Fanholes Side Story: Smurfs Are Smurfy! part 3

First, let's discuss the theme song. As a kid, the only time I ever found Gargamel frightening was during the opening sequence where he uses a magic spell to destroy the Smurf village. The series ran for nine seasons so this will be just a quick overview of two episodes. It's interesting to note that episode 16, ‘The Purple Smurfs’, is based on the comic ‘The Black Smurfs’. The change from black to purple was made for fears of racism. Who would have thought something as innocent as the Smurfs would be accused of racism?

Only recently has The Purple Smurfs comic been released in the US.

The Purple Smurfs come about after a purple fly bites Lazy Smurf on his Smurf tail. For some reason this has the affect of turning him into a Purple Smurf. Not just Purple though, he is pretty much a mindless Smurf zombie. Hopping around, shouting ‘Gnap!’ and infecting other Smurfs. Papa Smurf is able to make an antidote after capturing the purple fly, but not before the other Smurfs have transformed into Purple Smurfs.

As Papa Smurf returns to his hut for more antidote he is bitten. During Papa's transformation into a Purple Smurf his hut explodes. The resulting explosion sends the antidote into the air which cures the others.

The Purple Smurfs is one of the better episodes, so if you’re looking for a little nostalgia fix I’d recommend this episode. Plus, it's just fun seeing the Smurfs become insane zombies and biting each other.

Based on the comic of the same name, Gargamel decides the only way to destroy the Smurfs is by attacking from within. To do this he creates Smurfette. So what does it take to create a Smurfette? A magical lump of blue clay, a dash of sugar and spice (but nothing nice), a dab of crocodile tears, half a pack of lies, the chatter of a magpie, and a heart of stone. Thus, Gargamel creates the only female Smurf. Meanwhile, the Smurfs are out picking Smurf berries. Hefty Smurf is the first to encounter Gargamel’s creation, finding her crying all by her lonesome.

She asks, ‘Do you like what you see?’ ‘I dunno.’ Hefty replies, having never seen a female Smurf before. ‘You will!’ Smurfette responds with a sly smile. Hefty immediately takes her to the village. Not long after she contacts Gargamel and begins her scheme. She tricks Greedy Smurf into opening the dam. Then, in a battle over the control leaver, breaks it, flooding the village.

Papa Smurf puts her on trial where she confesses to being an agent of Gargamel. She then asks if there is any way she can become a real Smurf. Papa Smurf creates a spell which transforms Smurfette from a dark haired evil creation into a blonde full-fledged Smurf. When the Smurfs see her they immediately begin fighting over her. Gargamel tricks her, so she tells the Smurfs a surprise is waiting at the oak tree. All the Smurfs immediately run out and fall in to the trap.

In an attempt to distract Gargamel and Azrael, Smurfette dresses up as The Lone Smurf and manages to free the Smurfs. After Gargamel and Azrael are defeated, the Smurfs are surprised to learn that their savior is in fact Smurfette!

In the comic Smurfette leaves because she can’t stand all the Smurfs fighting over her. She does, however, come back eventually. So we now know the origin of Smurfette, but the question remains...where did the other Smurfs come from? Perhaps it's best to simply relax and enjoy the cartoons or comics.

Bottom line, if you're even a little bit curious about the new film i'd recommend taking a look at the comics or picking up the DVDs of the animated series. As i said, they are great fun, full of humor and a nice distraction. Plus, if you want to look deeper into some stories you may find some social commentary.

And another thing, as Papa Smurf says...

Fanholes Side Story: Smurfs Are Smurfy! part 2

You may ask yourself...why would a grown man read Smurf comics? Basically, I wanted to revisit a part of my childhood. I have to say, after reading several Smurf comics, I’m glad I did. It's nice to take a break from all the violence of mainstream comics. While I enjoy comics such as Captain America and Invincible, it's nice to not deal with any heavy subject matter. You’ll find no guts ripped out, Soviet spies or any of the like. These are comics I’d easily hand my nephews when they are old enough to read...just as my uncle gave me a pile of comics once.

You may remember an episode of the cartoon series called Astrosmurf. The cartoon is pretty much a direct adaptation of the comic. In the comic, Astrosmurf longs to Smurf to other planets and journey to the deepest reaches of space. He builds a spaceship, but is unable to lift off. He just can’t pedal fast enough. He becomes depressed and Papa Smurf quickly devises a solution.

