Major characters in The Smurfs
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This is a list of major characters in The Smurfs comics and animated series. For the other characters, see Minor characters in The Smurfs.
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[edit] Smurfs
[edit] Baby
Baby Smurf first appeared in the eponymous comic issue (and in the cartoon episode, Once In A Blue Moon), where he was delivered by a stork on a blue moon night in the smurf village. The smurfs first thought it was Smurfette's biological baby and tried to find out who was the father, but they abandoned the idea as they lived with the toddler, who was mostly cared for by Smurfette and Papa Smurf.
It was later found out that Baby Smurf was sent by some mysterious unnamed people by a stork, when they sent the stork back with a written message. It claimed that Baby Smurf was delivered in error and that they had to take him back. The smurfs were revolted by this, and Grouchy Smurf, the smurf who was the least expected to show attachment to the baby, ran away with him into the forest so that he wouldn't be taken back. After a dangerous runaway, he had to return... without anger from his peers, as they felt sympathetic towards him due to his unusual caring attitude. The stork took the baby but came back with him, with another message that claimed that the senders were touched by Grouchy's story and thought that the smurfs deserved to keep Baby Smurf after all.
Baby Smurf also has some special, possibly magical, powers that no one knows about. He has used them to make Father Christmas's reindeer fly and to rearrange labels on chemical containers in Papa Smurf's lab. Baby Smurf also was the only Smurf to be pure-hearted enough to open Puppy's magic pendant. He also has a grasp of algebra that surpassed even Papa Smurf. His first word was "Gargamel" (a smurf's first word is said to be tied to his destiny). It has been mentioned in the cartoon that Baby was to become leader of the smurfs one day.
[edit] Brainy
Brainy Smurf fancies himself as the all-around-brain of the village. Although he acts as though he is second-in-command behind Papa Smurf, this isn't the case and even Papa Smurf doesn't seem very fond of his sanctimonious attitude. In fact he could be considered as the class swot or know-all. He is a smurf that can be distinguished from the others because he wears thick glasses as he is extremely short-sighted. In fact, in the original Belgian version, he is called "Smurf with Glasses" (and, more seldom, "Lecturing Smurf"). Brainy Smurf is an avid reader and keeps a lot of books in his house (mostly his quotations). Fancying himself as being very close to Papa Smurf, he is quite arrogant and often lectures smurfs who don't behave, and threatens to tattle on them to Papa Smurf. Loquacious, he often uses big words that he himself either made up or doesn't know what they really mean. A lot of the other smurfs dislike him, and when he enters into a long lecturing, some frustrated smurf often angrily smashes him on the head with a big wooden mallet. Frequently, in the cartoon, after his blathering or posturing have gone too far, he is thrown a long distance (typically by Hefty Smurf), and always lands square on his head, usually outside of the village. He is the best friend to Clumsy Smurf.
[edit] Dreamy (aka Astro)
Dreamy Smurf often stargazed in the sky at night. His dream was leaving the planet to venture into other planets. He tried to ask assistance from Papa Smurf with his magic knowledge, but it proved to be too difficult. Dreamy Smurf then decided to use scientific methods: he would make a giant space rocket that would "propel him to the stars". After having worked several weeks on his rocket (that was wooden), he prepared himself in a white jumpsuit and a glass bowl as an astronaut attire, therefore becoming Astro Smurf. Alas, the rocket was powered only by his smurfpower on pedals that made a propeller turn, which of course was absolutely inefficient, not even making the rocket move. Saddened, Astro Smurf gave up, becoming depressed. The smurfs took pity on him, so they decided to give him the illusion of his dream coming true.
Papa Smurf told him that they fixed the rocket so that it would really work and fly to space. Astro Smurf, excited, went to his wooden shuttle. Before this, Papa Smurf made him drink a sleeping potion (pretending it was to give him strength). As Astro Smurf "departed", the smurfs shook the rocket and made smoke to give the impression he really flew in the sky. Astro Smurf then fell asleep due to the potion.
Papa Smurf then talked about his plan: the smurfs would take the rocket apart, transporting it and Astro Smurf to the inside of a dead volcano so that it gives an "alien planet" setting for him. As they arrived at the volcano, Papa Smurf gave all the smurfs a mutating potion that turned them orange-skinned (green in the cartoon) , white-lipped and bushy-black-haired. It was to give the impression they were aliens on the planet, and they called themselves the "swoofs" (the "schlips" in the original comic), dressing like tropical natives.
