History WesternAnimation / TheSmurfs1981

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/250px-Season1title_3906.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:250:We'll have a smurfin' good time! Or something like that...]]

The period from 1966 to 1990 was considered the "[[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation Golden Age of]] [[SaturdayMorningCartoon Saturday Morning Cartoon]]" where all US television networks -- by all, we mean three: Creator/{{NBC}}, Creator/{{ABC}} and Creator/{{CBS}} -- made conscious decisions devoting their weekend blocks to showing animated programs targeted for children during the mornings. Though as time went on, [[AmericanSeries live-action kids' shows as well as other family-friendly media]] began taking over the airwaves, meaning ratings started to go down and the future of established Saturday morning cartoons became uncertain. Eventually, animated studios and network programmers fell into a pattern of reusing popular formulas, some taking characters from their most popular shows and pairing them together in order to make them "perform" or "compete" much like how their live-action counterparts in {{Sitcom}}s and {{Soap Opera}}s did on UsefulNotes/PrimeTime shows.

'''Narrator:'''' ''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.''

->''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.''

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/250px-Season1title_3906.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:250:We'll have a smurfin' good time! Or something like that...]]

* BubbleGun: The Wartmongers had this type of weapon.

* ComedicUnderwearExposure: Clumsy in "The Adventures Of Robin Smurf" draws his sword and shows his bloomers when his pants fall down.

** The Smurfs comic books generally portrays the Smurfs as mischievous - they tend to stir it up without necessarily needing to. In the AnimatedAdaptation, however, their portrayals are changed to be easygoing and always friendly towards each other, as well as the tendency to often sing songs.
** In the comic books, Brainy is often beaten by the Smurfs for no reason, for the simple reason that they hate him. He even gets blows to the head with a stick. In order not to set a bad example for children, the cartoon toned down the violence, showing only Brainy being thrown into the air by the Smurfs (and only rarely are punching sounds heard), and almost always when he brags about his alleged intelligence or when appears authoritative.

* AdaptationalDumbass: While still a klutz, in the 1981 cartoon show, Clumsy is not very bright than he is in the comics due to the cartoon version of Clumsy being a [[CompositeCharacter composite character]] of the comic book version of Clumsy Smurf and Dopey/Dimwitty Smurf.

In 1979, television executive and producer Fred Silverman (who became President and CEO of Creator/{{NBC}}) brought his daughter a plush Smurf doll from a local toy shop during a network trip to Aspen, Colorado. Upon his return, Silverman contacted cofounder Joseph Barbera of [[Creator/HannaBarbera Hanna-Barbera Productions]], charging him on acquiring the rights to the Smurfs, guaranteeing the studio an on-air commitment if they could make an animated cartoon series around the Belgian [[ComicBook/TheSmurfs comics]]. Doing as he was told, Barbera began a two-year trip to the television screen, veering the Smurfs far from Pierre "Peyo" Culliford's 1958 creation before coming back to a familiar form.

In 1979, television executive and producer Fred Silverman turned President and CEO of Creator/{{NBC}} brought his daughter a plush Smurf doll from a local toy shop during a network trip to Aspen, Colorado. Upon his return, Silverman contacted cofounder Joseph Barbera of [[Creator/HannaBarbera Hanna-Barbera Productions]], charging him on acquiring the rights to the Smurfs, guaranteeing the studio an on-air commitment if they could make an animated cartoon series around the Belgian [[ComicBook/TheSmurfs comics]]. Doing as he was told, Barbera began a two-year trip to the television screen, veering the Smurfs far from Pierre "Peyo" Culliford's 1958 creation before coming back to a familiar form.

* CloningBlues:
** [[IncrediblyLamePun A very literal example]]. In "Smurfiplication", Gargamel creates five copies of Brainy to get six Smurfs for his gold-making formula, which amounts to six times his usual annoyance level.
** When Vanity visits a house full of mirrors that makes all his reflections come to life while Vanity himself vanishes.

* CloningBlues: [[IncrediblyLamePun A very literal example]]. Gargamel in one episode creates six copies of Brainy Smurf for his gold-making formula, which amounts to six times his usual annoyance level.

* OffModel: Seems to happen a lot in the earlier seasons, such as Papa's pants being colored white, Clumsy's hat being an ordinary Smurf hat, Hefty without his tattoos, etc. Even after Hanna-Barbera switched to overseas studios in the sixth season, there are still a few off-model moments such as Sassette's hair becoming blond in one episode of the ninth season.

Despite the ''Smurfs'' being cancelled by NBC, which was getting rid of its animated Saturday morning lineup to allow for more news programming, Creator/HannaBarbera would animate the characters one last time in a [[DrugsAreBad drug abuse prevention]] special with other [[{{Crossover}} popular Saturday morning shows]][[note]] Alf from ''[[Series/{{Alf}} ALF: The Animated Series]]''; Garfield from ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends''; [[Franchise/AlvinAndTheChipmunks The Chipmunks]], Alvin, Simon & Theodore Seville, from ''WesternAnimation/AlvinAndTheChipmunks''; Baby Kermit, Baby Piggy & Baby Gonzo from ''WesternAnimation/MuppetBabies''; Slimer from ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters''; Pooh Bear & Tigger from ''WesternAnimation/TheNewAdventuresOfWinnieThePooh''; WesternAnimation/BugsBunny & WesternAnimation/DaffyDuck, not to mention [[WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndTheRoadrunner Wile E. Coyote]]'s mentioned and his time machine's used, from ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes''; [[Characters/DisneyDucksComicUniverse Huey, Dewey and Louie]] from ''WesternAnimation/{{DuckTales|1987}}'' and Michelangelo from ''WesternAnimation/{{Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles|1987}}''[[/note]] called ''WesternAnimation/CartoonAllStarsToTheRescue''. A handful of Smurfs, along with Papa, Hefty and Brainy, with a quick [[TheCameo cameo]] from Harmony in the comic book lying on the floor, appeared in a limited amount of appearance under the orders of Smurfs' creator Pierre "Peyo" Culliford.

%%* OminousPipeOrgan: Gargamel's Ghoullliope in the cartoon special "Smurfily Ever After".

* PapaWolf: Grouchy towards Baby Smurf. In "Once in a Blue Moon", he runs away with Baby in order to prevent him from being taken away, and in a later episode he gets over his fear of swimming after seeing Baby in danger.
%%** Papa Smurf.

* GenderNeutralWriting: This has crept into the episodes to keep Baby Smurf's gender identity anonymous — although at one instance Papa Smurf does refer to Baby Smurf as a "he".

* OminousPipeOrgan: Gargamel's Ghoullliope in the cartoon special "Smurfily Ever After".
* OneMillionBC: Season 9 began with the Smurfs traveling to the prehistoric past to bring a baby dinosaur home.

* PapaWolf: Papa Smurf, obviously.
** Grouchy towards Baby Smurf. In "Once in a Blue Moon", he runs away with Baby in order to prevent him from being taken away, and in a later episode he gets over his fear of swimming after seeing Baby in danger.