny Smurf |
| Susan Blu | Nanny Smurf |
| Roger C. Carmel | Character Voices |
| Peter Cullen | Additional Voices |
| Robbie Lee | Additional Voices |
| B.J. Ward | Various Voices |
| Charlie Adler | Nat Smurfling |
| Gregg Berger | Additional Voices |
| Jim Cummings | Additional Voices |
| Clive Revill | Various Voices |
| Townsend Coleman | Additional Voices |
| Jered Barclay | Additional Voices |
| Jered Barclay | Various Voices |
| Brian Cummings | Additional Voices |
| Linda Gary | Dame Barbara |
| Linda Gary | Dame Barbara |
| Keye Luke | Additional Voices |
| Joan Gerber | Additional Voices |
| June Foray | Jokey Smurf |
| June Foray | Jokey Smurf/ Mother Nature |
| Chuck McCann | Various Voices |
| Lewis Arquette | Additional Voices |
| Allan Lurie | (Voice) Additional Voices |
| Allan Lurie | Additional Voices |
| Anderson Wong | Various Voices |
| Pat Fraley | Additional Voices |
| Janet Waldo | Various Voices |
| Susan Silo | Additional Voices |
| Danny Goldman | Brainy Smurf |
| Paul Winchell | Gargamel |
| Kris Stevens | Narrator |
| Paul Kirby | Narrator |
| Lucille Bliss | Additional Voices |
| Lucille Bliss | Smurfette |
| Brenda Vaccaro | Various Voices |
| Bob Arbogast | Various Voices |
| Julie Dees | Various Voices |
| Robert Ito | Additional Voices |
| Teresa Ganzel | Additional Voices |
| William Callaway | Clumsy Smurf / Painter Smurf |
| William Callaway | Painter Smurf, |
| William Callaway | Painter Smurf, |
| Pat Musick | Snappy Smurfling |
| Pat Musick | Various Voices |
| Barry Dennen | Additional Voices |
| Jerry Houser | Additional Voices |
| Julie McWhirter | Baby Smurf |
| Julie McWhirter | Sassette Smurfling / Baby Smurf |
| Julie McWhirter | Sassette Smurfling / Baby Smurf |
| Ernest Harada | Additional Voices |
| Janice Motoike | Various Voices |
| Franklin Seales | Various Voices |
| Michael Wong | Various Voices |
