Smurfs (1981 TV series)/Season 1

"Long, long ago, deep in a forest, there was a hidden village where tiny creatures lived. They called themselves Smurfs. They were good. Then there was Gargamel, the evil wizard. He was bad... Well, the forest is still there. And if you listen, you may hear Gargamel's rage. And if you are good, you may just catch a glimpse of the Smurfs."

- Narrator, Season 1 intro

Season 1, which aired from 1981 to 1982, introduced us to the main cast of characters commonly known as the Smurfs -- the village leader Papa Smurf, the beautiful Smurfette, the wisdom-spewing Brainy, the well-meant Clumsy, the muscleman Hefty, the mechanic Handy, the food-loving chef Greedy, the prankster Jokey, the tone-deaf musician Harmony, the narcissistic Vanity, the lackadaisical Lazy, the curmudgeon Grouchy, and various others -- plus their main adversaries, Gargamel the evil human wizard and his pet cat Azrael. It was during this season that a cartoon special, "The Smurfs Springtime Special" (April 8, 1982), was aired, introducing us to Gargamel's wicked godfather Lord Balthazar as well as to the Smurfs' constant ally Mother Nature.

Season 1 consisted of a lot of episodes that were adaptations to the comic book series. However, notable differences had to be made either because of social and cultural differences, or to fit them into 11-minute or 22-minute episodes, or to be consistent with the cartoon show universe. Some notable examples include:

• Making The Purple Smurfs instead of The Black Smurfs.
• Dreamy Smurf being The Astro-Smurf and Smurfette and Gargamel being present unlike in the comic.
• Smurfette brought to trial in the Smurfette episode before she was 'converted' by Papa Smurf as well as disguising herself as the Lone Smurf.

It should also be noted that most of the comic adaptations from this season were based on the English translations published by Random House and Hodder & Stoughton at the time, as Hanna-Barbera had purchased a series of the books to aid in the show's development.

In its infancy stage, most of the episodes heavily rely on slapstick antics with very few hints of story. It hasn't been fully developed yet, as it is firmly rooted in the Rocky and Bullwinkle era (but without the fast-paced narration and the dialogue sometimes kept to a minimum). Given in fact that Gerard Baldwin previously worked with Jay Ward and Bill Scott, so the style of writing is almost noticeable. A few new villains and allies are added to the series, making it feel far from formulaic. The basic characterizations of the Smurfs are more or less the same as in Peyo's original comics, which would be developed or toned down in later seasons. The look of the series hasn't been nailed down because the animators of Hanna-Barbera are still learning how to draw in the Peyo style. Animation errors are more prominent in this season.

Intro Sequence

The intro narration takes place during a panning of the Smurf Forest, which leads to the appearance of the Smurfs and a montage of shots featuring Smurfs doing their daily activities. Then comes a shot of Gargamel's castle, with Gargamel appearing in the window, saying, "Oooh, I hate Smurfs!" This is followed by Gargamel briefly chasing after a Smurf until he ends up trapped inside a log, with the Smurf watching as he rants and raves, bumping into the trees. The Smurf then runs through the forest and dives through a hollowed-out log before proceeding to go behind the SMURFS title logo and then appear sitting on top of a mushroom.

The Season 1 intro sequence is one of the most common of the nine season intro sequences due to its use in international versions of The Smurfs cartoon TV series, though by using the more modern version of THE SMURFS title logo. However, the international versions of this intro also uses two different theme songs; each of them would either be sung or have a spoken narration like the original US version. (For more information on one of the theme songs, see "The Smurfy Way".)

Episode Listings

The episodes that appeared in this season (in the order of their original air dates) include:

No. in series	No. in season	Title card	Title	Air date	Code
1	1		The Astrosmurf	September 12, 1981	104
Dreamy wants to fly into the space, so the Smurfs make him think that he landed on the other planet.
2	2		Jokey's Medicine	September 12, 1981	103b
Smurfette, Greedy, and Lazy wants to punish Jokey for his jokes.
3	3		Vanity Fare	September 12, 1981	102b
Vanity runs away after Hefty breaks his mirror and gets trapped by Gargamel's magic mirror.
4	4		St. Smurf And The Dragon	September 19, 1981	105
When Gargamel is near to find the village, Papa Smurf has problems with the spell to protect it because the dragon that Smurfette brings to the village eats all the glowberries needed for a spell.
5	5		Sorcerer Smurf	September 19, 1981	106a
Gargamel disguises himself as Sorcerer Smurf in order to lead the Smurfs into his trap.
6	6		The Magical Meanie	September 19, 1981	106b
Brainy and Clumsy find Genie Meanie and brings him to the village.
7	7		Bewitched, Bothered, And Be-Smurfed	September 26, 1981	108
Smurfette finds Hogatha's lost locket that grants wishes.
8	8		King Smurf	September 26, 1981	103a
Brainy makes himself a king while Papa Smurf is gone.
9	9		The Smurfs And The Howlibird	September 26, 1981	107
Hefty and Lazy accidentally spill Papa Smurf's failed potion on a bird, creating a giant monster that attacks their village.
10	10		Soup A La Smurf	October 3, 1981	110
Bigmouth comes to the Smurf village and wants Soup a la Smurf.
11	11		All That Glitters Isn't Smurf	October 3, 1981	111b
Gargamel uses various types of traps to capture the Smurfs and make gold while the Smurfs start thinking that Papa Smurf is losing his powers.
12	12		Dreamy's Nightmare	October 3, 1981	109b
Dreamy leaves the village and goes on a trip around the world, but he crosses ways with Gargamel.
13	13		Romeo And Smurfette	October 10, 1981	112
Every Smurf (including Papa Smurf) wants Smurfette to marry them, and Gargamel takes advantage of that by controlling Smurfette.
14	14		The Magic Egg	October 10, 1981	114a
Gargamel creates a magic egg, which the Smurfs find and use to fulfill their wishes.
15	15		Smurphony In 'C"	October 10, 1981	113b
Gargamel tricks Harmony into using a magic horn that puts all the other Smurfs into a deep sleep.
16	16		Sideshow Smurfs	October 17, 1981	119
Smurfette and Clumsy are captured by a mean showmaster, and it's up to the Smurfs to rescue them.
17	17		Supersmurf	October 17, 1981	114b
Brainy uses Papa Smurf's magic formula to become a Supersmurf and rescue their food supply from Bigmouth.
18	18		Paradise Smurfed	October 17, 1981	125a
Lazy dreams of being in a paradise world that hides a deadly surprise for its visitors.
19	19		Sir Hefty	October 24, 1981	117
Hefty becomes a knight to deal with a dragon that's setting fire to the Smurf Forest.
20	20		The Fake Smurf	October 24, 1981	116a
Hogatha disguises herself as a Smurf to get revenge on the Smurfs for destroying her locket.
21	21		The Baby Smurf	October 24, 1981	116b
Gargamel uses a spell that turns him into a Baby Smurf to get into the village and Smurfette finds him in the forest.
22	22		Painter And Poet	October 31, 1981	121
Poet and Painter leave the village when they feel unappreciated, but Gargamel follows them to the peaceful island.
23	23		Haunted Smurfs	October 31, 1981	118a
The Smurfs leave the village when their food is burned and enter a castle that they think is haunted.
24	24		The Purple Smurfs	October 31, 1981	118b
When a Purple Fly bites Lazy, he becomes purple and is biting other Smurfs to get that disease as well, so the remaining Smurfs must find the cure to stop purple Smurfs.
25	25		The Fountain Of Smurf	November 7, 1981	126
The Smurfs give Papa Smurf a drink from fountain of youth which turns him into a Smurfling.
26	26		The Magnifying Mixture	November 7, 1981	120a
Brainy accidentaly enlarges Hefty with a magic formula.
27	27		Foul Weather Smurf	November 7, 1981	120b
Handy creates a machine that can control weather, but it gets out of control when Poet and Farmer use it to make weather they want.
28	28		The Hundredth Smurf	November 14, 1981	113a
When Vanity's mirror is destroyed, he makes a new one, but during the storm in the forest lightning strikes his mirror and creates a new Smurf.
29	29		The Abominable Snowbeast	November 14, 1981	125b
When a group of Smurfs travel to the mountains to get a flower that can cure Papa Smurf, a snowbeast shows up and takes Smurfette.
30	30		Gargamel, The Generous	November 14, 1981	123a
After learning that Clumsy found diamonds in a cave, Gargamel becomes nice to get some of them.
31	31		The Smurfette	November 21, 1981	101
Gargamel creates Smurfette to destroy the Smurfs and sends her to the village.
32	32		Spelunking Smurfs	November 21, 1981	122a
Vanity and Clumsy find a frozen food in a cave that is also cursed.
33	33		Now You Smurf 'Em, Now You Don't	November 21, 1981	122b
Handy brings a magic crystal ball to the village, but it captures Greedy and Vanity when they touch it.
34	34		The Smurf's Apprentice	November 28, 1981	102a
Wanting to be popular, Clumsy steals a spell from Gargamel but it turns him into a lizard.
35	35		Smurf-Colored Glasses	November 28, 1981	109a
Handy gives Smurfette a glasses that makes everything look charming.
36	36		The Clockwork Smurf	November 28, 1981	124
Handy creates Clockwork Smurf to help with work, but he has to shut Clockwork down after Brainy plays with him. Clockwork then wakes up and leaves the village, entering a castle on which he helps a young king escape.
37	37		Fuzzle Trouble	December 5, 1981	111a
Clumsy brings a fuzzle to the village which multiplies and causes a lot of trouble to the Smurfs.
38	38		Smurfette's Dancing Shoes	December 5, 1981	115
An Imp gives Smurfette dancing shoes and later forces her to marry him.
39	39		The Smurfs And The Money Tree	December 5, 1981	123b
Gargamel and his Mummy send the money tree to the Smurfs to cause greed among them and Greedy is first that finds it.

Video Releases

• Warner Home Video has released two volume sets of Season 1 episodes.
  • Smurfs Season 1, Volume 1
  • Smurfs Season 1, Volume 2
• Amazon Instant Video and Zune have individual episodes available for download.
• Apple iTunes has the volume sets available for download.
• Google Play has the first volume of Season 1 available for download.
• Fabulous Films released the complete first season DVD set with all 26 episodes, as well as "The Smurfs Springtime Special" for the UK in July 2010. The entire season is also available for download on UK iTunes from Arrow Films. (Which is also in conjunction with Fabulous Films on the DVD distribution rights)
• In August 2011, Magna Home Entertainment released the complete first season DVD set for Australia and New Zealand as well. (as well as 'Ultimate Collection 1' box set)
• Imavision released a Season 1 DVD set in French in Canada.
• In August 2011, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment have released the entire season with all the episodes, as well as "The Smurfs Springtime Special" on a DVD set in Germany.
• In May 2020, HBO Max released Season 1 in a brand-new HD remaster of the original uncut USA editions.
• In June 2023, Tubi re-released the remastered version of Season 1, along with the rest of the series. However, it has been mysteriously removed as of June 11, 2024.