In 1976, Stuart R. Ross, an American media and entertainment entrepreneur who saw the Smurfs while traveling in Belgium, entered into an agreement with EditionsDupuis andPeyo, acquiringNorth American and other rights to the characters, whose original name was "les Schtroumpfs". Subsequently, Ross launched the Smurfs in the United States in association with a California company,Wallace Berrie and Co., whose figurines, dolls and other Smurf merchandise became a hugely popular success. NBC PresidentFred Silverman's daughter, Melissa, had a Smurf doll of her own that he had bought for her at a toy shop while they were visitingAspen,Colorado. Silverman thought that a series based on the Smurfs might make a good addition to theSaturday-morning cartoon lineup.[3]
The Smurfs, produced byHanna-Barbera Productions in association withSEPP International S.A. (from 1981 to 1987) andLafig S.A. (in the years 1988 and 1989), debuted on NBC at 8:30 AM in 1981. The series became a major success for the network[4] (one of the few hits to emerge from the Silverman era) and one of the most successful and longest-running Saturday morning cartoons in television history, spawning sevenspin-off television specials on an almost yearly basis. The characters included Papa Smurf, Smurfette, Brainy Smurf, the evilGargamel, his cat Azrael, and Johan and his friend Peewit.The Smurfs was nominated multiple times forDaytime Emmy Awards and won Outstanding Children's Entertainment Series in 1982–1983.[5]
By 1989, the show was in its ninth season and had reached the 200-episode threshold, an extreme rarity when most cartoons were gone after two seasons and 22 episodes (it also far exceeded the typical 65-episode run of a first-run syndicated show of the era). In an effort to come up with new ideas to keep the show fresh, NBC changed the format of the show, taking some of the Smurfs out of the forest and omitting the Smurf Village. These changes were adopted to a lost-in-time format similar toThe Time Tunnel (at the same time NBC had a hit with the prime time seriesQuantum Leap which also dealt with time travel). The show continued through the end of the season, airing the last original episode 2 December 1989 on NBC,[citation needed] after a decade of success, NBC later cancelledThe Smurfs along with other Saturday-morning cartoons to make way for another block of live-action programming on 9 April 1990.The Smurfs had its last re-run on NBC on 25 August 1990. The total number of individual eleven minute and twenty-two minute cartoons in the entire series run came to 417.[citation needed]
The background music forThe Smurfs was composed byHoyt Curtin, Hanna-Barbera's primary musical director, but Curtin's work on the series is noted for its frequent use ofclassical music asthemes or leitmotifs. Notable classical works excerpted inThe Smurfs include:[7][8]
A half-hour version forsyndication was broadcast under the titleSmurfs' Adventures since 1986. Although each season had its own unique opening song during the original broadcast, syndicated airings usually use a shortened version of the season 4 opening. The series aired onCartoon Network in the past and currently onBoomerang. On August 7, 2023, the series began airing onDiscovery Family,[citation needed] and onMeTV Toons when it launched on June 25, 2024.[10]
Warner Home Video released the complete first season on DVD in a two-volume set in 2008.[11][12] Despite high sales of both sets,[13] no further seasons have been released. Warner Home Video later released a series of three single-disc releases ofThe Smurfs in 2009, each containing five episodes from the second season.[14][15][16] A two-disc DVD was set to be released in 2011 to tie into the theatrical film with 10 episodes which would be culled from the entire run of the series,[17] instead, it included episodes from the second season. Another DVD with bothSmurfs Christmas specials was released later that year.[18] As of 2026, it is still unknown ifWarner Archive will release the rest of the show's complete seasons (uncut and unedited) on blu-ray.
In 2020,HBO Max released seasons one to four on its online streaming platform. The available seasons are presented in1080phigh definition.
DVD title
Season(s)
Episode count
Release date
Description
Season 1 Volume 1
1
13
26 February 2008
This two-disc release contained the first 19 season one episodes, uncut and digitally remastered, and presented in their original broadcast presentation and order. Special features included a bonus episode "The Smurfs Springtime Special", and the Smurfs music video.
Season 1 Volume 2
7 October 2008
This two-disc release contained the remaining 20 season one episodes, plus one special feature, "I Smurf The Smurfs".
True Blue Friends
2
5
3 March 2009
Contains five season two episodes: "S-Shivering S-Smurfs", "Turncoat Smurf", "The Smurf Who Couldn't Say No", "The Haunted Castle", and "The Black Hellebore". Special features include a storyboard of "Gormandizing Greedy".
Smurfy Tales
18 August 2009
Contains five season two episodes: "The Last Laugh", "The A-maze-ing Smurfs", "The Lost City of Yore", "Johan's Army", and "The Good, The Bad, and the Smurfy". Special features include bios of Handy Smurf, Clumsy Smurf, Smurfette, and Vanity Smurf.
