DVD Review: The Smurfs Season 1 Volume 2

Adult males aren't really the audience for something like Hanna-Barbera's The Smurfs. Heck, many younger boys were immune to Peyo's creations; "Mutilate a Smurf Day" was popular in many elementary schools, even at the height of Smurf-mania in the early 1980's.

Which makes Warner Bros.' DVD reissues of the 1981 cartoon problematic for this humble reviewer. Given that he's definitely not among the intended audience for this DVD, how then to properly review it? Fans will adore these reissues no matter what anyone says, and as for six-year-olds . . . they're not about to say "This sucks," unless they've already graduated to Robot Chicken.

What's It About?

For the uninitiated, the Smurfs were a group of tiny sky-blue characters, "about 3 apples high," who lived in their mushroom-roofed village. There was, among many others, the all-wise Papa Smurf, muscular Hefty Smurf, bomb-crazy Jokey Smurf, Clumsy Smurf, obnoxious Brainy Smurf, and blonde bombshell Smurfette.

(The latter character was originally black-haired when Gargamel created her, but became blonde when she was turned good. Take that however you will.)

The Smurfs lived together in harmony, an idyllic existence occasionally broken up by "the evil wizard Gargamel, who was bad" (that's directly from the prologue) and his sidekick, Azrael the cat. Gargamel was obsessed with destroying the Smurfs but, since this show is intended for younger audiences, his schemes were neither menacing nor effective. Between him and Skeletor, villainy wasn't doing well in the Reagan era.

Hanna-Barbera's animation is decent enough for the period; the company knew right from the get-go that they had a monster on their hands so they didn't cheap out on the production values. There's the occasional use of stock footage to save time and cash, but it's not obvious enough to be obnoxious.

The stories are simplistic: there's the set-up, featuring Smurfs hijinks and Gargamel throwing a temper tantrum. There's the plot device, featuring more Smurfs' hijinks and Gargamel cackling about how well his plan is coming together. Then Papa Smurf saves the day, Gargamel throws another temper tantrum and gets his comedic comeuppance. Add the occasional deus ex machina moment, and stir in some more Smurfy hijinks to taste.

And if you're lucky, Smurfette will show some thigh.

Kids will love this stuff, but their parents won't be sticking around long. Once Little Johnny or Mary are glued to the TV, Mom or Dad will either be doing the laundry or calling their best friend for some adult conversation.

Extra Features

Other than the trailers, there's only one featurette of note: "I Smurf The Smurfs," which features various animators, voice actors and low-level celebrities (Debbie Allen of Fame, Catherine Hicks from Seventh Heaven) discussing how much they loved the show, and Smurfs in general. It's pretty much a love-fest, with tiny chunks of history thrown in.

The Final Analysis

There are two real reasons to watch The Smurfs:

1. You loved the show when you were a little kid, and you want to revisit your childhood.
2. You have little kids you want to plop in front of the TV.

The first group may relive their childhoods in this DVD, or find that the show doesn't hold up the way they remembered it. Outside of that, there's not a whole heck of a lot to recommend this series from an adult perspective. However, it's harmless enough and that's why it gets a 6/10.

The Smurfs play a tune

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