58 Fun Facts About Smurfs

Which comics artist created the Smurfs?

Peyo was born Pierre Culliford, and the pen name is how a cousin mangled his family nickname, Pierrot.

In a classic comic story, the Smurf who wins a village election while Papa Smurf is away declares himself what?

King Smurf builds a palace and a guard, the villagers rise in revolt, and Papa Smurf comes home to find his village in an outright civil war.

Which Smurf first arrived in the village on the night of a blue moon?

Baby Smurf: when word came that he had been delivered by mistake, it was Grouchy, who claimed to hate babies, who ran off with him rather than hand him back.

The boy Smurflings were adult Smurfs until an accident with what made them children again?

A backwards clock: it belongs to Father Time, and the three Smurfs it made young again went on to conjure up a little sister for themselves.

The Smurfs made their debut as side characters in which comic series?

Johan and Peewit, a medieval page and his sidekick, were the stars; the Smurfs were helpers they met on a quest, and soon eclipsed them in popularity.

In which comics magazine did the Smurfs first appear?

Spirou printed their debut, and readers took to the blue imps so quickly that the magazine gave them a series of their own the following year.

Which star of The Office voiced the Smurfs' wizard enemy in Smurfs: The Lost Village?

Rainn Wilson voiced the wizard in the fully animated reboot, where a mysterious map sets him racing the Smurfs to a hidden village.

The Smurfs' creator said the word 'schtroumpf' was invented at a meal when he could not remember the word for what?

Salt was the word that escaped him, so he asked his dinner companion to pass the 'schtroumpf', and the two kept swapping the nonsense word into their talk.

Which fellow cartoonist was dining with the Smurfs' creator when the word 'schtroumpf' was coined?

André Franquin, creator of the Marsupilami, played along, and the two friends kept swapping the made-up word for nouns and verbs, the seed of the Smurfs' own way of speaking.

The English word 'Smurf' comes from which language's translation of 'Schtroumpf'?

Dutch-language editions called the Schtroumpfs 'Smurfen', and it was that name, not the French one, that English-language toy sellers and publishers picked up.

What are the Smurfs called in Spanish?

Pitufos was coined by the editor of the Spanish magazine that first ran the comic, who took his cue from Patufet, a character from Catalan folklore.

Before the name Smurfs stuck, a 1973 English book called them what?

Goblins is the name in 'Dilly Duckling and the Goblins', a London picture book; the toy craze that arrived later in the decade made 'Smurfs' the name that stuck.

The Smurfs live in houses shaped like what?

Mushrooms have housed the village from the start, though in the earliest stories the houses came in all shapes and sizes before they were drawn alike.

How tall is a Smurf traditionally said to be?

Three apples high is the traditional measure, and the 2011 film leaned on the joke by stranding its 'three apples high' heroes in the Big Apple.

The Smurfs' white hats are in the style of which historic cap?

Phrygian cap is the soft, forward-flopping style that French revolutionaries made a symbol of liberty, which is why Marianne, the emblem of France, wears one too.

Which colour are Papa Smurf's hat and trousers?

Red clothes and a white beard have marked Papa Smurf out as leader since the Smurfs' very first story, in which every other villager looked the same.

A long-running internet theory, denied by the creator's family, claims the Smurfs are secretly what?

Communists, say the theorists, pointing to a village that shares everything, dresses alike and follows one bearded elder; the creator's family insists the stories are apolitical.

Which magical instrument gives the Smurfs' 1970s animated feature film its title?

A flute that forces anyone who hears it to dance drives 'The Smurfs and the Magic Flute'; the Smurfs made it, and they build a second one to beat the thief who steals the first.

Which Smurf has a heart tattooed on his arm?

Hefty Smurf is the village strongman, and in the cartoons he is usually the one who throws Brainy out of the village.

The first female Smurf was originally created by whom, to sow jealousy in the village?

Gargamel conjured her to stir up trouble, but the plan backfired when she chose the Smurfs' side and Papa Smurf's magic made her one of them.