World of Wonders
17 November 2009
Contains five season two episodes "All's Smurfy That Ends Smurfy", "The Littlest Giant", "Sleepwalking Smurfs", "Squeaky", and "The Sorcery of Maltrochu". Special features include theMeet The Smurfs feature, which shows Jokey, Brainy, and Greedy, plus an Easter egg: if the viewer clicks on the telescope, it shows something that is "rated S for Smurfy", presented as if it was a science-fiction movie. It starts out with Dreamy asking if there is life in "outer smurf", and shows Hefty saying, "There is no life in outer smurf", ending with the announcer saying "It Came from Outer Smurf. Coming Soon." Also of note is that Greedy's image is actually Cook Smurf's image, which is what the cartoon version of Greedy is based on.
A Magical Smurf Adventure
10
19 July 2011
Contains 10 season two episodes "Smurf Van Winkle", "Revenge of the Smurfs", "Magic Fountain", "Smurf Me No Flowers", "The Cursed Country", "The Blue Plague", "The Ring of Castellac", "A Mere Truffle", "Gormandizing Greedy", and "Sister Smurf". Special features includeSmurf Speak.
Holiday Celebration
—N/a
2
11 October 2011
Contains both Christmas specials "'Tis the Season to Be Smurfy" and "The Smurfs Christmas Special"
The Best of Seasons 1 and 2
1, 2
24
12 March 2013
Repackage contains the first discs from theSeason 1 Volumes1 and2 andA Magical Smurf Adventure sets.
Smurfs to the Rescue!
6
16 July 2013
Contains one season one episode, and five season two episodes "The Goblin of Boulder Wood", "Sideshow Smurfs", "The Three Smurfketeers", "It Came from Outer Smurf", "One Good Smurf Deserves Another", and "The Sky is Smurfing! The Sky is Smurfing!"
Smurftastic Journey
1
15 October 2013
Contains six cartoons (equal to four episodes worth) from season one, "The Astrosmurf", "Painter and Poet", "Paradise Smurfed", "Supersmurf", "Dreamy's Nightmare", and "All That Glitters Isn't Smurf"
The Smurfs Springtime Specials
3 TV specials
21 February 2023
Contains three TV Specials "The Smurfs Springtime Special", "My Smurfy Valentine", & "Smurfily Ever After"
Fabulous Films andArrow Films have released the first five seasons on DVD in the UK.[19][20][21][22][23]The company has also released the filmThe Smurfs and the Magic Flute on Blu-ray and DVD, as well as several compilation DVDs, containing themed specials from the show.
DVD name
Ep #
Release date
Complete 1st Season
27
5 July 2010
Complete 2nd Season
24
6 September 2010
Complete 3rd Season
31
1 July 2013
Complete 4th Season
28
1 July 2013
Complete 5th Season
25
1 July 2013
The Complete Seasons 1–5
135
1 December 2014
The Smurfs – Four Smurf-tastic Episodes
4
30 July 2011
The Smurfs and the Magic Flute (Blu-ray + DVD)
0
11 October 2011
The Smurfs: 'Tis the Season to Be Smurfy
4
5 November 2011
The Smurfs: My Smurfy Valentine
4
8 January 2012
The Smurfs Springtime Special
6
17 March 2012
The Smurfs: The Smurfic Games
7
4 June 2012
The Smurfs Halloween Special
6
1 October 2012
The Smurfs: Love, Smurfette
6
1 July 2013
The Smurfs: Papa Smurf Rocks!
6
1 July 2013
The Smurfs: World Cup Carnival
5
23 June 2014
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has announced the release of the full Series in 9 Season Sets on DVD in Germany, with German sound only, beginning in August 2011.[24]
DVD name
Ep #
Release date
Die komplette erste Staffel
27
4 August 2011
Die komplette zweite Staffel
24
4 August 2011
Die komplette dritte Staffel
31
14 October 2011
Die komplette vierte Staffel
28
14 October 2011
Die komplette fünfte Staffel
25
16 August 2012
Die komplette sechste Staffel
39
16 August 2012
Die komplette siebte Staffel
40
25 July 2013
Die komplette achte Staffel
16 (including 16 additional episodes of Johan and Peewit)
The animated versions of Papa Smurf and Brainy Smurf were featured inCartoon All-Stars to the Rescue. Hefty Smurf also makes a brief cameo in the beginning of the movie with the other Smurfs, his only line being, "Who smurfed the bell?" Smurfette is shown on the promotional poster and VHS cover artwork, but was not seen in the special. Harmony Smurf made a small cameo as theSmurfs comic book was flipping through pages.
Gargamel and Azrael made guest appearances onFamily Guy in 2009.
In the 2001 Jake Gyllenhaal movieDonnie Darko, the titular character is seen on-screen giving an exposition regarding the origin of Smurfette to his two friends.
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