"Smurfs" (1981)TV series 1981-1990

Directors:

José Dutillieu
George Gordon

Writers:

Creighton Barnes (writer)
Doug Booth (writer)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 6

Release Date:

12 September 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Family | Fantasy

Plot:

The Smurfs are little blue creatures that live in mushroom houses in a forest inhabited mainly by their own kind...

Plot Keywords:

Village | Middle Age | Sorcerer | Wisdom | Blue

Awards:

3 wins

Cast

Don Messick

...

Azrael Cat (1981-1989) / ... (unknown episodes)

Also Known As:

Smurfs' Adventures

Runtime:

30 min (256 episodes)

Country:

USA | Belgium

Language:

Dutch | English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:G | Netherlands:AL | Iceland:L | Argentina:Atp | USA:TV-Y

Company:

Hanna-Barbera Productions

Trivia:

The reason there is only one female Smurf is because, to infiltrate the Smurf village, Gargamel created Smurfette and sent her in to disrupt the village. However, the overwhelming goodness of the Smurfs turned Smurfette from evil to good.

Quotes:

Gargamel: Ooo, those goody-goody Smurfs make me sick!
Azrael the Cat: Reow-row-row-reowww!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "South Park: Imaginationland (#11.10)" (2007)

A Heavy-Weight of kids programming/Social Ideology......

Of all the kids shows I used to watch years ago, this was an all-time heavyweight of afternoon programming. Well fleshed out characters, interactions, conflict and social re-acquaintance. If I ever end up with kids of my own, this will be amongst the paraphernalia floating around the living-room.

One of my favourite factors today however, as I often sit drinking and observing (as with most similar shows - Fraggle Rock for instance) is the contextual underlying basis of it all, previously oblivious to in childhood, and perhaps an all-knowing, nerve-racking experience for tense caffeine-addled parents of the Cold War. After all, The Smurfs DID co-exist in a Quaint, Idealistic Communist Utopia of equality and collective value, complete with sharp historical figures and the giant, hideous, ever-present threat emanating just beyond the woods from Gargomel's castle (capitalism). The knowledgeable theories (many, MANY theories of different nature as many know) are fast and thick. The evidence is bloody undeniable!