The Smurfs (2021 TV series)

You may also be looking for the group of people called the Smurfs. For the comic strips that feature the characters, see Smurfs (comics). See The Smurfs (1961 TV series) and Smurfs (1981 TV series) for the two animated Smurfs series that preceded this one.

The Smurfs is a Belgian CGI animated television series developed by IMPS and Dupuis Audiovisuel which began to air worldwide on April 18, 2021 on RTBF Auvio in Belgium and on May 9, 2021 on TF1 in France. It is an offshoot of the Belgian comic series The Smurfs by Peyo^[1]. It features full CGI animation similar to that of the animated film Smurfs: The Lost Village. Episodes of the new series run 13 minutes each, with the exceptions of half-hour specials such as "The Pluffs!", which are split as 13-minute two-part episodes as well.

History

Pre-premiere

More than 30 years after the airing of the final episode of the 1981 television series, Véronique Culliford, the founder of Peyo Productions and IMPS envisioned an idea for a brand-new Smurfs television series for some time. When the final Sony Pictures movie (Smurfs: The Lost Village) was released, she felt it was the right time to initiate the project due to the film's international success. The series was to be produced by Peyo Productions and Dupuis Audiovisuel, and its producer was Véronique Culliford. Writers Peter Saisselin and Amy Sefrain, commented that it was the time to "revisit, renew, and start anew" the brand for the entirety of the Smurfs franchise.

When the cartoon show was in development, Peyo Productions remained vigilant to any changes made to the setting and characters of the Smurfs; making sure that the cartoon show remained faithful as possible to the comics, and that the animation must match closely to the style for Smurfs: The Lost Village, while making sure that the animation style matches the spirit to the original Smurf comic books (with a contemporary touch) - but they remained very open to creative freedom and allowed the settings and characters be brought up to date with the present times, as long as it made sense - such as Smurfette being portrayed as a Kill Bill-styled action girl, and smurfways becoming an equivalent to segways. The series was to be aimed at an older audience.

It should also be noted that the writers took the time on following the canonicity of the comic books - the source material for the franchise, in order to retain Peyo's original vision for the comic series' quirky edge and irreverence, social commentaries, and humor, of which the television series would follow suit. The writers chosen to not focus on researching the previous 1980s TV series adaptation (with the exception of watching a few episodes) due to Peyo Productions' plans of wanting the new series to use "pure Smurf DNA" from the comic books (as in staying completely faithful to the comics) compared to the 80s series, while the writers commented on the animation pacing for the 1980s TV series would be considered extremely slow for today's standards. Additionally, the writers took the time on exploring the characters of the comic books and started putting more emphasis on their characterization to develop the characters more fully.

Multiple times during production, Véronique Culliford, Peyo Productions, and the television networks approved original story ideas created by the writers and having discussions with the writers by giving notes during the production of an episode as part of a team effort. The scenarios for the episodes in question were inspired by the original comics as they were written in close collaboration with Peyo Productions.

This series is almost entirely produced in Belgium, with 75% of the animation completed at Dupuis' DreamWall animation studio in the city of Charleroi, while 25% of the animation is completed at Gao Shan in Reunion Island.^[2]

The show was first announced by Peyo Productions in 2017.^[3]^[4] The next year, its European broadcasters were announced: Ketnet (Flanders), TF1 (France), KiKA (Germany), and La Trois (Wallonia).^[5]^[6]^[7] In 2020, it was reported that the broadcast rights had been picked up by the American entertainment brand Nickelodeon for several of its channels, but the airing agreement does not extend to the original 1980s Smurfs series (which continues to be distributed by Warner Bros. in North America).^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11]

The pitch bible for the series was made available for download in late 2019 on the official SmurfBusiness site via a QR code in their 2019-2020 Audiovisual Catalogue. According to the file name, this version of the bible dates back to September 2018. The character section reveals that the Smurf Girls introduced in The Lost Village movie and The Girls' Village Collection spin-off, Baby Smurf, and Wild Smurf are included in the series.

