Writer: Various
Director: Various
Cast: Don Messick, Paul Winchell, Barry Gordon, Lucille Bliss, Danny Goldman, Frank Welker
Rating:
Studio: Warner Bros
Release Date: February 26, 2008
Anyone can tell you that some of the best cartoons ever made came out of the 80s. These colorful works of art were something that will forever live in the hearts of all children of that decade. I have waited for years for The Smurfs to hit DVD. A huge fan, and child of the 80s, The Smurfs have always been one of my favorite cartoons. I love the bright, cheery message, the cute little mushroom houses, and everything else you can think of. When I was growing up The Smurfs was my thing.
So, it was a wonderful surprise to find out that this collection of The Smurfs was coming out. I could barely contain myself when I found out that it was on the way for review. Watching this show, I was back to the days of my carefree youth, singing along with the “la, las” and having a great time. Of course, if you have kids they will love this too. However, the beauty of The Smurfs is that adults can get just as much enjoyment from them, if not more.
There were so many great and popular shows in the 80s that some of them managed to slip through the cracks. The Smurfs was one of these shows. While other series managed to garner business, long after the cartoons stopped, The Smurfs just kind of disappeared. They always kept the cult following of former kids that loved them though. Eventually, they made their way to Boomerang, on cable, though they were often on at odd hours, so I rarely got to see them. Regardless, I am glad to say they are beginning to show up on DVD now and hopefully this set is just the beginning.
Release Information:
Season One Volume One of The Smurfs is being released on February 26, 2008. This awesome set features 19 complete episodes. Some of those episodes are two, twelve minute episodes and the others are full 23 minute episodes.
Created years before they actually became a cartoon, The Smurfs have been around quite some time. The show was created by the brilliant team of Hanna Barbera. You can pick this up at most stores, including Amazon where it retails for $19.99.
The The Smurfs - Season One, Vol. One Plot
The Smurfs are a small group of woodland creatures that live in mushroom houses and are about three apples tall. These little blue men, and I say men because there was originally no women in the bunch, always find the bright side of things. They are a cheery bunch that loves to sing and dance.
The village works incredibly well together because everyone has their own special job that inevitably makes the village a better place. For example, Papa Smurf is the elder and he’s also a powerful magician. Baker Smurf is the baker, Jokey Smurf provides the comic relief by sending people present bombs that explode in their faces, and Builder Smurf is the carpenter. Of course, there are plenty of other Smurfs that have their own jobs and interests.
The Smurfs live a relatively happy life and they get along with everyone in the forest well except for one evil wizard who wants to destroy all of them, or at least eat them for supper. Gargamel and his evil cat, Azrael, will not rest until The Smurfs are on the dinner table where they think they belong.
Gargamel might be an evil wizard, but he’s not a very smart evil wizard. This is often used to the advantage of the cute little blue men, because they can always get away from the wrath of Gargamel. They always find a way and they never give up! Although it should be noted that Gargamel did one good thing. Gargamel was responsible for creating the one and only female Smurf, Smurfette.
Of course, she was really evil and was created to help Gargamel find those well hidden creatures. Naturally, the black-haired Smurfette loses her nerve and Papa Smurf is able fill her heart with goodness, which turns her hair blonde, all at the same time.
Regardless, Gargamel and Azrael move on and continue, time and again, to attempt to find, capture, and destroy The Smurfs. However, this is season one and volume one, so you can assume that even if he ever did, now would not be the time for that to happen.
The Smurfs are rather interesting because you can only tell a few by their appearances and the rest tend to look alike. It is the personalities that really shine through and let you know which one is which. There are a few you can tell though. Papa Smurf is the only one that wears red pants and he has a white beard. All the rest of the smurfs (minus Smurfette) wear white pants. Meanwhile, Brainy wears glasses, Vanity carries a mirror, Baker wears a Chef’s hat, and Hefty has muscles and a little tattoo.
Grouchy Smurf is somewhat like Oscar the Grouch. Always in a bad mood, he constantly reminds you how he feels about things when he reiterates his one common line…”I hate _____”. Clumsy is amusing because he can fall over air and Lazy Smurf is able to fall asleep standing up (Narcolepsy, anyone?).
Some of the best episodes include “King Smurf”, “The Smurfette”, “The Astrosmurf”, “Jokey’s Medicine”, “St. Smurf and the Dragon”, “Bewitched, Bothered, and Be-Smurfed”, “Fuzzle Trouble”, “Dreamy’s Nightmare”, “Fuzzle Trouble”, and “All That Glitters Isn’t Smurf”.
If you love The Smurfs you will be delighted to know that this should be the first of many sets. The show had about 400 episodes, not including primetime specials, and since this set only has 19 episodes there should be plenty more sets to come.
Storyline/Plot: 
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Directing:
Audio/Visual:
The Smurfs is over 25 years old, so naturally you are not going to see quality that you would with a cartoon that was produced last year. That being said, this 1.33:1, fullscreen version of The Smurfs looks excellent based on all of the determining factors. There are slight specks and little grainy moments, but for the most part the quality is exceptional. Ignoring those specks, the show is clean, sharp, and beautifully retro.
The audio quality is done in Dolby Digital mono, but it sounds good for what it needs to do. This is not a series that needed to experience upgraded audio. It worked well with mono. The music, sound effects, and dialogue all come through just fine.
Visual: 
Audio:
Bonus Features:
There are two main bonus features included in this set of The Smurfs. The first selection is “The Smurfs Springtime Special”. You can consider this a bonus episode. Unlike the Saturday morning cartoons, this selection actually aired for the first time at night. This is essentially an Easter special. The Smurfs are celebrating and Gargamel is planning their demise. The goal is to switch spring back into winter so that Gargamel can lure the Smurfs into his devious trap.
The other main feature is a video, “Smurfs: The Music Video”. The video lasts just a little more than a minute and it adds clips from the show with concept art and promo images. It’s an odd sort of supplement, though many 80s cartoons have none, so I suppose something is better than nothing.
The only other thing on here is previews of Looney Tunes: Gold Collection Volume 5, Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection Volume 3, Harry Potter Hogwarts Challenge, Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue Volume 1, Horton Hears a Who: Deluxe Edition, and What’s New Scooby Doo?: The Complete 3rd Season.
Bonus Features:
Bottom Line:
If you’ve been waiting as long as I have for a Region 1 DVD set of The Smurfs then you will love this set. If you haven’t been waiting, but adore this cartoon, you will still love it. While the picture may not be perfect and the bonuses aren’t overly exciting, the show stands alone on its own. Adults and children will end up watching and re-watching these delightful blue creatures in their adorable mushroom houses. This fact alone makes it well worth the purchase.
Overall Rating: Overall Rating: 
Technorati Tags: Movie, Cartoon, TV on DVD, Saturday Morning Cartoons, The Smurfs, Gargamel, DVD Review
Written by Ashtyn Evans - Visit Website
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Ashtyn lives in her home state of Michigan with her life partner, Dominick, her 14 year old son, and her baby, the Shih-Tzu, Oliver Twist. Ashtyn is in college, going for a degree in Psychology. She plans to get her Ph.D and work as a therapist in the field of human sexuality. Ashtyn is an experienced and talented chef. She also excels at writing and has worked as a professional writer for the past five years. Ashtyn enjoys spending time with her son and four year old nephew, watching movies, listening to music, and writing works of fiction.
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