Last week, Nickelodeon announced a CGI reboot of The Smurfs will be coming to their channel in early 2021. The original cartoon was an NBC Saturday morning staple from 1981 to 1989. I also remember revisiting it when repeats aired in the early days of the Cartoon Network in the 90’s and early 2000’s. I did watch the 2011 movie when it showed up on one of my cable channels. Hank Azaria was hilarious as the Smurfs’ archenemy, Gargamel.
I had a plush generic Smurf, a plush Papa Smurf, and a plush Smurfette. It was 1981 or 1982 and I was four and five years old. Much like with Strawberry Shortcake and most things I experienced in the first half of the 80’s, my memories are a little vague. I do know I ate some delicious Smurfberry Crunch back then.
When my dad was sent to Boca Raton, Florida for work, my mother, brother, and I all went down with him. When we would go to the mall in Pompano Beach, I would sometimes be allowed to buy a small Smurf PVC figure. I’m guessing since these figures were so small, they were relatively inexpensive. I ended up with a total of twelve figures and received the Smurf house for my birthday.
I attempted to reassemble the mushroom house, but I can’t get the door to stay in. I don’t know if it’s an issue with the humidity warping the plastic or if some kind of tab or latch broke off in play when I was a young child.
So instead, here is a picture of the box. Sadly, the box isn’t in great condition either.
Before I do an individual profile of each Smurf, here’s a group shot of the whole of my PVC collection:
What’s interesting about these figures is that if you didn’t know the respective Smurfs’ names or personality traits, the only easily identifiable one would be the token female, Smurfette.
1. Roller Skating Smurfette, Ballerina Smurfette, and Writing Smurfette
2. Jokey Smurf
3. Brainy Smurf
4. Vanity Smurf
5. Clumsy Smurf
6. Grouchy Smurf (using a mushroom umbrella)
The last three are a little tougher to identify, so these are my best guesses:
9. Dental Hygiene Smurf
10. Smurf eating a popsicle
11. Smurf with Mug
It doesn’t stop at just figures. I also still have a Smurfette pin:
Finally, here’s a picture from a Christmas 1982 when I received a Smurf comic book (while wearing Strawberry Shortcake pajamas):
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