| Papa Smurf | |
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Papa Smurf |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Dupuis |
| First appearance | October 23, 1958 (Comic Strip) |
| Created by | Peyo |
| In-story information | |
| Abilities | Genius-level intellect Command of magic Alchemy |
Papa Smurf is a male fictional character from The Smurfs. At 542 years old (546 in the movie) is the third-oldest Smurf after Grandpa and Nanny,[1] and well above the typical age of the other Smurfs, which are approximately 100 years old. He is quite energetic for his age, and is easily distinguished from the other Smurfs by his red clothes and his bushy white beard, which was brown in his younger days.
In the original French version, Papa Smurf's name is "Le Grand Schtroumpf", which could be translated as "the Great Smurf" or "the Big Smurf". His name could also be interpreted as "Le Grand Père", French for grandfather, which is consistent with his elderly appearance and paternal ways.
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Papa Smurf is a gentle, wise, and knowledgeable village elder. He serves as the Smurfs' leader, and serves as a paternal figure to whom the Smurfs usually go when they require counsel. He is always concerned about the Smurf's well-being and harmony. He is very altruistic and always ready to help somebody, whether Smurf or human. Papa Smurf also has diplomatic skills in case the Smurfs meet humans or other creatures. Unlike other Smurfs, he usually manages to speak without replacing nouns and verbs with the word "smurf". In the original comic books by Peyo, Papa Smurf had a more forceful personality and a short temper, often getting angry with his Smurfs when they did something wrong or were not obeying his orders.
Papa Smurf's duty is to ensure all the Smurfs of the village get along well, are nice to each other, and do not fight. When real chaos rises among them, Papa Smurf takes very drastic measures, often using magic. For example he has switched bodies with Gargamel in order to pretend to attack the village on several occasions, including in the Smurf Versus Smurf comic adventure and the "Romeo & Smurfette" TV episode, and has even created a whole other village of evil doubles of the original Smurfs in The Smurf Menace" comic issue.
Papa Smurf would sometimes prefer not to have to constantly fix problems, but he has realized that it was his calling. One time he said that because he may not be able to be the village leader forever, every Smurf should have a brief experience of commanding the village. He brought this into effect by handing over his signature red hat and having the designated Smurf wear it, and direct others on a construction project. While the other Smurfs were wearing Papa's hat they were referred to as "Papa Greedy", "Papa Clumsy", or "Mama Smurfette". While Papa felt it important that each Smurf gain leadership skills, he maintains his purpose of guiding the Smurfs and fixing their problems and mistakes.
When he is not engaged in his leadership role, Papa Smurf indulges in his favorite hobby of magical chemistry, or alchemy. He often makes elixirs to help Smurfs who get themselves into trouble. The French comic portrays Papa Smurf constantly preparing magical drinks from white hellebore; the drawings in which the effects of these alchemical brews are shown are both turbulent and amusing. Separate from his house, he has a laboratory containing several chemical devices, and he tries to create potions for the good of the Smurfs, yet sometimes fails. For example, one time he accidentally created a substance that turned any living thing into a huge monster (refer to The Smurfs and the Cracoucass album, and the cartoon episode "The Smurfs and the Howlibird"). Impassioned by his love of magical chemistry, he occasionally leaves the village in order to get the needed ingredients.
Don Messick provided Papa Smurf's voice in both the 1980s animated series and the 1990 special Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue. Jonathan Winters voiced Papa Smurf in the 2011 film.[2] Jack Angel voiced Papa Smurf in the 2011 special, The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol.
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