The pilot reel was first uploaded to Vimeo in early 2018. Another teaser trailer (or animation test) for the series was shown at an event in October 2018. A recording of it was then leaked onto Facebook, which has since been removed. A teaser was posted on Vimeo by IMPS on June 25, 2020, showing animated footage of Jokey and Harmony Smurf. The teaser was later uploaded to the official Smurfs YouTube Channel on October 6, 2020.

On June 18, 2020, it was revealed that the series will air on Nickelodeon in the United States through the fall of 2021, later specified to be in October. However, it was pushed, and it officially premiered on Nickelodeon on September 10, 2021 (Which is intended to match the release date of the 1981 TV series which premiered in the United States that same day 40 years earlier).

Post-premiere

In Switzerland, the series started airing on RTS Un on April 25, 2021, during the RTS Kids programming block, while in French-speaking Canada, the series started airing on Télé-Québec on August 28, 2021 as Les Schtroumpfs 3D.

On February 7, 2022, the show was renewed for a second season, along with multiple movies in the works at Nickelodeon.^[12]

On April 9, 2022, several channels, one being the official English Smurfs YouTube channel, began uploading full episodes of the series. This is the second series to do this, with the first being the 1981 TV series. The international channel uploads also feature localization and dubbing credits. According to the TV partners overview files, only 5 episodes per season are able to be uploaded every month and rights are refreshed every 30 days.

On May 31, 2022, the return of Wild Smurf was confirmed, and a new character was announced, a fairy named Leaf. Both were introduced in Season 2.^[13]

On June 12, 2022, a third season of the series was confirmed.^[14] It is set to premiere in 2024. The season is also confirmed to introduce new characters, including new Smurf Girls and Gargamel's niece and nephew.^[15]

On June 25, 2022, it was confirmed by the Media-Participations group that the production label for the series will have its animation done by the umbrella brand of Ellipse Animation.^[16]

Episode Listings

This list will be filled as episodes appear on air.

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

TBA

Voices

French and English-language versions of the series were produced in France and Belgium, respectively, with all of the voice actors in the English dub being born or growing up in Antwerp. Some of the French voice actors voice the characters in both versions, though the characters they voice in both dubs may differ.

English Voices

Main Voices

Davis Freeman as Papa Smurf and Farmer
Bérangère McNeese as Smurfette and Baby ("Diaper Daddy"-"Adventures In Smurfsitting")
Youssef El Kaoukibi as Brainy
Vincent Broes as Hefty and Chef
Lenny Mark Irons as Gargamel, Bigmouth, Dimwitty, and Harmony
Joshua Rubin as Handy and Grouchy
Kaycie Chase as Jokey, Azrael ("Funny Mommy"-present), Baby ("Smurfy Day Care"-present)
Ilse La Monaca as Greedy
Tess Bryant as Clumsy and Scaredy
Daniel Sanz Sieteiglesias as Vanity
Catherine Hershey as Willow
Sandra Asratian as Lazy, Storm, and Blossom
Jackie Jones as Lily
Cherise Silvestri as Azrael ("Diaper Daddy"-"Adventures In Smurfsitting")
Luke Calzonetti as Wild
Jade Ramos Wheeler as Leaf

Supporting/Minor Voices

Davis Freeman as Drummer and Papa Papa Smurf
Mark Irons as Reporter, Glammy (Season 1), Sloppy, Doctor ("Diaper Daddy"-"Papa Smurf Leaves The Nest"), Curious, Forgotten, and Generic Smurfs
Kaycie Chase as Mini-Jokeys
Joshua Rubin as Rocky, Doctor ("Leaf's Under The Weather"-present), and Glee-Go's father
Ilse La Monaca as Wimpy, Dreamer, Diaper Daddy (Season 2-present), Sculptor, Justa, Blue Painter Smurf, Yellow Painter Smurf ("Diaper Daddy"), Greedy's waffle ("Waffles And Punishment"), and Generic Smurfs
Tess Bryant as Mummy and Naked
Lawrence Sheldon as Poet
Catherine Hershey as Glee-Go's Starry (Season 1)
Charlie Cattrall as Tailor, Painter (Season 1), Yellow Painter Smurf ("Where's Papa Smurf?"), Egghead, Greedy's waffle ("Waffles And Punishment"), Delivery guy ("Smurfy Mother's Day!"), and Generic Smurfs
Magali Rosenzweig as Crystal ball and Glee-Go's mother (Season 1)
Madeleine Fletcher as Painter (Season 2-present), Timid, Glee-Go, and Generic Smurfs
Luke Calzonetti as Glammy (Season 2-present), and Generic Smurf ("Papa Times Two")
Loreanne Asratian as Begonia and Meteorite
Arianna D'Amato as Generic Smurfs (Season 2-present)

