The Smurfs: Season 1, Vol. One

Description

Smurfs, The: Season 1, Volume 1 (DVD)

Tiny, blue, international celebrities the Smurfs--all 101 of them--dwell joyfully together in a medieval forest village. Only three apples tall, they live in mushroom houses and take their morning showers with dewdrops. Papa Smurf, wise beyond his 543 years, gently rules a raucous clan that includes Brainy, Jokey, Clumsy, Vanity, Grouchy, and that luscious femme fatale, Smurfette. But Gargamel, the local wicked wizard, despises the Smurf s happiness. With his fiendish cat, Azrael, Gargamel schemes to capture the Smurfs. Luckily, the Smurf village cannot be found unless a Smurf leads the way, and the Smurfs are as resourceful as they are lovable.

]]>Beloved in Europe for almost 20 years before they became a toy and marketing hit on American shores, Belgian cartoonist Peyo s industrious and charming Smurfs were a natural choice for Saturday morning TV; fans who grew up with their popular and Emmy-nominated network run (1981-1990) can now enjoy (and share) the first 19 episodes of the Hanna-Barbera produced series, which are remastered and compiled in this tidy two-disc set. Though simplistic by today s animation standards, the quarter-century-plus since their U.S. TV debut has not diminished the key ingredient to the Smurfs enduring appeal: their unflappably upbeat demeanor, which helps Papa Smurf, Smurfette, and the rest of the clan overcome the schemes of their chief rival, the evil wizard Gargamel, but also a dangerous bird ("The Smurfs and the Howlibird"), a duplicitous genie ("The Magical Meanie"), and the Tribble-like "Fuzzles" ("Fuzzle Trouble"), and the giant Bigmouth ("Soup a la Smurf"). More benign issues are also handled with the Smurfs typical can-do attitude, like Harmony s embarrassment over his lack of tunesmanship in "Smurphony in C " or the hubbub caused by the arrival of Smurfette (addressed in "The Smurfette" and "Romeo and Smurfette"). And if the dialogue remains a touch on the corny side (especially the incessant use of "smurf" to replace any number of nouns, verbs and adverbs), it s delivered with good cheer by some of the best names in vocal talent, including Paul Winchell, Don Messick, Lucille Bliss, June Foray, Frank Welker, and Lenny Weinrib. It s unfortunate that the set s supplemental features don t delve further into the Smurfs long history (or even into the TV series) with any detail; the Emmy-nominated 1982 primetime special The Smurfs Springtime Special is the chief extra, while Smurfs: The Music Video offers tantalizing snippets of production sketches and promotional footage in a haphazard montage. Previews for DVD releases of Scooby-Doo, Tom and Jerry, and Looney Tunes round out the set. --Paul Gaita