He tells Astrosmurf they fixed the spaceship. Before he leaves Astrosmurf drinks a potion which puts him to sleep. The other Smurfs quickly disassemble the ship and begin a two day long trip to an extinct volcano and reassemble Astrosmurf’s ship. Astrosmurf wakes up on what he thinks is another planet. He discovers the Swoofs. Swoofs are simply Smurfs transformed by a potion Papa Smurf created. Astrosmurf wants to stay with the Swoofs and never return home. Not wanting to keep up the charade, Papa Smurf concocts several tests of courage. Despite his own shortcomings Astrosmurf manages to triumph. In the end, the Swoofs tell him that as a Swoof he must do all the chores, drink oil and other outrageous aspects of Swoof society...Astrosmurf quickly decides to return home. He is given another sleeping potion by the Swoofs while the ship is disassembled and reassembled again.

The cartoon version is only slightly different. It omits a few of the tests of courage and adds Gargamel and Azrael into the mix at the end. The Swoofs are red in the comic, but in the cartoon they are green.

In King Smurf a power struggle erupts in Smurf Village as Papa Smurf is away for a few days. After arguing about who should be in charge they decide to hold an election. One Smurf begins to realize he can get others to vote for him simply by making promises. Promises he does not intend to keep. He is elected and soon dons a gold outfit proclaiming himself King Smurf. He makes decrees, and warns offenders will be punished.

Eventually a group of rogue Smurfs break away and start their own village. A battle between the two sides erupts and in the end Papa Smurf returns and demands to know what has happened. King Smurf apologizes and all is forgiven. There is, of course, a moral here. We can see King Smurf as a parody for any politician. You may also be surprised to learn the Dutch title for this story was The Smurführer, a play on Führer. Keep in mind that this comic was written in a post World War II Europe.

When this story was made into an episode of the cartoon series, it was changed quite a bit. The role of King Smurf is played by Brainy Smurf. Brainy Smurf's Palace isn’t destroyed in the battle, but rather by a flood when the dam breaks. Here, Brainy learns that being a leader is more than simply making empty promises and giving orders.

Fanholes Side Story: Smurfs Are Smurfy! part 1

You may find it surprising, but the Smurfs are not only foreign but have been around since the late 50s. Belgium gave us the Smurfs and Tintin...and waffles of course, so we owe Belgium. It's also interesting to note that both properties have a feature film coming out this year. Go figure.

As a child of the 80s, I feel that I grew up with several great cartoons. As an adult I have revisited many of them, though there are several I have not. One property I have not revisited, until now, is The Smurfs. As a kid I loved the Smurfs. I’d wake up early every Saturday and watch as Gargamel tried his best to capture and eat the Smurfs, or turn them into gold…sometimes he seemed to be conflicted. I can also remember eating lots and lots of Smurf Berry Crunch Cereal.

First, a little history. The Smurfs were created, as I mentioned, in Belgium, by Pierre Culliford. Better known as Peyo, he created the Smurfs for a comic strip in 1958. The Smurfs began as characters in a strip called Johan and Peewit. If those names sound familiar it is because they would later show up in the cartoon series and movie.

By now we all know of the live action film being released this week. This new film, however, is not the first Smurfs movie. A previous animated film, which we know in the US as The Smurfs and The Magic Flute, came first. Made in Belgium in 1976 it didn’t reach the US till 1983, and by then the animated series had been on the air for two years and was quite popular. Though, when this movie was brought over it was not dubbed with the same voice actors who were used in the animated series.

A tagline for this movie states it's the first and only Smurfs movie ever. But really, who would ever imagine that nearly thirty years later there would be another Smurfs movie? Nevermind a live action version. The Smurfs and The Magic Flute is not available on DVD in North America.

As for the 2011 film…I think the trailer speaks for itself. Most likely, it's not going to be very good. Oh, it may prove popular with kids, but for those of us who grew up with the cartoon series…we see the trailer and groan. The two recent Alvin and The Chimpmunks live action movies proved quite popular and successful at the box office, so perhaps we can place the blame with that film series. As for me, I will not be seeing this film in theaters. I may not even watch it once it's on DVD. It just looks that bad. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not one to proclaim my childhood will be ruined forever. I just feel this will be a bad, bad movie.

There are, however, other media we can focus on and enjoy. There is of course the animated series, as well as the comics for which several of the cartoon episodes were adapted from. I will be taking a look at these two sources as I take a smurf down memory lane.