The success of the Smurfs is truly planetary. As everyone who has worked on the series recognises, the Smurfs are successful largely because of their basic appeal. And that appeal stretches right across the board - from mini-tales to pop songs and on to the exciting world of multimedia. Smurf material is now available on video, on CD-Rom and CD-i. The video games regularly top the sales charts. Theatre productions tour Europe. Yet each adaptation offers new challenges, which must be faced without the help of Peyo who died in 1992. But how will the world of the Smurfs adapt to that of the 21st century? If the past is anything to go by, the answer must be: smurfingly!
Smurfs gained popularity in the United States in the 1980s, starring in their own TV cartoon series.Papa smurf is the head smurf and all of the other little smurfs look up to him. The carton was a half hour long and was filled with the happy little blue creatures that went on adventures and tried to stay away from the evil wizard Gargamel and his cat Azrael.
The Smurfs secured their place in North American pop culture in 1981, when the Saturday-morning cartoon, The Smurfs, produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, finally debuted on NBC from 1981 to 1990. The show became a major success for NBC, spawning spin-off television specials on an almost yearly basis. The Smurfs was nominated multiple times for Daytime Emmy awards, and won Outstanding Children's Entertainment Series in 1982–1983. The Smurfs television show enjoyed continued success until 1990, when, after a decade of success, NBC cancelled it due to decreasing ratings.
The series currently airs in reruns on Boomerang, and 26 selected episodes were aired in DiC Entertainment's syndicated programming blocks. The series is still being shown regularly on many channels throughout the world. The cartoon was formerly distributed by Television Program Enterprises (the later name of Rysher Entertainment) and WorldVision Enterprises, Inc. by having some episodes with those company names. The cartoon is now distributed by Warner Bros. Television, and have made it available through their online video service In2TV.
The smurfs movie in 3D