Astro Smurf awakened on the pseudo-planet, then encountered them, which was like a new world to him. He was so happy that he intended to stay with them forever. Papa Smurf (as Grandpa Swoof, leader) was annoyed by this, so he decided that Astro Smurf should pass several trials if he wanted to be admitted as a swoof. Astro Smurf passed almost all of them, though the last one was about spending years working as a slave. Not wanting to bear that, Astro Smurf decided to go back home. "Papa Swoof" gave him sleeping potion again, so that they could bring him back to smurf village after returning to normal from their swoof appearance.
Having lived a great adventure, Astro announced to the village that he was now satisfied to live back on Earth, to much of the smurfs' relief.
In a sequel, Astro "returned" to the swoof world...however, Brainy goofed up the formula, and it wore off too quickly, revealing the ruse.
[edit] Grouchy
Grouchy Smurf wasn't always "grouchy" to begin with. At first, he was a regular, nameless smurf, who appeared in the beginning of the very first smurfs comics issue: "The Dark Smurfs". In this adventure (The Purple Smurf in the cartoon), a flying insect called the "Bzz" Fly stings smurfs, turning them dark-skinned and insane. Grouchy Smurf was the first one stung, and, being maddened under the fly's venom, he went to bite the other Smurfs, infecting them with his condition and making the other smurfs rabid-like Dark Smurfs like him.
After a huge confrontation, all the Smurfs managed to be healed from the venom thanks to a special flower pollen that Papa Smurf discovered. The only smurf who didn't really get back to normal was Grouchy Smurf. Since he was the one who was under the "Bzz" Fly's toxins the longest, his personality was damaged and he became the Grouchy Smurf we know today, always complaining, frowning, his hands tightened in fists, and always saying "I hate (anything he hears the name of)".
Still, Grouchy Smurf sometimes managed to overcome his antisocial mental status, especially in "The Baby Smurf" issue. Baby Smurf was delivered by mistake by a stork, he had to be taken back but Grouchy Smurf developed strong affection towards Baby Smurf; he ran away with him into the forest, taking the care of him despite the dangers and the weather. Baby Smurf got sick, he had to return to the village, in tears, yet the smurfs felt sympathetic towards him and didn't hold any grudge, being touched by his unusual caring attitude.
It was Grouchy Smurf's valour that decided the mysterious senders of the baby to make the stork bring back the baby to the village, much to the delight of all the smurfs... including Grouchy, of course.
Grouchy once showed that he liked flowers, but that he didn't like people knowing that he liked flowers.
Making a parody of NBC's constant creation of bizarre miniseries, Saturday Night Live used the smurfs as an example. In this example, Al Pacino (portrayed by comedian Chris Kattan) played the role of Grouchy Smurf.
His catachphrase is "I hate (something somebody else mentions)".
[edit] Hefty
Hefty Smurf is the strongest smurf. He has a heart tattoo on each of his arms and is an active sportsman, whose favorite activity is weightlifting. He tends to be a bit violent, as he's most often the one hitting/tossing Brainy Smurf. However, he's very kind to children and Baby Smurf & the Smurflings look up to him. His best friend is Handy Smurf and they are often seen working together on projects such as building and maintaining the Smurf Dam. His blunt but practical nature provides a contrast to Handy's creative and enthusiastic personality. Hefty's catchprase is "he/she should exercise" as he believes it to be the solution to almost every problem. Hefty Smurf had the starring role in at least two Game Boy games, such as "The Smurfs" (where he has to rescue three smurfs kidnapped by Gargamel) and "The Smurf's Nightmare" (where he has to rescue several other smurfs from their own dreams caused by Gargamel). Hefty is voiced by Frank Welker in the cartoon. Of all the smurfs he has the deepest singing voice. For a secondary character he plays some important roles, such as being the one to discover Smurfette in the forest. In the episode "Hefty's Heart" Gargamel infects Hefty with the "Yellow Hate Disease". The heart tattoo is replaced with a X and he becomes antagonistic and cruel. The smurfs attempt to reach out to him but the spell is too strong. Only when Gargamel threatens the other smurfs' lives does Hefty manage to overcome the hateful emotions and rescue his friends. The heart reappears on his arm at the end of the episode as Papa implies that kindness and empathy are the greatest strengths Hefty possesses. In the episode "The Comet Is Coming" Hefty alone is unwilling to believe that a comet heralds the end of the world because "nothing that unsmurfy could ever happen". It is his faith that gives him the courage to leave the village and learn the truth, even when the others plead with him not to go lest he die alone. Welker also voiced the human character Peewit, Poet Smurf, and Puppy the dog among others.
