About the Cartoon
In a tucked away village populated by little blue people who are only three apples tall and make their homes in mushrooms, Papa Smurf, a wise old magician, guides the rest of his hyperactive crew - Brainy, Vanity, Hefty, Clumsy, Jokey, Greedy, Lazy, Handy, Grouchy, Harmony and Smurfette, the only female smurf - through their unfriendly encounters with the inept wizard Gargamel and his henchcat Azreal, who want to rid of the world of these happy blue busybodies.
Belgian cartoonist Pierre "Peyo" Culliford (1928-1992) created these enchanting characters (called "Schtroumpf" in Flemish) in a Belgian comic strip in 1958, long before they appeared in this Emmy Award-winning series, which following its premiere in 1981 - was the highest-rated Saturday-morning show in eight years and the highest for an NBC animated series since 1970.
In 1982 NBC expanded the show to a unprecedented 90 minutes. Two new human characters joined the fun that season in cartoon adventures of their own: Johan, a young squire in the swashbuckling Errol Flynn mold, and Peewit, his comical sidekick. That same year The Smurfs won its first Emmy as Outstanding Children's Entertainment Series, the first of many awards for the series.
During the 1983-84 season, the series welcomed the arrival of Baby Smurf, and by the 1985-86 season it featured a tiny foursome of Smurf kids: the Smurflings (Nat, Slouchy, Snappy and Sassette, the second female). The following season two new characters, Grandpa Smurf (voiced by comedian Jonathan Winters) and Scruple, were introduced. In 1983 Hanna-Barbera, the series' producer, broke new ground by introducing the first mute character in an animated series: Laconia, the mute wood elf who used sign language to communicate.
The Smurfs' format returned to one hour in the 1988-89 season. In the 1989-90 season, the Smurfs left Smurf Village and became involved in events and key periods in world history, from the prehistoric days to ancient Egypt.
The series (renamed The Smurfs' Adventures) enjoyed a long life in syndication as well, beginning in 1986, while the network series continued to win its time slot. In 1989 the program was revived in reruns on USA Network's "Cartoon Express" and again in 1999 on the Cartoon Network. It is currently being broadcast in the USA on the Boomerang Channel.
A Hanna-Barbera production in association with Sepp Int'l, S.A. Color. One hour. Ninety minutes. Premiered on NBC: September 12, 1981-September 1, 1990. Rebroadcast on USA: April 12, 1989-September 12, 1993. Rebroadcast on CAR: October 1993-September 2, 1994 (weekdays); September 5, 1994-June 2, 1995 (weekdays, Sundays); June 30, 1997- (weekdays). Syndicated: 1986.
Voices
Gargamel: Paul Winchell
Azrael/Papa Smurf: Don Messick
Brainy: Danny Goldman
Clumsy/Painter: Bill Callaway
Hefty/Poet/Peewit/Clockwork: Frank Welker
Jokey/Mother Nature: June Foray
Smurfette: Lucille Bliss
Vanity/Hominbus: Alan Oppenheimer
Greedy/Harmony: Hamilton Camp
Lazy/Handy/Grouchy/Johan: Michael Bell
King: Bob Holt
Dame Barbara: Linda Gary
Tailor: Kip King
Sloppy: Marshall Efron
Farmer/Scaredy: Alan Young
Baby: Julie Dees
Grandpa: Jonathan Winters
Scruple: Brenda Vacarro
Nanny: Susan Blu
The Smurflings
Snappy: Pat Musick
Nat: Charlie Adler
Sassette: Julie Dees
Puppy: Frank Welker
Slouchy: Noelle North
Narrator: Paul Kirby, Kris Stevens