What colour was the first female Smurf's hair before Papa Smurf's spell?

Black hair turned blonde in what the comic calls 'plastic smurfery', the makeover that won over a village which had ignored her until then.

Which female Smurf, created by the Smurflings, was the second to appear?

Sassette was shaped from blue clay by the Smurflings, who wanted to give Smurfette a sister.

What is the name of the cat that belongs to the Smurfs' evil wizard enemy?

Azrael shares his name with the angel of death, a choice credited to the comic magazine's editor rather than to the Smurfs' creator.

Which sorcerer, godfather to the Smurfs' wizard enemy, is another of their foes?

Balthazar is the one his godson turns to in the cartoon's springtime special, where a spell on Mother Nature freezes the Smurfs' forest.

Which bald, wig-wearing witch is a recurring enemy of the Smurfs in the 1980s cartoon?

Hogatha lives up to her name by snorting when she talks or laughs, and she flies about on a long-suffering vulture called Harold.

In his first comic story, the Smurfs' wizard enemy needs a captured Smurf as an ingredient for making what?

Gold was the goal, with a Smurf as the missing ingredient for the philosopher's stone; the 1980s cartoon mostly swapped that motive for a simpler wish to eat them.

In the original comics, the Smurfs love to eat the leaves of which plant?

Sarsaparilla leaves are the Smurfs' staple in the comics; the smurfberries that many fans remember were added by the 1980s cartoon.

In the comics, how do the Smurfs travel long distances?

Riding storks is how the Smurfs cover long distances, and a 2020 album turns on the day the usually punctual birds fail to turn up for the journey home.

The story Smurf Versus Smurf, which splits the village over grammar, satirises a real feud between which two groups?

French and Dutch speakers are the target: the village splits into two halves that fight over whether 'smurf' belongs in a phrase as a noun or as a verb, a send-up of the language quarrel in the creator's homeland.

Which US network aired the Smurfs cartoon on Saturday mornings from 1981 to 1989?

NBC had an unexpected ratings hit on its hands: the cartoon became a Saturday-morning fixture and made the Smurfs' creator a millionaire.

Which gift, bought by a network boss for his daughter, led to the 1981 Smurfs cartoon being commissioned?

Smurf doll: Fred Silverman bought one for his daughter Melissa in an Aspen toy shop and decided the characters could carry a Saturday-morning series.

Which American studio produced the 1980s Smurfs cartoon?

Hanna-Barbera hired the Smurfs' creator as story supervisor, and he pushed back to keep his characters from being Americanised.

Which award did the 1981 series win in 1982-83?

It took Outstanding Children's Entertainment Series and was nominated many more times.

Which voice actor played Papa Smurf in the 1980s cartoon series?

Don Messick, the original voice of Scooby-Doo, pulled double duty in the series: besides the kindly village elder, he supplied the snarls of the villain's cat.

Which comedian voiced Grandpa Smurf in the 1980s and Papa Smurf in the 2011 and 2013 films?

Jonathan Winters died a few months before The Smurfs 2 came out, and its end credits thank him for 'making the world a smurfier place'.

'The Smurf Song', a 1977 novelty hit, was recorded by which Dutch singer's alter ego?

Father Abraham was the stage persona of Pierre Kartner, whose Dutch original topped the charts at home before he re-recorded it in English, French, German and other languages.

Which pop star voiced the first female Smurf in the 2011 live-action film?

Katy Perry said she won the part in a blind test: the filmmakers matched unnamed voices to the character and liked hers before they knew whose it was.

Who played the Smurfs' wizard enemy in the 2011 live-action film?

Hank Azaria played him in the flesh opposite computer-animated Smurfs; in this version the wizard wants Smurf 'essence' to power his magic.

Which How I Met Your Mother star plays the New Yorker who helps the Smurfs in the 2011 film?

Neil Patrick Harris plays Patrick Winslow, an ad executive whose life the Smurfs tumble into after a magic portal sends them to Manhattan.