[edit] Jokey (aka Prisoner)
Jokey Smurf is a cheerful smurf who enjoys playing tricks and entertaining the other smurfs, his favorite target being Brainy Smurf. Jokey Smurf almost always uses the same joke trick: yellow-red-wrapped present boxes that he offers to his victims, saying it is a surprise. The present box actually holds a firecracker that explodes when the receiver opens it, puffing out a lot of black smoke that blackens the bearer's face (or entire body depending on the explosion's size).
In the climax of one episode, Jokey's explosive gifts proved to be a source of salvation. They were used during an imprisonment to create a blast that destroyed one of the walls. By tying enough of them together near a small gap, to a single long ribbon, one good pull opened all the boxes and blasted the wall apart.
Jokey Smurf's tricks eventually wore out, as most of the smurfs got used to his jokes and knew about the exploding present boxes, therefore refusing them. The only ones (more or less) who still accept the presents are Brainy Smurf and Clumsy Smurf.
Upon his arrival to Smurf village, Jokey gave Baby a box that, in the comic book, instead of exploding, contained a music box... but it really proved to be explosive and blew up in the face of Baby Smurf who was very amused. "Sorry, but I couldn't help myself!" said Jokey. In the animated series, the present contained a bushel of wildflowers.
Jokey Smurf starred as the main character in the comic book issue "The Jewel Smurfer". In this adventure, he gets taken away by humans who force him to steal jewels and other wealth from rich people, being dressed in a black catsuit and a mask (but still keeping his white cap on).
Jokey Smurf was voiced by June Foray, who is most famous for providing the voices of Rocky the Flying Squirrel and the Granny character of Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies cartoons.
[edit] Papa
Papa Smurf is the oldest of the Smurfs (3rd-oldest of the smurfs after Grandpa and Nanny in the cartoon), and their leader. He is 542 years old, and can be easily distinguished from the other smurfs by his red clothes and his bushy white beard. Papa Smurf is gentle, wise, and knowledgeable (although he occasionally displays a short temper). Not only does he serve as leader, he also has diplomatic skills in case they meet humans or other creatures. Papa Smurf is a very skillful when it comes to making magical potions or other type of magical spells. He mostly can be seen in his house reading or inspecting some of Handy's inventions, very often with Brainy Smurf by his side. Also he manages to speak without using the "smurf" word more then the other smurfs. One of his mostly used phrases is "My little smurfs" which is often used when he wants to announce something to the other smurfs.
Voiced in French by Gérard Hernandez and in English by Don Messick.
[edit] Smurfette
Smurfette was the only female smurf until the creation of Sassette. She has more delicate features than the other smurfs, with long blonde wavy hair, longer eyelashes, and wears a white dress and white high heels. She is the love interest of almost every smurf (eventually even Papa Smurf!).
She first appeared in a story La Schtroumpfette, published in 1966. She was magically created from clay by Gargamel so that she would use her charms to cause jealousy and competition among the smurfs in order to cause their fall. He left her in the forest and a passing smurf took her to the smurf village, where she was kept out of kindness.
Gargamel's plans didn't work well at first, as her appearance was flawed: she looked like just a male smurf but with long spikey black hair and a dress. She tried to be feminine and considerate, but was unattractive and proved to be more annoying than seductive.
Papa Smurf took pity on her when she became depressed because the other smurfs teased her about being fat, so he practiced plastic smurfery on her for several days in order to make her the beautiful and appealing Smurfette the other smurfs know today. This time, she caused almost every smurf of the village to fall in love with her. Alas for them, it did cause violence and jealousy as schemed by Gargamel, causing chaos among the smurfs who competed, fighting against each other to win Smurfette's heart.
She convinced Poet Smurf to open the water dam just to see the spurting water, but the dam got stuck and the village was flooded. After struggling to close the dam on his own, Papa Smurf showed his frustration towards the trouble-making nature of Smurfette, who, offended, announced that she would "return to the great sorcerer Gargamel's". The smurfs were shocked about this statement, and Smurfette was put on trial.
The smurfs, blinded by their passion towards her, declared her not guilty, as Jokey Smurf, her attorney in the trial, claimed that Judge Papa Smurf was the one who made her attractive. Brainy Smurf, as the prosecutor, was booed and pelted with tomatoes, just as much because of the audience's love for Smurfette as their dislike for him. Still, she felt sorry for the trouble she had caused and ran away into the forest.
The smurfs got their revenge on Gargamel by using the same process that he had used to make the Smurfette, but in this case they built a man-sized, wart-covered, ugly old hag who talked smurf language and chased the horrified sorcerer all over the forest.
