Les Aventures des Schtroumpfs (partially found Belgian animated film; 1965)
In 1958, Peyo (Pierre Culliford) created the popular The Smurfs (originally, "Les Schtroumpfs") where they first appeared on the Belgium comic seriesJohan and Peewit (known as "Johan et Pirlouit" in Walloon and French) story "La Flûte à six trous" ("The Flute with Six Holes" in English) on October 23, 1958 on Spirou Magazine. A few years later, The Smurfs made their animation debut in a TV series called Les Schtroumpfs [1] which aired from 1961-1965 throughout Western Europe (such as The Netherlands, West Germany [2], Austria, and Belgium). The first animated adaptation of The Smurfs started production in 1959.
Information
In 1965, a 90-minute black-and-white animated film was made called Les Aventures des Schtroumpfs (The Adventures of the Smurfs). It was the first animated production to feature The Smurfs.[3] The film itself used five episodes from the 1961 series Les Schtroumpfs.
The character design is based on the early art style of the first Smurfs comic stories, featuring slightly more angular bodies and the eyes often turning into small dots. The animation is also very limited, even by 1960s cartoon standards. The 1960s series used cutout animation for animating the characters.
In 1965, a vinyl record for the series was released in Belgium called "V'la Les Schtroumpfs" ("Here The Smurfs"). Side A contained the show's theme song "La Les Schtroumpfs (La Marche Des Schtroumpfs)" ("The Smurfs (The March Of The Smurfs") in English) [4], while Side B contained the series' background music "Schtroumpf Laïtou (La Valse Des Schtroumpfs)" ("The Waltz of The Smurfs" in English) [5]. To date, the record was the only thing related to the 1961 series that gained a physical release making the record extremely rare in both France and Belgium.
Parts of the film/TV series can be seen on display at the Belgian Comic Strip Center in Brussels, Belgium (birthplace of series creator Pierre Culliford "Peyo") at a permanent Smurfs exhibit that was added to the museum to commemorate the franchise's 50th Anniversary in 2008.
On October 31, 2022, it was revealed that IMPS and LAFIG Belgium made a deal with OTTera to launch a FAST channel known as "Smurfs TV" featuring the 1960 series [6] as well as the 1981 TV series (except for the US due to licensing issues concerning Warner Bros. currently holding the rights on hosting the 1981 TV series in the region). Another article further explained that it will be featured on connected TVs including Xiaomi, Plex, Huawei, VIDAA, TCL etc. [7]
Findings
On October 23, 2023, IMPS and Peyo Productions announced that seven episodes from the 1961 series would get uploaded exclusively to the official French Smurfs Youtube channel fully restored complete with a trailer [8]. Each episode would get uploaded on Sundays on a weekly basis. The first episode to get uploaded was "The Smurfnapper" [9] followed by "The Flying Smurf" on November 3, 2023. [10]
The Segments
Smurfnapped
A Smurf gets captured by Gargamel.
The Fake Smurf
Gargamel gets turned into a Smurf as he seeks revenge after The Smurfs foil his plan to use one of them to turn base metals into gold.
The Flute Smurf
Jokey creates a magic flute for himself as he uses it to play tricks and cause trouble with other Smurfs in the village.
The Smurfs and the Magic Egg
The Smurfs discover a magic egg.
The Black Smurfs
A contagious disease terrorizes the village.
The Smurfs and the Dragon
The Smurfs befriend a domesticated dragon.
The Flying Smurf
One of the Smurfs attempts to fly like a bird.
Gallery
Footage
Images
See Also
- La Schtroumpfette (lost Belgian animated TV special based on "The Smurfs" comic; 1969)
- The Smurfs (found animated National Benzole commercial series; 1978)
- The Smurfs Australian BP commercial (lost advertising material; 1980s)
References
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Smurfs_(1961_TV_series)
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20201108085036/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ud2GEnOVmwg
- ↑ María Luisa Amador, Jorge Ayala Blanco, Cartelera Cinematográfica, 1980-1989 (2006), p. 151.
- ↑ https://youtu.be/rIcf1IuPVAI
- ↑ https://youtu.be/sUTeoc0sIv4
- ↑ https://kidscreen.com/2022/10/31/first-smurfs-fast-channels-to-launch-in-q4/
- ↑ https://senalnews.com/en/content/the-smurfs-will-have-its-own-fast-channel-thanks-to-a-deal-with-ottera
- ↑ https://youtu.be/hUfg2qdjPB4
- ↑ https://youtu.be/AJp03a2mcU0
- ↑ https://youtu.be/KOJrfbMS_kU