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Smurfs Turn 50

January 17, 2008

The Smurfs
Get some Smurfberry cake and sarsaparilla juice because the Smurfs are turning 50 this year. To most of North America, the Smurfs officially landed here in 1981. Long before that they were in print and in film in the rest of Europe. So 50 seems daunting to some and a bit of a surprise. Hanna-Barbera took a chance on the little blue imps and cashed in the residuals of their world fame. Not much is heard from them on this side of the world, but their popularity is still strong in the rest of the world. There will be many new projects for the Smurfs this year, so we have not heard the last of the little guys. So smurf-it up and join the celebrations.

After struggling for some time, he eventually got the break he deserved when he started working for “Le Journal de Spirou”. Johan and Peewit were amongst his most popular characters. But in 1958, the Smurfs made their first appearance and went on to become the world-famous characters we now know. Although most cartoon characters are known through their books before becoming TV characters, the opposite was true of the Smurfs in the US. The incredible success of the Smurf figurines led to them being adapted for television. Yet the story of their arrival at Hanna Barbera and the success with NBC is almost worthy of a film in itself. How many people know, for example, that even the multi-award-winning composer Michel Legrand has lent his voice to the Smurfs? Read more >>

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Written by editoonc · Filed Under Animation