Smurfette returned occasionally to the village though she found that her presence still aroused conflict. When the smurfs argued about which one should marry her she herself chose Grouchy Smurf who had customarily stated "I hate marriage", thus making her point that the subject was closed.
The smurfs then moderated their passion for her, worshipping from a distance, and she settled permanently in the village. She even learned to talk in smurf language when previously she had talked in straight human speech in accordance with Gargamel's magic.
Their love for her can be a great motivator. When Hefty Smurf tried to organise Olympic Smurfs (published in 1983) to get the others fit, the announcement of the awarding of a gold medal fell on deaf ears (King Smurf having used a similar ploy). However, when it was announced that the winner would also get a kiss from Smurfette this caused a mad rush for signing-on.
Smurfette is voiced in French by Céline Montsarrat and Lucille Bliss in English. [1]
[edit] Supporting (Non-Smurf) Characters
[edit] Azrael
Gargamel's pet cat, probably named after Azrael, one of the names of the Angel of death. Although Gargamel never treats him right, Azrael manages to put up with his master. Azrael wants to eat the smurfs, but never succeeds. Azrael shares Gargamel's distinctive laugh. In Polish, he is known as Klakier (literally: "professional applauder") because he always agrees with his master's schemes. In Brazil he is known as Cruel, and in Israel he is known as "Hathatul", which is a mix of "kitty cat" and "fear".
[edit] Gargamel
Gargamel the sorcerer is the sworn enemy of the Smurfs. He is an evil wizard (though with very limited powers; he actually seems to be more of an alchemist) whose main goal is to destroy the Smurfs. He is perpetually stooped, his robe is worn and patched, and his teeth are rotten.
He lives in a run-down hovel with his flea-bitten cat Azrael. In later episodes he acquired an apprentice named Scruple, who seems moderately brighter and more savvy than his master, though still inexperienced in the ways of magic.
When he first appeared in The Smurfnapper (published in 1959) he captured a smurf which he needed as an ingredient for a potion to make gold (according to an old magic spell). The other smurfs rallied against him, freed the kidnapped smurf and the sorcerer was defeated and humiliated. Gargamel swore revenge: from now on the conflict would be personal.
Sometimes he wants to eat the Smurfs, other times he wants to use them to make gold, and still other times he has even more bizarre uses for them. Though he often catches Smurfs who wander by his home or which he happens across in the forest, he does not know the location of the hidden Smurf village, a fact which continually frustrates him.
On some occasions, he has discovered the location of the village, but sooner or later gets led away from it due to either a magic spell put on him by Papa Smurf or because of some other bizarre factor. Sometimes it is simply a matter of his being led away from the village while chasing the Smurfs, losing them and then being unable to find his way back.
Gargamel is an eternal bungler. Some of his schemes to catch Smurfs border on the bizarre (such as a "blue magnet" that attracted solely blue items). He has a seemingly endless library of spellbooks, potions, and gimmicks for his life's passion. However, no matter how elaborate Gargamel's plans, they invariably end in failure, causing him to spout his catch phrase: "I hate those Smurfs!". (It is worth noting that he does love at least one Smurf, his daughter/creation Sassette who refers to him as "pappy Gargamel.")
Despite his never-ending hatred and frustration for the Smurfs, more than once has he had to rely on Papa Smurf to help save him from a more wicked enemy's plans (such as Balthazar) or to rescue him from a potion gone horribly wrong.
Some claim the name Gargamel originated in the main character Gargamelle (Gargantua's mother) of the French novel Gargantua and Pantagruel, although Gargamel was a common name in the Middle Ages.[citation needed]
Gargamel is voiced in French by Philippe Dumat. In English, Gargamel was voiced by Paul Winchell, using his Dick Dastardly voice. He was voiced by Peter Haumann in the Hungarian version of the cartoon. In Italy the character is known as Gargamella.
[edit] Johan and Peewit
Johan is a young human squire (later a knight) in a very small kingdom somewhere in Europe in the Middle Ages. He defends his king fiercely, and goes on errands to help him or simply to help some people. After a few years, he meets the dwarf Peewit (pronounced "pee-wee"), and they become best friends. On one of his errands, Johan and Peewit have to go to the smurfs to get a magic flute. Thus the smurfs are introduced to us in the comics. The smurfs will appear in different later adventures of Johan and Peewit, and vice versa. In the American animated series, Johan and Peewit were often relegated to background or incidental characters, and only occasionally featured in the rare stories which focused on the pair and the kingdom they protected.
Johan is voiced in French by François Leccia and Michael Bell in English.
