The Smurfs – - Peyo’s lovable little blue imps — are turning 50 this year, and it’s going to be a worldwide celebration!
Their debut on U.S. television in 1981 started their global rise to stardom and made the Smurfs a household name. A Smurf is a Pitufo in Spanish, a Schlumpf in German, Nam Ching Ling to the Chinese, a Sumafa in Japan and Dardassim in Hebrew.
“I think that if he could see all that has been done with his characters since his death and the success and interest that the Smurfs still attract, he would be very, very, very, very happy and very proud,” said Peyo’s son, Thierry Culliford.
Events this year include a 3-Danimated movie, new comic book collections (including an American licensing program), a remastered release of the popular 1980s television animated series, and the introduction of more female Smurfs, according to various news reports.
Our own Smurf-ebration includes the fact that when you Google Image the word Smurf you come up with lots and lots of this:
And our “favorite” Smurf moment remains this UNICEF-created (and officially sanctioned) anti-war spot that shows the true pain or war:
“Mommy, where did the other girl smurfs come from?”
surprisingly, there was not a pokemon-like cultural invasion of European kids’ comics. The Smurf albums did not sell well; Asterix, Tintin, and Marsupulami had a little success; even the polished mature comics fail to find a mass audience even in comics shops.
However, that cult status makes it cooler, a secret guilty pleasure like Mozart kugeln and Tex Avery cartoons!
in celebration, i’m gonna smurf my girl after we smurf up some heroin and get smurfed up!
In honor of the 50th anniversary, here is an amazing illustration of Gargamel by Calvin Wong— for part of a feature in the first issue of our zine, Electric Ant!
http://flickr.com/photos/calwong/2041426361/
“Are we there yet, Papa Smurf?”
“Not yet, my little Smurfs…”
I remember in the ’80s either Cracked or Crazy magazine doing a hilarious send-up of the Smurfs– Gargamel eating them, boiling them, etc. In one pannel, a Smurf gets de-hatted, exposing a big ugly lump of a head under the hat– the hat doesn’t flop over, there’s actually a head in there giving it that shape– funny stuff!
Oh man, don’t tell that to Seth Green pulphope. How many Smurf satires have there been on Robot Chicken so far?
~
Coat
I can never understand these things. Why aren’t they known as ‘Smurfs’ all over the world? It’s not like that is a real word in any language.
Let’s party ’til we’re blue in the face!
[waits for thunderous, uproarious laughter]
“That’s what’s so ridiculous about being a Smurf, because what’s the point of life if you’ve got no dick?”
“Jesus, Donnie, why d’ya gotta get so smart on us?”
they were actually originally ‘Les Schtroumpfs’ in french. i think it’s just that even nonsense words don’t always translate terribly well…
smurfs are 50!?
i’m smurfing smurf as smurf.
My friends and I used to collect smurfs. My allowance was $2 and they were $1.50. They were kind of like the Beanie Babies of the 70’s.