In the 2011 film, a magic portal drops the Smurfs into the middle of which New York landmark?

Central Park is where they land, and the film's final battle with the wizard villain returns there, at Belvedere Castle.

Which director held talks to voice Brainy Smurf in the 2011 film before the plan fell through?

Quentin Tarantino's talks for the role came to nothing; the studio's animation chief said his being 'such a fanboy' had been part of the appeal.

What did residents of Júzcar, the Spanish village painted blue for the 2011 Smurfs film, later vote to do?

Keep the new colour, they decided: Sony had agreed to restore the whitewash, but a tourist boom persuaded the village to stay Smurf blue.

Who voiced the first female Smurf in the 2017 animated reboot Smurfs: The Lost Village?

Demi Lovato took over the role when the series started again as a fully animated film, after plans for a third live-action outing were dropped.

Which Oscar-winning actress voiced Smurfwillow, leader of the all-female village in Smurfs: The Lost Village?

Julia Roberts voiced the leader of Smurfy Grove, the hidden community whose discovery shows that the village's lone female Smurf was never the only one.

Which pop star voiced the first female Smurf and produced the 2025 musical film Smurfs?

Rihanna did triple duty on the film: besides voicing Smurfette and co-producing, she wrote and recorded the song 'Friend of Mine' for it.

Which studio released the 2025 film Smurfs?

Paramount took over after Sony had made the three earlier films, and it had history with the characters: it was already developing a Smurfs feature back in 2008.

Who voices Papa Smurf in the 2025 film Smurfs?

John Goodman voices the village elder, who is snatched through a portal early in the film, leaving Smurfette to lead the rescue.

What is the name of the Smurfs' pet dog in the 1980s cartoon?

Puppy was a gift from a friendly wizard, and he wears an enchanted locket that only his true master can open.

In the 1980s the Smurfs appeared as a children's act in which touring show?

Ice Capades first put the Smurfs on skates soon after the cartoon became a hit, and brought them back with new stories in later tours.

A 2005 TV advert showed the Smurf village bombed by warplanes to raise money for which organisation?

UNICEF wanted to shock: the sight of a flattened cartoon village was meant to make viewers think about children caught up in war, and the money went to former child soldiers.

What is the English meaning of 'Le Pays Maudit', the bleak homeland of the Smurfs' earliest stories?

The Cursed Land was a rocky place that could be reached only by magic or a punishing trek; once the Smurfs had a series of their own, the village moved to a friendlier forest.

Which German toy company makes the best-known Smurf figurines?

Schleich took over from the comic's own publisher, which had made the first Smurf figurines, and has released new ones almost every year since the 1960s.

Several Smurfs joined Bugs Bunny, ALF and Slimer in which 1990 anti-drug cartoon special?

Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue aired on all the major US networks at once, with rival studios lending their best-known characters to a single anti-drug story.

Who voiced Brainy Smurf in the 2011 film after the original casting idea fell through?

Fred Armisen voiced the village know-it-all, who gets a rare moment of glory in the film by casting the spell that opens the Smurfs' way home.

Which Smurf is identified by his overalls and the pencil tucked behind his ear?

Handy Smurf is the village inventor and repairman, and it was he who built the village a mechanical Smurf of its own.

'Schtroumpf' is pronounced like the German word 'Strumpf', which means what?

Sock, or stocking, is what 'Strumpf' means, but the likeness is a coincidence: the Smurfs' creator said he made his word up on the spot at a meal.

Which character did John Oliver voice in the 2011 live-action film?

Vanity Smurf, who is besotted with his own looks, kept John Oliver's voice for the 2013 sequel, where he joins Papa Smurf's team to bring Smurfette home.

Which elderly female Smurf, owner of a pet called Smoogle, joined the 1980s cartoon in its eighth season?

Nanny Smurf entered the story as an old flame of Grandpa Smurf's, set free after centuries shut inside a castle.