Return to Recap: The Smurfs.
One of the Smurfs becomes so interested in money, he sets up the first Smurf Village monetary system.
Tropes associated with this story include:
- All That Glitters: Gargamel uses the Smurfs' current love for money against them by creating fake coins painted gold to lure them into a trap.
- An Aesop: Papa Smurf provides one at the end of the story, that just because some things like money work for humans doesn't mean that it will also work with Smurfs.
- Diegetic Soundtrack Usage: The Papercutz English version has the Smurfs sing The Smurfs theme song when they leave the village and decide to go elsewhere to be free of money.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Gargamel sets up a net trap in the forest to catch Smurfs on the day that they would bring a load of gold coins as a ransom for freeing Farmer Smurf. However, with a little modification by the Smurfs, the net trap ends up catching Gargamel instead.
- I Have Your Wife: Gargamel holds Farmer Smurf captive and delivers a ransom note to the Smurfs, promising to deliver them the captive Smurf in exchange for their gold coins. Of course, Gargamel also sets up a trap for them, but they find out about the trap and turn it against Gargamel when they meet in the forest to make the exchange. But Gargamel one-ups on the Smurfs by carrying an empty shrouded cage, telling the Smurfs that he purposely left his captive at his home with Azrael watching over him.
- Lonely at the Top: The title character of the story becomes the richest Smurf in the world near the end of the story when all the Smurfs leave behind the village along with all their money...but now with nobody to share his good fortune with, he instantly becomes sad and lonely.
- Meaningless Villain Victory: While not technically a villain, the Finance Smurf gains the entire village after all his fellow Smurfs, including Papa Smurf, have left it behind along with all their money...only for himself to be left without anybody to share his new-found good fortune with, making him very sad and lonely. This makes Finance Smurf come to his senses and go out to find the Smurfs to tell them he's giving them back everything and abolishing the money system.
- Non-Fatal Explosions: Played straight with Jokey's pranks, but barely averted with the laboratory explosion that harms Papa Smurf.
- Screw the Money, I Have Rules!: Papa Smurf refuses to go along with the title character's suggestion of charging his little Smurfs for his services, even as impoverished as he is when he has to pay off his little Smurfs for their services during the time he was sick when the Smurf Village monetary system was in place. Eventually every Smurf decides to go Screw The Money to Finance Smurf when they realize that the old ways of cooperation and sharing were better.
- Tyrant Takes the Helm: Finance Smurf ends up controlling every aspect of Smurf life through the use of money. It's when the Smurfs decide to reject the system and go off to build a new village elsewhere that Finance loses all control.
- Worthless Yellow Rocks: Miner Smurf dislikes gold, as he thinks it is a too soft metal to be of any use. Finance Smurf decides to take the gold to turn them into coins and create a money system. The gold coins ends up being melted and reforged into musical instruments at the story's end.