French Voices

Main Voices

Jean-Loup Horwitz as Papa Smurf
Anna Ramade as Smurfette and Blossom
Antoine Schoumsky as Brainy
Marc Arnaud as Hefty, Greedy, and Wild
Xavier Fagnon as Handy and Bigmouth
Kaycie Chase as Jokey, Azrael, Baby, Lily, and Harmony
Fanny Bloc as Clumsy, Storm, and Harmony ("The Snail Whisperer")
Jérémy Prévost as Vanity, Farmer, and Dimwitty
Emmanuel Curtil as Gargamel, Grouchy, and Chef
Magali Rosenzweig as Willow, Lazy, Scaredy, and Leaf

Supporting/Minor Characters

Jean-Loup Horwitz as Papa Papa Smurf
Anna Ramade as Generic Smurf ("Papa Times Two") and Glee-Go's Starry
Antoine Schoumsky as Poet, Glammy, and Yellow Painter Smurf ("Where's Papa Smurf?")
Marc Arnaud as Tailor, Sloppy, Doctor ("Leaf's Under The Weather"), and Glee-Go's father
Xavier Fagnon as Reporter, Egghead, Doctor, Dreamer, Justa, Forgotten, Blue Painter Smurf ("Unsmurfable Smile"), and Naked ("Never Wake A Sleeping Sorcerer!")
Kaycie Chase as Wimpy, Timid, Meteorite, Crystal ball, Mini-Jokeys, Glee-Go, and Greedy's waffles ("Waffles And Punishment")
Fanny Bloc as Begonia, Curious, Blue Painter Smurf ("Diaper Daddy"), Yellow Painter Smurf ("Unsmurfable Smile"), and Naked ("Wanna Bet?")
Jérémy Prévost as Rocky and Yellow Painter Smurf ("Diaper Daddy")
Emmanuel Curtil as Diaper Daddy
Magali Rosenzweig as Painter, Drummer, Mummy, Blue Painter Smurf ('Where's Papa Smurf?"), and Glee-Go's mother

Trivia

Kaycie Chase voices Jokey in both the original French version and the English dub of the series, with the exact same voice.
- Kaycie Chase is credited as Kaycee Chase in the French dub's credits. This is fixed in the Season 2 credits, meaning that this is likely a mistake, as she is credited as Kaycie Chase in the English dub's credits.
The scripts and voice acting in the English dub began between late 2020-January 2021.
Gargamel's cackle from the French dub in the theme song is unchanged in the English dub.
This series started streaming on Netflix in the United States on May 1, 2023.
Similar to the 1981 TV series, it has the misfortune of recycling animation and character movements. Sometimes, the recycling of animation causes minor inconsistencies with the structure of the episodes, such as "Curing Private Timid".
Some promotional artwork for the series such as the promotion for the Smurfs: The Next Adventures compilation contains artwork recycled from Smurfs: The Lost Village and Smurfs Bubble Story mixed in with the 2021 TV series.
The show periodically takes sporadic hiatuses in the United States, usually between 2 months of new episodes and takes hiatuses. Currently, the longest hiatus is now between "No Smurf Out!" and "Souffle Shuffle" in October 2022 and "Curing Private Timid" and "Smurfette Overdoes It!" in July 2023, lasting eight months.
The show was nominated for Favorite Animated Series for the Kid's Choice Awards 2023.
It is unknown if Johan, Peewit, and the Smurfs' other human friends will appear.